azad hind fauj and provisional government : a saga of...

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Orissa Review * August - 2004

"I have said that today is the proudest day ofmy life. For enslaved people, there can be nogreater pride, no higher honour, than to be thefirst soldier in the army of liberation. But thishonour carries with it a correspondingresponsibility and I am deeplyconscious of it. I assure youthat I shall be with you indarkness and in sunshine, insorrows and in joy, in sufferingand in victory. For the present,I can offer you nothing excepthunger, thirst, privation, forcedmarches and deaths. But if youfollow me in life and in death- as I am confident you will - Ishall lead you to victory andfreedom. It does not matterwho among us will live to seeIndia free. It is enough thatIndia shall be free and that we shall give ourall to make her free. May God now bless ourarmy and grant us victory in the coming fight.Inquilab Zindabad ! Azad Hind Zindabad !"1

This was the concluding remarks ofNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose on the 5th July,1943 at Singapore after taking over the chargeof President of Indian Independence Leaguefrom Rash Behari Bose on July 4, the previousday. The speech he delivered that day was in

fact one of his greatest speeches whichoverwhelmed the entire contingents of IndianNational Army (INA) gathered there under thescorching tropical sun of Singapore. There wasa rally of 13,000 men drawn from the people

of South-East Asian countries.Then Netaji toured in Thailand,Malay, Burma, Indo-China andsome other countries andinspired the civilians to join thearmy and mobilised publicopinion for recruitment ofsoldiers, augmenting resourcesand establishing new branchesof Indian National Army. Hepromised the people that hewould open the second war ofIndependence and set up aprovisional Government ofFree India under whose banner

three million Indians of South-East Asia wouldfight the enemy. He made a clarion call to allIndians - Karo sab nichhabar bano sab fakir- sacrifice all and be penniless mendicants forthe sake of the Mother land.

Under blazing sun and heavy rainsNetajee used to deliver his fiery speeches andto appeal the masses to make donations, jointhe INA and to give arms whatever they had.After the speech, his garlands were put to

Azad Hind Fauj and Provisional Government :A Saga of Netaji

Prof. Jagannath Mohanty

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auction, each garland fetching such a fabulousamounts as ten or twenty thousand dollars atthat time and this money was earmarked as thefund of the Provisional Governmnet. Peoplealso vied with one another to hand overdonations to Netajee personally. 2

Netajee favourably influenced theGovernments of Germany and Japan andenlisted their support for the fight for freedomof India. During World War II Burma wascaptured by Japan and British armies weredefeated and Indian National Army marchedupto Imphal of Manipur through dense forestsand hills, incessant rains and inclement weather.The patriotic slogan "Delhi Chalo" (March toDelhi) reverberated the vast areas onceoccupied by the British.

The tide of the Second World War turnedagainst Japan and Allies tried to recoverBurma. Tokyo felt the need to appease theBurmese people in order that they might helpin the country's defence against the Alliedinvasion. On August 1, 1943 power wastransferred to Burmese hands and Independencethough doubted to be shortlived, was celebratedin Burma. As the Guest of Honour of theceremony, Netajee praised Japan profuselyand eulogised Burmese and Indian peopleliving there. He said, "The Independence ofBurma in this momentous crisis has a two-foldsignificance for us. It shows in the first place,what a nation can achieve if it knows how toseize an opportunity which history has offered.Secondly, just as the conquest of India suppliedthe British with jumping off the ground for theirattack on Burma in the nineteenth century,similarly, the emancipation of Burma hassupplied the Indian Independence Movementin East Asia with a spring board for its attackon Britain's Army of occupation in India duringthe twentieth Century ....."3

Dr. Ba Maw became the head ofIndependent Burma and declared war againstBritain and the USA. Netajee required his helpin providing bases of military operation againstthe occupying force in India and getting seatfor his provisional Government of Free Indiathen under contemplation in Rangoon so as tobe close to his military target. But Japanesehistorians have written that Dr. Ba Maw wasunwilling to oblige him on two grounds :(i) there was a feeling of animosity among theBurmese towards the Indians because the latterwere occupying a predominant position inBurma everywhere and (ii) the Azad HindMovement which was being backed by affluentIndians in South-East Asia might influence theeconomy of Burma greatly. But Ba Mawmentioned in his memoirs, inter alia, "I openlywelcomed him (Netaji); and so on January 6,1944 and the days following. Netaji Bose andhis army arrived in Burma and remained theretill the final defeat of the Japanese in 1945". 4

It was, however, the fact that Netaji, aftermonths of negotiations with Japanese supportcould get the concessions with the assurancethat the Provisional Government or its armywould never interfere in the national affairs ofBurma. He then moved to Bangkok on August4 to meet the Thais Prime Minister andsucceeded to secure his consent to the passingof the INA troops to Burma through Thailand.Then he ran to Saigon for meeting the Japanesearmy officers to discuss some strategic militaryissues. Netaji then returned to Singapore onAugust 14 and spoke at a giant rally of Indiansabout the "Quit India" movement and renamedIndian National Army as Azad Hind Fauj orthe Army of Free India. The number of soldiersrose to 30,000 and arranged to recruit 20,000more with Japanese support, particularly fromamong the British Army who were taken as

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prisoners of war by the Japanese. Netaji alsoraised a women's regiment as a part of the AzadHind Fauj" who will wield the sword as thebrave Rani of Jhansi wielded in India's FirstWar of Independence in 1857."

Netaji declared the formation of theProvisional Government of Azad Hind and thenames of the Cabinet members who signed theproclamation. Bose was the Head of the State,Prime Minister and Minister for War, ForeignAffairs and Supreme Commander of the INA,others were Capt. Miss Lakshmi, Women'sOrganisation, S.A. Ayer, Publicity andPropaganda, Lt. Col. A.C. Chatterjee, Finance,Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmed, Lt. Col. NS Bhagat, Lt.Col. Shah Nawaz and so on. The proclamationof the provisional Government of Azad Hind1943 provided fillip to the freedom struggleand it claimed the allegiance of every Indianirrespective of caste or creed and all were tobe treated as equals with equal rights in allrespects. It ended with a stirring appeal.

