WHAT IS THERE IN A NAME

The debate between Orissa and Odisha is again on the cards. Some
people say our state has its own identity so better call it Odisha.
Others say renaming is merely a reflection of our own mind set. The
fact that very often our state is pronounced in multiple ways so let
it be only one name for English, Hindi, and Odia. Perhaps renaming is
not the most significant thing for a state which is under developed
despite of large FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) participation. The
focus should shift in the direction of unvarying development of the
entire state.
Back in 90s our state was crawling in development credentials. The
dream that our forefathers had envisaged, when Odisha became a
separate state was on a standstill. But when Biju Janta Dal(BJD) came
in to power the scenario changed rapidly. Thanks to our liberal
industrialization policy and Odisha achieved a robust economy termed
as “Miracle economy” by economists. Almost every MNC showed their
attention in positioning their unit in the state. As a result of which
non- descript places like “Kalingnagar”,”Dhinkia” came in to picture.
The economic boom complemented the social sector in a balanced way.
This thing is clearly established in the census 2001-2011 in which our
literacy rate improved significantly. In true sense
“Industrialization” brought our state back on the track from which we
can take on other states in terms of economy and social reform.
On the contrary the inflow of wealth has endorsed uneven development
throughout the entire state. Loads of central funds along with state
funding could not revamp the condition of “KBK” districts. People in
those regions are still deprived of basic amenities like road
connectivity, education and health care. The failure of government
apparatus has paved the way for the Maoists. Maoism has long been
acting as a resistance in growth of our state. If someone goes
carefully with the Maoist movement, he can trace the roots in
underdeveloped districts of the state. The point that coastal
districts are less affected by the menace adds to the assumption that
development is one of the factors in spreading the Maoist presence.
Instead of spending on security and countering the red army,
government must spend on improvement of poverty stricken districts. A
proper road map should be adopted to alleviate poverty in different
tribal areas of the state. Once the socio economic condition of the
poor tribal’s is boosted up, there will be a glimpse of hope that they
will refrain from armed revolution. Road connectivity, health care
facility, along with education must be improved so that tribal will
not feel alienated from main stream. Though there are several poor
friendly schemes currently in action, the benefit seems to be pocketed
by corrupt officials. This corruption needs to be dealt with much
precision and exemplary punishment. The government must reconsider its
approach in dealing with the extremists as it is not exclusively a law
and order problem.
Another area of concern is the frequent unrest of people at the time
of land acquisition. The Kalingnagar incident showed the ineptness and
callousness of state government towards land acquisition. The
confrontations between supporters and agitators have set up a bad
trend which is going to influence “Industrialization” process in near
future. Democracy never allows government suppressing voice of people.
Optimists may feel the urgency in land acquisition as
Industrialization has turned in to a boon for the state. But at the
same time it has destabilized people’s faith in government up to some
extent. Government must adopt moderate measures while dealing with
agitations over land. An environment of mistrust can be detrimental
for the growth of entire state.
Indeed we are marching towards a prosperous and improved Odisha. The
last thing we can expect from the denizens of UTKAL is to come forward
and join hands to turn the dream in to reality. No society can advance
without its vibrant civil society. Good governance along with an
energetic civil society can bring the intended growth for our state.
The day does not seem far away when Odisha and the people of Odisha
will seize the opportunity and the name debate will of least
significance. BANDE UTKAL JANANI…..

PEACEFUL INDUSTRIALIZATION

In the middle of an assembly session our honorable chief minister gets surprised to see something under the red carpets in Odisha assembly. He suddenly passes a resolution to put a break in assembly proceedings. This time the opposition is not allowed to run a symbolic assembly. The media can not break into in to the matter so as the MLAs of the ruling party. Rato raat our CM calls for an expert geological team and the team hands over their report after one week. The people of Odisha eagerly wait the outcome of the report thinking a danger prevailing in the assembly premises.

But after 15 days the CM addresses the media with a smile on his face because the geological team finds large deposits of Diamond in assembly soil and our CM was the 1^st one to discover the trace of shining metal from a hole created on the floors under the red carpet. The news spreads like a wild fire and every one in the cabinet gets very happy because after chromite, iron and so many ores finally we have a diamond deposit.

The next day CM signs an MOU with a multinational company. As a firm believer of industrialization he assures rapid acquisition of land. The other day almost all the leading news papers come up with a headline”Multicrore diamond factory is to be set up in Assembly premises”.

Then the most difficult stage of land acquisition comes to picture. The cabinet decides to shift the assembly house to a new place. The opposition stages a dharna demanding shifting of the project to another place. But the Government decides not to alter the location and assures good compensation packages for every affected person. The ministers also get in deep thinking to shift their offices. In the mean while the agitation of the opposition continues and the fury takes a violent mode. The state takes the help of police department saying that the agitators are not the legal owners of the land. The police brutality touches to extreme point and the agitators start taking the pinch. The next day all the newspapers quote CM “Negotiations are still on and we want peaceful industrialization”.

Religion of poor

The much awaited verdict of Ayodhya is yet again delayed, thanks to our slow legal procedures. Both Hindus and Muslims are eagerly looking forward to the never ending drama of Babri Masjid and Ram Temple. But in a time when country is facing serious internal conflicts and when “Mehangai” is on the rise what does this Verdict mean to the common man?

It took almost 18 years to come to a conclusion. The court will decide whether there was a Ram temple before the Mosque was demolished. However the total expenses of the trials should also be mentioned in the Verdict. At least the common man must know how costly the conflict of religion is? This much of amount could have done a greater bit of development in the smaller town like Ayodhya. Despite of the fact that Ayodhya has been in the centre stage of national politics for the last 20 years, politicians have showed less interest in development of Ayodhya. The state politics has also revolved around the issue. That clearly indicates that the political group is the sole beneficiary of the religion clash.

Since independence India has witnessed political upsurge relating religion, caste, sub caste and lots of separating factors. But among all the speculation of development of poor we have achieved very less. In every five years we see political rhetoric regarding eradication of poverty. But once the elections are over, most of the programs only lie in red files. The remaining programs only help corrupt official taking advantage to gain money. As a result the number of people living below poverty lines in not remarkably decreasing. Lots of factors like political instability, inflation are also not adding salt in the wounds of the poor.

Surprisingly after 64 years after independence we witness people dying of hunger and poverty. Hardly there will be any developing country that can race with us in this context. One side of the coin shows that we have number of billionaires where as the other part of the coin shows that we have 50% of our population who lives below poverty lines. Neither lord Ram nor Prophet Mohammad could have ever wished their followers fighting for hunger.

The political class always desires to divide the people on the name of religion and taking the advantage. The battle of religion has devastated the socio economic condition of the communities in the past. And the battle of religion still continues to harm the normal public.

Religion is baseless for the people who still struggle for a square meal a day. Religion is baseless for the people who are still deprived of medical facilities. Rather than fighting for the religion all Indians should declare a war against poverty which seems never disappearing.