Dear Oriyas, Rise!

This is an abridged version of a longer piece that was published in two instalments in the Oriya fortnightly Utkal Deepika in September and October 1866. This was the year in which the worst ever famine in Orissa decimated about a third of its population. The commission of inquiry set up by the British to go into the causes of the famine brought up the issue of the character of the Oriya people. It was suggested that had the Oriyas not been lazy and inefficient, they could have saved themselves by taking advantage of the various relief schemes provided by the Government. This essay is probably a reaction against that structure. Invoking the past glory of the Oriyas, the author lays the blame for their present decline on the British colonial policy which favoured Bengal at the cost of Orissa. The piece appeared anonymously, but, in all probability, it was written by the editor of the paper, Gauri Shankar Ray, a Bengali who had settled down in Orissa and upheld the cause of Oriya against Bengali.

The complex relationship between the Oriyas and their Bengali neighbours began in the 19th Century after the East India Company drove the Marathas away in 1803. Bengalis became the main work force of the Company administration in Orissa and, due to a faulty revenue policy, these petty officials and clerks also found it easy to acquire land here. The people of Orison were further impoverished during the Company rule by the closure of indigenous industries like shipping and salt. Through loss of land and wealth the Oriyas became second to Bengalis in their own land. Translated and introduced by Dr. J. P. Das.

IS there any truth in the slander that Oriyas are deficient in understanding? Outsiders say that, however much they try, Oriyas cannot attain the higher levels of education in any discipline. But serious thinking on this subject will reveal the falsity of this view. Oriyas have by nature been accomplished - whether it is in the field of learning, in the use of arms, in architecture or in the arts.

Antipathy of the present rulers and their active discouragement are the causes of the present decline in the Oriyas. How is it that our neighbours, the Bengalis, are so advanced? Is it not mainly because of patronage they have received from the British? See how much money and effort the Government and generous well- wisher of the State like David Hare have put in for the development of Bengal. If similar efforts had been made for unfortunate Orissa, would the people be in such sad state today? The English have extraordinary intelligence, but what were they before the Saxon occupation of England? Is not their development due to the care of others?

Language is the basis of a culture ... Look at the efforts being made for the development of the Bengali language. However, the Bengalis are yet to produce a kavya to match the kavyas penned by Oriya poets. It is, of course, true that many books of arithmetic, natural sciences, geography and literature have been published in Bengali, but these books are either translated or plagiarised from English. How many of these are original writings? Among original writings, Bengalis consider Vidyasundar to be an important book and its author Bharatchandra Ray is placed high as a poet.

But long before Vidyasundar was written, Dinakrishna Das wrote Rasakallol in Oriya, and when you compare the two, Dinakrishna is clearly superior to Bharatchandra in style of writing, description of nature, and in rhetorical composition.... Besides Dinakrishna, there were other poets who wrote on different themes. But, in the absence of a printing press, many books have been lost. The best of our poets - Upendra Bhanja - wrote some 52 books of which only 20 or 25 are available now.

Whether it is shringara, viraha, bhakti or karuna rasa, Upendra Bhanja is the poet of unsurpassed rhetorical excellence. We may venture to say that, apart from Sanskrit, no other language has a poet to compare with him. Alas, it is heart-rending to see the present day apathy towards his writing! Will a day come when his writing will receive its due recognition?

When one sees the fall of Greek and Roman civilisations, the rise of England and the downslide of India, one realises that nothing is permanent in the world. Everything changes in course of time. Look at the city of Calcutta, which, till the other day, was a shrub land and playground of rabbits and jackals. It is today the capital of India with an array of tall buildings housing officials, army men and intellectuals. Many crowded, developing cities have been razed to the ground and many forest lands are growing into prosperous urban centres. Similar is the changeability of the human race.

The English were earlier savages and forest dwellers... The same English today are flying their flag of glory all over the world through the power of their arms and their knowledge. There is no known river, ocean or bay on which English commercial boats do not ply. However, the Oriyas who had at one time, through armed conquest extended their empire from the river Hoogly in the north to Cape Comorin in the south are weak and indolent today.

People who say "Oriyas are foolish by nature" are truly ignorant and near-sighted... It is wrong to suppose that the great benevolent God has been partial in bestowing wisdom to some and foolishness to others... It is self-evident that the Creator has endowed all men with the same potential: each man has a basic intelligence and its improvement or deterioration depends on how he nurtures it.

In the past the Oriyas were skilled in the arts and crafts too. At one time Balasore textiles were famous. Who does not know of Cuttack silver filigree? Dear Oriyas, rise. Defend the good name of your forefathers. Remove from your forehead the blemish of ignorance that you have been cursed with. How long will you immerse yourself in the ocean of idleness? How long will you sleep in ignorance and be the object of ridicule of other people?

Remember that the night of our misfortune ended when the English came from the east coast and drove out the evil Maratha raiders.

(This series is co-ordinated by Meenakshi Mukherjee)

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