"In the name of God, in the name ofbygone generations who have welded the Indianpeople into one nation and in the name of thedead heroes who have bequeathed to us atradition of heroism and self-sacrifice - we callupon the Indian people to rally round ourbanner and strike for India's Freedom. We callupon them to launch the final struggle againstthe British and all their allies in Indian and toprosecute that struggle with valour andperseverance and with full faith in FinalVictory - until the enemy is expelled fromIndian soil and the Indian people are once againa Free Nation."5

Then the ceremony of taking the oath ofAllegiance took place in an emotionally

charged atmosphere. Amidst cheers, Netajiread out the oath, "in the name of God, I takethis sacred Oath that to Liberate India and 38crores of my countrymen, I, Subhas ChandraBose, will continue the sacred war of freedomtill the last breath of my life ....." His voicefailed and he wiped his eyes with hishandkerchief. He tried to overcome hisemotions and with difficulty resumed in asteady voice "I shall always remain a servantof India and look after the welfare of 38 croresof Indian brothers and sisters. This shall befor me my highest duty. Even after winningfreedom I will always be prepared to shedthe last drop of my blood for the preservationof India's freedom". 6 Then other members ofthe Provisional Government took holy oath toliberate India and to remain absolutely faithfulto their leader Netaji. Actually, these martyrsremained committed to this oath till the end oftheir life and their immortal life will remainan eternal source of inspiration andenlightenment to all.

References :

1. Saito and Hayashida in A Beacon Across Asia,NRB pp.177-80.

2. Pandit, HN, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose,p.186.

3. Maw Ba, Break Through in Burma, p.312.

4. Ibid p.352.

5. Pandit, HN. Netaji Subhas Chandra BoseSterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1988, p.331.

6. Ibid pp.203-204.

Prof. Jagannath Mohanty lives at 2935, Gouri Nagar,Bhubaneswar - 7510032.

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The 'Fast Unto Death' of Mahatma Gandhi inprotest against 'Communal Award of August1932' was one of the most significant attemptsof his career. His attempt aroused great anxietyin the hearts of millions in India and theybreathed a sign of relief when his fast ended.The week following the end of his 'Fast untoDeath' was celebrated throughout India asUntouchability AbolitionWeek for 'Self-Purification' on Harijancause. His fight againstuntouchability was a fightagainst the 'impurity inhumanity'. Gandhiji's totalemphasis was for removalof all social disabilities ofthe Harijans.

In the meantime AllIndia Harijan Sevak Sangha was instituted withG.D. Birla as its President and A.V. Thakkaras Secretary. A branch of 'Harijan SevakSangha' was organised in Orissa also at Cuttackunder the Chairmanship of BalunkeswarAcharya. Smt. Rama Devi, Laxmi NarayanMisra and Satyanarayan Sengupta were chosenas its Secretaries. Acharya Harihar Das, H.K.Mahtab, Bichitrananda Das, Radhanath Rathand Gunanidhi Mohanty became its activemembers. When the Civil Disobedience

Movement began to fritter away, most of theleaders including Gopabandhu Choudhury,Rama Devi and many Congress leadersdevoted themselves enthusiastically to the causeof the Harijan Welfare Movement in Orissa.Mukunda Prasad Das and Bhagaban Mahapatraguided the movement in Balasore and Bhadrakrespectively. Pandit Nilakanth Das and

Lokanath Mishra guidedthe Harijan Movement inPuri. Harijan Sevak Sanghof Sambalpur wasfunctioning underNrusingha Guru.Jagannath Das, FanindraNath Samal and NarayanChandra Ghose weremembers of Harijan SevakSangh at Jajpur. The visit

of A.V. Thakkar spread the Harijan Movementin Orissa. For the promotion of educationamong the Harijans, Thakkar promised herespecial sanction for 'Utkal Harijan SevakSangh.' The revolutionary literature whichgrew so abundantly during this epoch generateda new sense of unity and political awarenessamong the people of Orissa.

On behalf of the 'Utkal Harijan SevakSangh', programmes like allowing theuntouchables free access to the temples, public

Harijan Upliftment Movement in OrissaDuring National Freedom Struggle

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury

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tanks and wells, opening of schools and hostelsfor their children, and teaching them the simplerules of health and hygiene were undertakenwith great zeal. The programme of GopabandhuChoudhury, Satyanarayan Sengupta, RadhanathRath, Raj Krushna Bose and A.B. Acharya toenable the untouchables' enter into the templesof Cuttack was opposed by Parikshit DashSarma, the Secretary of 'Utkal Sanatan DharmaRakshini Sabha.' Sarma asserted that theremoval of untouchability would destroy theSanatan religion. The move of PanditNilakantha Das, Lokanath Mishra andRaghunath Mishra for opening the doors of theJagannath Temple at Puri for the people of allcastes was opposed by members of SanatanaDharma Rakhini Sabha. But in different placesof Orissa, gradually more and more templeswere made open to the Harijans. Subsequently,the Caste Hindus employed the Harijans,accepted food and water from them; wells andbathing ghats were opened for them and theywere encouraged to participate in the publicdinners. This process of socialisation andinteraction made a great impact on both ruraland urban people of Orissa.

Few steps were taken by Rama Devi andHaimavati Devi for the promotion of educationamong Harijan children. On behalf of Anti-Untouchability Board, Rama Devi and herassociates like Mangala Sengupta, GodavariDas, Sobha Panda, Annapurna Choudhury,Tulasi Mohanty, Manik Devi and Sushila Deviworked with great enthusiasm to promotesocial well-being of the Harijans. To encouragelearning and social awakening among theHarijans many schools were opened all overOrissa. However, the Congress workers andsocial reformers rendered commendableservice in generating awareness among theHarijans before Gandhiji's eventful 5th visit

to Orissa on 5th May, 1934. Gandhijiaddressed huge gatherings at Jharsuguda andSambalpur, collected a good amount of moneyfor Harijan Fund and enroute to Puri headdressed a mammoth gathering at Angul,where he pointed out that untouchability hasno place in the Shastra and urged the peopleto dispel the idea of untouchability from theirminds. Larger and larger crowd followedGandhiji as he marched on Cuttack-Puri road.At some places he visited Harijan inhabitantsadvising them to discard intoxicants and followsimple rules of health and hygiene. Whileaddressing the public meetings, he urged theCaste Hindus to treat the Harijans as theirbrothers and to give up the curse ofuntouchability, and warned that 'Hinduism willbe effected altogether' if this evil is not resisted.He visited 'Gopabandhu Sevasadan' or 'KaduaAshram', stayed in its Harijan boarding andaddressed the Brahmins of Birapurushottampurwho were in favour of the removal ofUntouchability. At Satyabhamapur, the Harijanswere invited to dine with the team ofPadayatris of Gandhiji's march. At Balianta,Gandhi performed the ceremoney of openingthe Conga Behari Temple to all Hindus,including Harijans. Then in a mammothgathering on the river bed of Kathjori atCuttack, Gandhiji appealed to give up casteprejudices, intoxicants, abolish purdah, use thehomespun Khadi and throw open temples, wellsand schools to the Harijan.

Gandhiji's second phase of Padayatrastarted from Baree. In this yatra he visited fewplaces like Champapur, Bheda, Lekhanpur,Bahukud, Patpur, Nischintakoili, Jajpur,Manjuri, Bhandaripokhari, Todang andGaradpur. Gandhiji was impressed by thedevotion and enthusiasm of Rama Devi,Subhadra Devi and other eminent women like

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Sunamoni Devi, Radhamoni Devi, GodavariDevi, Sobha Devi, Annapurna Maharana,Mangala Sengupta and Manika Devi forpromoting Khadi and Harijan Welfare. AtBhadrak, Gandhiji associated himself withHarijan workers for flood relief and spinningof Charkha.

The visit of Gandhiji to Orissa forHarijan Welfare had a tremendous impact onnational life. Despite the formidable resistanceof the Sanatanists, the pilgrimage of Gandhijigave a momentum to the programmes like RuralReconstruction, Harijan Welfare andPromotion of Khadi throughout Orissa andheralded a new era of social emancipation.Most of the socio-religious activists whobecame constructive workers, devotedthemselves whole-heartedly for the socio-economic upliftment of the people of Orissa.Some of the centres like 'Karma Mandir' ofAgarpada and Balasore guided by H.K.Mahtab; 'Bhadrak Ashram' of Bhadrak managedby Jivaramji Kalyanji, Iswarlal Vyas and PuruBai; and 'Bari Ashram' of Bari and Cuttackguided by Gopabandhu Choudhury with theassistance of Rama Devi, Annapurna Devi,Surendra Nath Patnaik, Binod Kanungo andothers emerged conspicuous for their commonservice in organising Rural ReconstructionProgramme and promoting Harijan Welfare.

In order to promote the Harijan causeGandhiji covered many areas in his all-Indiatour including Orissa. Radical nationalists werenot happy as Gandhiji shifted his attention fromthe main issue like Anti-imperialist Struggleto Harijan Welfare. Orthodox Hindus withinthe Congress also did not like his utmostconcern for the Harijans. Many Congress men,of course, were critical of Gandhiji for his newemphasis on Harijan Welfare, but eventuallyhis mission proved to be remarkably successfulin creating a new identify of the Harijans vis-a-vis the National Congress. Gandhiji'sprogramme of Harijan Upliftment consolidatedthe socio-political solidarity which alsocreated a broader base of popular response tothe future nationalist cause. The nationaliststruggle against the alien British Governmentbecame more vigorous and purposefulhereafter. All over the country this movementgradually petered out, but in Orissa the sparksand flashes of the movement remained alivedue to Gandhiji's famous visit for HarijanWelfare work. It helped indirectly to mobilisethe lowest and most oppressed sections of therural Orissa for the cause of freedom struggle.

Dr. Janmejay Choudhury is a Lecturer in History inSri Jagannath College at Kaipadar in the Khurda district.

Hon'ble Chief Minister Shree NaveenPatnaik addressing the Orientation

Programme for newly elected Hon'bleMembers of Orissa Legislative Assembly

on 31st July, 2004

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Before occupying Orissa, the whole of Bengalin the north and the Oriya district of Ganjam inthe south was already under the Britishsuzerainty. So it became easier for theBritishers to attack Orissa from three sides.On 8th September 1803 theBritishers started from Madrasand arrived at Puri on 16thSeptember en-route ManikPatna. With the active aid andco-operation of traitor FateMahammed of Malud, ColonelHarcourt reached NarasinghaPatna, crossing the Chilkalake. To their greatastonishment the Britishersfaced no obstacles andhindrances while capturingPuri, the holy city of Orissa. After occupyingPuri, Colonel Harcourt marched to Cuttackwith his military detachment. Though theBritish soldiers had to face weak resistancefrom Marathas near the Atharnala and JagannathSadak, they marched ahead towards Cuttack,after defeating the Marathas, who fled away tothe jungles of Khurda.

A small detachment of British soldiersunder the able leadership of Captain Morgangot down from the ship at Jamapada nearBalasore sea shore and occupied the forts of

Marathas and the Balasore town. Anotherdetachment of British soldiers under ableleadership of Colonel Forgusson marchedtowards Balasore via Medinapur and joinedthe Britishers previously stationed at Balasore.

The united British forcemarched from Balasore toCuttack and with the help ofsoldiers of Colonel Harcourtoccupied the Barabati fort,after defeating the Marathas.In this manner the Englishmenoccupied Orissa in the year1803. Colonel Harcourt andMr. Melvil became the newAdministrators of Orissa.

In 1804 the British soldiersattacked the Barunei fort of

Khurda and razed it to the ground by cannonfiring. The Britishers dethroned Mukunda DevII, the king of Khurda and arrested himalongwith his chief political advisor JayiRajaguru. After a fake trial, the Britishershanged Jayi Rajaguru at Bagitota of Medinapurand released king Mukund Dev II, who wasordered to stay at Puri instead of Khurda andwas entrusted with the responsibility ofJagannath temple management.

Due to the arbitrary fixation of rent onthe "Niskar Jagir, lands of the Paiks, increasing

Buxi Jagabandhu : The Chief Architect ofKhurda Paik Rebellion of 1817

Braja Paikaray

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of land rents indiscriminately and accepting theland revenue in cash in stead of "Kaudi" andthe exclusive British right of procuring saltfrom the sea and Chilika lake and due to theoppression and harrasment both by the Englishrulers and Bengalee Amalas, the Paiks (warriorcommunity of Orissa) of Khurda revoltedagainst the Britishers in the fateful year of 1817under the able leadership of Buxi JagabandhuBidyadhar Mahapatra Bharamarbar Ray, aMilitary General of Gajapati Mukund Dev-IIof Khurda. The British Govt. had taken awayillegally the valuable estate of Rodanga fromthe possession of Buxi Jagabandhu through acalculative consipiracy.

Krushna Chandra Singh, a Bengaleeofficial serving under Charles Grome the thenCollector of Cuttack was staying at Cuttackafter purchasing the Rahanga Estate. Heconspired with his brother Gourhari Singh anda close relative Chandra Prasad Singh to grabthe landed property of Rodanga Estate.

Buxi Jagabandhu was depositing the rentof his Rodanga Estate at the treasury of CuttackCollectorate. But he later on started depositingthe rent of Rodanga Estate at Puri in stead ofCuttack as per the proposal of Krushna ChandraSingh as because Puri was nearer for Buxi.

While depositing the rent of his RodangaEstate it was willfully recorded in the Govt.Records as "Rahanga Ogher". In the year 1809it was notified by the Govt. for sale of theEstate, "Rahanga Ogher." Krushna ChandraSingh purchased the aforesaid property in theway of lease and sent his men to possess theRodanga Estate forcibly. But due to the strongresistance of Buxi, Krushna Chandra Singhfailed in his attempt to take possession ofRodanga Killa. In the year 1813 RodangaEstate was again leased out in favour of

Krushna Chandra Singh. In this connection Buxisent a petition to the then SettlementCommissioner Mr. Richardson seeking justicefrom him. But the British authority remainedcallous in this matter. In order to fight againstinjustice and wrong of the British rulers BuxiJagabandhu united the Paiks, Daleis,Dalabeheras and Paik Sardars of Khurda, whowere also deprived of their "Niskar Jagirs"(Rent-free landed properties given to them bythe king of Khurda).

In the year 1817, about 400 armed andloyal tribal subjects of Ghumusar King SrikarBhanja rose into rebellion against the Britishersand forcibly entered into Banapur area asbecause the king had been detained in theprison by the British rulers. It was a goldenopportunity for Buxi Jagabandhu who marchedtowards Banapur alongwith the Paik army. Allthe Daleis, Dalbeheras and Paik Sardars ofKhurda joined with Buxi to fight against theBritishers and to drive them out from Khurdasoil. The Paiks set fire Banapur police stationand other Government buildings and killed thepolice and British supporters and looted theGovt. treasury. The British salt agent Mr.Betcher, stationed at Banapur managed to fleefrom the spot leaving behind his commercialship at Chilika, which was also looted by thePaiks. The Englishmen who were at Khurdaleft for Cuttack out of fear for their lives, beinginformed about the marching of Paik armytowards Khurda from Banapur. The rebel Paikarmy proceeded towards Khurda from Banapur.The rebel Paik leaders mercilessly killed theBritish supporter and traitor Charan Patnaikof Rathipur village under Khurda. Therebellion spread like wild fire to all parts ofKhurda including Panchagada and Bolagada.Getting secret news from intelligence theEnglish Magistrate Mr. Impey sent Leiutnant

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Pridox to Khurda and Leiutnant Faris to Piplito crush the rebellion. On 1st April 1817 Mr.Impey arrived at Gangapada near Khurdaalongwith Leiutenant Travis and some Englishsoldiers and returned back to Cuttack out offear, seeing the elaborate military preparationof the rebellious Paiks and reported to hisimmediate authority as follows.

"This instant I returned after a mostfatiguing march of a day and night from Khurda.I can only write for the information of hisLordship in Council that my retreat was forcedand that the whole of Khurda territory is in acomplete state of insurrection."

Leiutnant Faris was killed at Gangapadaby the rebellious Paiks and Leiutnant Pridoxleft Khurda for Cuttack panic-stricken whenhe was attacked by the Paiks under the ableleadership of Buxi Jagabandhu.

Balabhadra Chhotray, the king ofGadapadmapur, joined the rebellion on 7thApril 1817 after Pipli was occupied by therevolutionaries. Captain Willington wasdeputed to protect Puri town from theoccupation of the revolutionaries and to knowthe activities of king Mukunda Dev II. On 9thApril 1817, Captain Le Fevre marchedalongwith 550 Sepoys and reoccupied Khurdawithout any resistance. On that particular daylarge number of Paiks entered into Puri underthe leadership of Buxi Jagabandhu and set fireto Government and Court buildings etc. TheEnglishmen left Puri out of fear and proceededto Cuttack. The Sebayats and Pandas ofJagannath temple proclaimed in public thatOrissa became free from British rule. In orderto reinstall king Mukunda Dev II as the rulerof Khurda, Buxi Jagabandhu alongwith largenumber of Paiks met the king at Srinahar, Puri.But in stead of agreeing with the proposal of

Buxi Jagabandhu, the disturbed king soughtmilitary help from the British rulers through asecret letter.

In order to crush the rebellion, militarylaw was promulgated in Khurda, LembaiPragana and Kothadesh area by the Britishrulers. Major General Gabriel Matrindel wasappointed as the Military Commissioner on16th April 1817. Captain Le Fevre went to Purifrom Khurda and arrested king Mukunda Dev-II and made him captive on 28th April 1817.Major Hamilton imprisoned Mukunda Dev IIand his son in the fort of Barabati.

The rebellion took gigantic form andspread to Gop, Tiran, Kujanga, Pattamundaiand Asureswar area inspite of strong measuresadopted by the Britishers. Under the ableleadership of Buxi Jagabandhu the Paiks lootedthe properties of British supporters and killedthem mercilessly. In Gop area under theleadership of Karunakar Sardar, the Paiksattacked and drove out the police. CaptainFaithfull was to crush the rebellion there.

In Kujanga area king Madhusudan Sendhahad secretly helped the Paiks. ThereMadhusudan Mangarj, Bamadev Pattajoshi andNarayan Paramguru had taken the leadershipof Paiks. On 13th September 1817 CaptainKenet marched to Kujanga alongwith twothousand British soldiers and crushed therebellion with the help of traitors likeBalunkeswar Das and Krupasindhu ChhamuKaran.

For trial of war captives and rebel Paikleaders a committee was formed with W. Ewerand Gabriel Matrindel as members. They wereordered to prepare a report depicting thereasons of Paik Rebellion and to suggestnecessary measures in order to prevent the outbreak of any future rebellion.

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on 30th November 1817 king MukundaDev II died inside the prison. The king ofKujanga was set free by the Britishers as hesurrendered himself before them and helpedthe British Govt. in nabbing the rebel leaders.Though many rebel leaders were granted royalpardon, Buxi Jagabandhu, Krushna ChandraBidyadhar, Gopal Chhotray, Pitabas Mangaraj,Padmanav Chhotray, Bishnu Paikaray andPindaki Bahubalendra were excluded from it.Rewards were declared in their names in orderto nab them either dead or alive. As many as123 Paik leaders were deported to remoteislands. Bamadev Pattajoshi and NarayanParamguru of Kujanga were awarded with 14years of rigorous imprisonment and ParsuramRoutray, the killer of traitor Charan Pattanaikwas awarded death sentence.

Buxi Jagabandhu, the chief architect ofPaik Rebellion left Khurda and entered intothe dense forest of Ghumusar. Later on he wentto his father-in-law's house at Shergad, andagain hide himself in the deep jungle of Boudand Daspalla. The British Govt. proclaimedrewards to nab Buxi Jagabandhu either deador living, Major Roughsedge made contactswith the king of Boudh for arresting BuxiJagabandhu and hearing the news of preparationfor his arrest Buxi returned to the Ghumsarjungle leaving Boudh territory immediately.

Brigedier General Thomas, afterreceiving secret information of BuxiJagabandhu's presence in a Kandha tribalvillage of Ghumusar, made a sudden combingoperation and gheraoed the area but failed inhis attempt to arrest Buxi. Due to the continuousfailure of British Govt. in arresting BuxiJagabandhu, the British Commissioner wascompeled to made an official proclaimationthat, no harm would be done from any quarter

including the Govt. in case Buxi desired tosurrender. But the proclaimation yielded noresult as Buxi Jagabandhu had little trust onthe words and activities of Britishers.

In order to compel the surrender of Buxi,the British rulers in the year 1819, imprisonedthe two wives of Buxi Jagabandhu, his minorson, his Gumasta and personal home servantin Barabati fort. But such tactics of the Britishrulers became futile. So in 1820, the BritishGovt. released the family members of Buxifrom the prison of Barabati fort. Lastly theBritish Commissioner T. Pakenham sent a letterto the king of Nayagada for convincing BuxiJagabandhu to surrender. The British Govt.made out some conditions for the surrender ofBuxi. In case of his surrender the Govt. wasobliged to grant a monthly pension of Rs.150/-for his maintenance and he would stay atCuttack with his family members. In case ofhis going outside of Cuttack. Buxi would havethe prior permission of the BritishCommissioner.

As there was nothing offending in theaforesaid conditions, the king of Nayagarhadvised Buxi Jagabandhu to surrender himselfbefore the British authority. On 25th May 1825,Buxi Jagabandhu surrendered himself beforethe British rulers and stayed at Cuttackalongwith his family members. On 24thJanuary, 1829 Buxi Jagabandhu left the mortalworld for the heavenly abode and after hisdemise the monthly pension granted for hismaintenance was cancelled as per the termsand conditions of the British Govt.

Braja Paikray is an Additional Govt. Pleader, and VicePresident of All Orissa Lawyers Association. He ispresently staying at 342/B, Jagamara (Barabari),Bhubaneswar-30.

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In 1933, the British Administration in Indiatried for a complete division of the Hindusociety by according special voting rights tothe untouchables. Gandhiji started hunger strikein Yaraveda jail opposing thisdangerous move of the BritishAdministration and their anti-Indian attitude. He came outsuccessful in this attempt. Thenstarted the movement againstuntouchability all over India.This was the first of its kind inIndia as prior to that there wasno such movement againstuntouchability.

Orissa was fortunateenough to become the centre-stage of this movement. In1934 Gandhiji started his longjourney on foot from Puri, theabode of Lord Jagannath. During his journeyon foot Gandhiji went to Patna for a few daysafter covering some places in Cuttack District.Again he resumed his journey from Bairi afterhis return from Patna.

From Bairi to Champapur, Gandhijistarted his journey on foot, and reached atDhumat via-Indupur at about 9 O'clock in themorning. He covered Champapur hat to reach,

Veda, from Veda to Laksmanpur, Laksmanpurto Gopinathpur, Bahukuda - Siswa - Patapur -Nischinta Koili-Kalatia-Salar-Bhagawatipur-Kendrapada-Barimula-Indupur. Amidst many

people Jadumani Mangaraj,Gopabandhu Chaudhury,Narayan Birbar Samanta,Rajkrishna Bose, Rama Devi,Binod Kanungo, AnnapurnaMaharana and othersaccompanied him. The peopleof Dhumat-Indupur includingthe untouchables covered adistance of three miles towelcome Gandhiji. Beingoverwhelmed by hearing theBhajans sung by theuntouchables Gandhiji told thatall his fatigue went awaylistening to such melodious

songs, the recital of Harinam-Kirtan by hisHarijan bretherns. That was 31st of May, 1934.A wonderful commotion was in the air of theentire village. The heartfelt slogan "Victory toMahatma Gandhi" filled the air. Waves of theblowing of conchshells mingling with'Hulahuli' were coming from the adjacentvillages. The calm and dazzling light of themorning greeted the new guests. In the midstof graceful singing of birds came a vibrant tone

Gandhiji's Visit to Indupur - Dhumat

Sukadev SahuTranslated by Marina Priyadarshinee Mohapatra

12


of silent mutiny. What a nice scenery ofGandhiji's wayfare for the social upliftment ofthe downtrodden that had been becoming grandand graceful. All sections of people from thenearby villages assembled in many places tohave a glimpse of this greatman. Theunfathomable urge and excitement in them tosee this heroic personality was beggar'sdescription.

The movement of the Congressvolunteers to set free the villages from theshakles of the Sanatanis (Puritans) was in fullforce. The musings of the upheaval was heardin the home-stead, in the field, in the sky andabove all in the air, everywhere. At this verymoment the arrival of Gandhiji in Dhumatconsolidated this Apalak Movement againstinjustice and suppression and lighted the lampof freedom.

The Bhaktavilas matt was earmarked forGandhiji's rest. After returning from BarimulaGandhiji took his bath sitting on a stone whichhas been preserved till to-day as a mark ofrespect to the Greatman.

Some Sanatanis (Puritans) there arrivedby the time when Gandhiji was engaginghimself with the Charkha after finishing hislunch.

Narayan Ch. Dash, Natabar Jasdev,Jagmohan Routray, Jadumani Mangaraj, VinodKanungo and other Congress volunteers andSamskar-loving people were present withGandhiji. The Sanatanis raised many questionsregarding untouchability. Gandhiji, on the otherhand, replied the querries accordingly. Whenthe Sanatanis were defeated in the logicalarguments, they were forced to reconcile andtold that they did agree with Gandhiji that thereis no sin in touching the untouchables. But theCongress volunteers did not agree to the

process of Suddhi and asked as to who woulddo the rituals ? Gandhiji told firmly that theSuddhi does not mean somebody to tonsure hishead or shave his face or the washermancompleting the washing job. When somebodycleans his internal being, it is the right kind ofSuddhi. So, if somebody does not shave hishead it means nothing. Without asking any otherquestion the Sanatanis returned.

Then Gandhiji asked both the Sanatanisand the Congress volunteers to mendthemselves, but in vain. The Sanatanis refusedto have a compromise.

There was a vast congregation of peoplein the Melan ground with a Bhaktavilas mattto welcome Gandhiji. The meeting was heldwith more than five thousand people assembledthere. At the outset, a welcome paper was readout and presented to him on behalf of the peopleof Dhumat-Indupur. Birakishore Behera hadwritten and read out the same in the meeting.The congratulatory letter was almost asfollows :

Universally Respected Mahatmaji !

When four crores of untouchables whoare the backbone of this country weresegregated from the Hindu social mainstreamand the Hindu society was about todisintegrate, you appeared as a saviour, aDadhichi of this era who started the movementagainst untouchability and thereby gave a newlease of life to Hinduism. Therefore, you arenot the saviour of Hinduism alone, rather theentire humanity is grateful to you. We, therefore,salute you. Every year the river Birupa inundateour cornfields and homestead land and withinnext five years it may devour our houses land.Amidst this horrifying natural calamity we arealso fighting against untouchability while thevillagers of our sorroundings outcaste us in our

13


marriage ceremonies and in other social festiveoccasions. Still, we accost you that hereafterwe will fight against untouchability and for thedevelopment of Harijans with renewed vigourand patience. May God let you live long. Maythis pious journey of yours become successful.Your drive against untouchability anddevelopment of Harijans may come outsuccessful ! We pray God for your wishes tocome true !

In the meeting Gandhiji voiced hisopinion about the social enigma anderadication of untouchability. Shri RajkrishnaBose translated Gandhiji's speech into Oriya.In order to collect funds all the presentationsmade to Gandhiji were auctioned. People tookpart in the auction to possess them. PravabatiDevi, wife of Natabar Jagdev of Indupurpresented Gandhiji with her golden bangles.In total Rs.93 7½ ana (Rupees nintythree andseven ana & a half) were collected. Gandhijialso gladly accepted a copy of OdiaaBarnabodha.

After the meeting Gandhiji went toAngeishpur and then to Bari - Sahaspur -Purusottampur - Budhaghat and after Jajpur hecrossed Cuttack District.

There was a kind of victory celebrationin the village after Gandhiji's visit and exit.Innumerable new volunteers came forward toconsolidate the village committee. They werebereft of sleep in the night. The movementagainst untouchability gathered momentum. ForKhadi and Charkha there were ceremoniesobserved in many places.

A theatre group was organised in thevillage with the help of some zealous youth.

The volunteers come together and assembledin a place as soon as they hear the sound ofBegul and drum. It was needless to say thatGandhiji's Ram Rajya was not a distant dreamas felt from the craze and new upheavel amongthe people.

Bapu's dream had taken a concrete shapeafter innumerable heroes made supremesacrifices. The country is independent to-day.But Gandhiji is no more with us. The undyingwords of Mahatma Gandhi is still reverberatingin the hearts of the villagers for what he toldhere some fortyfour years ago. This Melanground surrounded with Ashoka & Bakulgroves became a holy place after getting thepious touch of the Greatman.

Villagers had built a pillar ofreminiscence to remind that auspiciousoccasion in this graceful surroundings. Areplica of Gandhiji has been made at the topof a pillar. Below the pillar the Snana Pathar(Bathing stone) has been placed. Shri BirajaRoy, a noted Gandhian and social workerdonated this stone statue of Gandhiji.

The statue of Gandhiji amidst the floraldecorations of Kadamba and Bakula offers newlease of life almost like the wafts of themorning breeze.

This is the English rendering of "Agni JugarKahani" by Sukadev Sahu, p.31 to 35.

Marina Priyadarshinee Mohapatra lives at PlotNo.1697/1, Godavari Gardens, Patia, Bhubaneswar-31.

14


The life history of Birsa Munda will go downin the history of the tribals as a story ofemancipation of his own people, who weresubjected to prolonged suppression by theBritishers. He was avisionary. He realised that theBritishers have come to thisland to torture the masses andcarry wealth abroad. He isreckoned as a freedomfighter who led the tribalsessentially to prevent landgrabbing by the non-tribalsending them up as bondedlabourers in their own land.He had organised his firstprotest march for remissionof forest dues. It was at thistime the great famine of 1895broke out. Birsa Mundapresently is beingworshipped as 'Bhagaban' in the newly createdState of Jharkhand.

Birsa was born in the year 1874. Thoughlived a very short span of 25 years, he arousedthe tribal mind-set and mobilised them in a littletown of Chhotnagpur and was a terror for theBritish Rulers. True to his greatness andachievements to free the tribals, he was called'Dharti Abba'. A visitor is overwhelmed to see

his statue erected in the steel city of Rourkelaas a befitting tribute to this great tribal leaderwho had fulfilled his mission by compellingthe Britishers for the promulgation of the

Chhotnagpur Tenancy Act,1908. This legislation being anoffshoot of his struggleprohibited alienation of triballand and also provision forrestoration of the alienatedland. He invoked the tribals totake pride of their ancestor'spatriotism and to maintain theircultural ethos.

The tribals were suppressedfor long by the Dikus (non-tribals) and the intermediarieslike Thikadars and moneylenders including Zamindarstried to exploit the tribalsconstantly. The tribals who

were for centuries the owners of the land andengaged in cultivation could not stand the trialsbefore the British Court and the primitivepractice of verbal agreement on land ownershipcould not be recognised by law. Finally thetribals ended themselves up as bondedlabourers in their own land of origin.

The level of discontentment which grewout of sustained discontentment struck at the

Birsa Munda - The Great Hero of the Tribals

Satyanarayan Mohapatra

15


very root of their age-old customs and practicesand against this background Birsa organisedhis struggle to free the tribal folk from the brinkof survival and he commenced his protest marchon 1st October 1894 for remission of forestdues. He gave his clarion call to the tribals inhis own language "Maharani raj tundu janaoro abua raj ete Jana". In otherwords hewanted the tribals to end the rule of the queenand re-establish their own kingdom.

Birsa accordingly spearheaded the tribalmovement in the region of Chhotanagpur andbrought the tribal community under a singleumbrella. He instigated the masses by puttingexamples of their ancestors and their burningpatriotism which now spread like wild fire.Birsa saw to it that a gallant struggle was to befought reawakening patriotism among hismasses, which was almost at the waning state.His organisational skill, motivating the massesto regain freedom from the power grabbers likethe Thikadars, Zamindars and money-lendersand restoration of full ownership rights astillers of the soil are exemplary in the historyof the tribals.

After our Constitution coming into forcea lot of safeguards have been bestowed uponthe tribals to save them from exploitation fromthe affluent class. Many a legislations havebeen passed both by the Parliament and the StateLegislatures to protect them from the landgrabbing by the non-tribals. Their inherentindebtedness and alcoholism which continued

to be endemic, and of late considerable triballand has been acquired for various developmentprojects for industrial, power and irrigationpurposes leading to large scale displacementand alienation of their tenancy rights. In returnthe little that is given to the tribals ascompensation package is grossly inadequate.This has given rise to discontentment.

Birsa Munda's dream can be realisedonly if the tribals are restored with their landwithin a limited time frame by suitableenactment. It is high time that the oppressionof the private money lenders should be stopped.Govt. plans such as tribal sub-plan andIntegrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP)and Modified Area Development Approach(MADA) should be implemented in rightearnest under single window administration.

In the words of Pandit Jawaharlal NehruTribal people should develop along the linesof their own genius and we should avoidimposing anything on them forcibly. We shouldtry to encourage in every way their traditionalarts and culture." Then only Birsa Munda'srevolt to save the tribals from the age-longrepression by awakening them from the deepslumber both as a prophet and saviour can befully realised. Birsa died Jail in 1900 at thebudding age of twentyfive.

Satyanarayan Mohapatra, a retired Under Secretary toGovernment of Orissa, lives at L-3/78, Acharya Vihar,Bhubaneswar - 751013.

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The Participation of Oriya women in India'sfreedom struggle is a sensational event. Theirfiery patriotism, supreme valour and giftedorganisational abilities are written in lettersof gold in the annals of the Indian FreedomMovement.

Labanya Devi, the wife of AdvocateLoknath Bahadur of Puri founded a women'sassociation at Puri called Mahila BandhuSamiti. It had the primary membership of a fewprominent ladies from the elite classes.Involved exclusively in the literary activitiesof women, this association gave recognitionto women's talent and creativity. In March1921, Mahatma Gandhi addressed variouspublic meetings in Orissa. He also addresseda small gathering of women at Vinod Vihari,Cuttack. Towards the end of 1921 Sarada Devi,with her husband visited Kanika, where thetenants were agitating against their pro-BritishRaja as well as the British authorities. RamaDevi (wife of Gopabandhu Chowdhury) andHiramani Devi attended the Gaya Session ofthe Indian National Congress held in 1922. TheCalcutta Session of the Indian NationalCongress held in December, 1928 was attendedby Rama Devi, Sarala Devi, SarojiniChoudhury (daughter of Fakir MohanSenapati), Janhavi Devi and Kokila Devi.

The famous Salt Satyagraha of 1930involved hundreds of women activists likeSarala Devi, Kishorimani Devi and Malati

Devi who came out from the seclusion of theirhomes to join Congress demonstrations for themanufacture of salt. A few weeks after theDandi March began, Gandhiji said," Theimpatience of some sisters to join the good fightis to me a healthy sign. In this nonviolentmovement, their contribution should be muchgreater than of any man. Woman isimmeasurably superior to man. The awakeningof women redoubled the energy and activitiesof the Satyagrahis. As soon as the Satyagrahastarted at Inchudi, Rama Devi, accompaniedby Malati Devi, Annapurna Devi and KiranBala Sen reached the Satyagraha Camp atBalasore. Hundreds of women came under thespell of their amazing enthusiasm andleadership. On 20 April, 1930 they led a longprocession of women to the Satyagraha centreand violated the Salt Law. It infused new lifeand lustre to the mass upsurge. Rama Devi,Annapurna Devi, Malati Devi and other womenvolunteers visited Srijang and encouraged thewomen folk of that area for violating Salt Law.Many Oriya ladies also took active part inpreparing salt at different centres like Tundra,Boita, Inchudi, Kuanpur, Keligaon, Rasulpurand Kasha. Huge quantity of salt manufacturedat different centres were brought to Balasorefor sale.

The involvement of Rani BhagyabatiPatamahadei of Kujang in the Salt Satyagrahadrew special attention. Thwarting the vigilanceof a magistrate and the police party, Rani

Participation of Oriya Women in the IndianFreedom Movement

Balabhadra Ghadai

17


Patamahadei, Rama Devi and many othervolunteers crossed to Kaliapata in a boat inthe cover of the night. Hundreds of womenfollowing the ideal of their patriotic Rani cameforward to prepare contraband salt.

In the district of Ganjam, under theleadership of Sarala Devi, Malati Devi andothers the salt campaign took the shape of amass upsurge. Sarala Devi and Malati Devimade extensive tours and in fused the ideals ofSatyagraha into the minds of the women-folkof entire Ganjam area. About one-fourth of theparticipants were women who willingly joinedthe struggle.

Through women's participation in SaltSatyagraha, Gandhiji continued to exhortwomen to channel their political energies intoconstructive work. Sarala Devi, Rama Deviand Malati Choudhury were the first amonghundreds of women arrested alongwith themale leaders. During their time Kuntala KumariSabat, a patriotic poetess infused a spirit ofrevolution into hearts of the people through herwritings like Ahwana (calling) and Sphulinga(particles of fire).

Gandhiji's Padayatra in May, 1934 hada profound impact on the women of Orissa, asthey were called upon to fight the evils ofliquor, boycott of foreign clothes and to discarduntouchability. Inspired by Gandhiji'steachings, Rama Devi and her associatesparticipated in the development of Khadi andVillage Industries. They organised besetting offoreign clothes and picketing before liquorshops. Meanwhile Malati Devi carried on theCongress Socialist Movement with herhusband. Sarala Devi became a member of thefirst Legislative Assembly of Orissa from 1937to 1944. In 1946 Malati Devi was elected tothe Constituent Assembly of India.

The political activities of the Oriyawomen reached its zenith during the period of

Quit India Movement. On the 8th August, 1942the All India Movement attempted to cast a finalblow against British Imperialists. ManyCongress workers including Malati Chowdhuryrepresented Orissa in this movement. Thefollowing day all the Congress leaders fromvarious parts of India who had assembled atBombay were arrested. Malati Choudhuryalongwith Surendra Nath Dwivedy escaped thepolice dragnet and went into hiding in order tokeep up the movement active and energetic.

On the same day in Cuttack and someother places of Orissa, 24 leaders includingRama Devi were arrested. The Governmentthrough Notification Nos.137 and 147, dated9th August, 1942 declared all Congressinstitutions in Orissa as illegal. With muchdifficulties Malati Chowdhury arrived atCuttack on 12th August, 1942 and laid thefoundation of the August Revolution in Orissa.On account of the revolutionary activities andtireless efforts of women the AugustRevolution gathered momentum. Eminentwomen like Malati Choudhury, Rama Devi,Sarala Devi, Annapurna Maharana, MangalaDevi, Suryamani Devi, Gunamanjari Devi,Champa Devi, Pravabati Devi, Sita Devi,Laxmibai and many other contributedimmensely in making the Quit India Movementa grand success.

After the attainment of Independence on15th August, 1947 women like Rama Devi,Malati Devi, Sunamani Devi and AnnapurnaMaharana joined the Sarvodaya Movementstarted by Vinoba Bhave. The contributions ofRama Devi as a social worker and Malati Devias a saviour of the tribal people is anunforgotten chapter in history.

Balabhadra Ghadai is the Principal of M.K. College,Khiching in the Mayurbhanj district.

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After the failure of the Cripps Mission apopular sentiment for a determined assault uponBritish imperialism ran extremely high. Thehopes of understanding and co-operationbetween the British and Congress disappeared.Gandhi now began to inaugurate his systematiccampaign for "orderly British withdrawal"from India. The campaign started late in April,1942. In his views, "whatever theconsequences .... to India her real safety andBritain's too lie in an orderly and timelywithdrawal from India". The phrase 'Quit India'in a spirit of 'Do or Die' came into vogue. TheSummer of 1942 found Gandhi in a strange andunique militant mood in the reflection of whichhe wrote in the Harijan on 10th May, 1942 -"The presence of the British in India is aninvitation to Japan to invade India. Theirwithdrawal removes that bait". A fortnight laterhe again wrote, "Leave India in God's handsor in modern parlance to anarchy. Then allparties will fight one another like dogs or will,when real responsibility faces them, come to areasonable agreement." He repeatedly urgedthe British "This orderly disciplined anarchyshould go and if as a result there is completelawlessness I would risk it". 1

The famous 'Quit India' resolution waspassed by Bombay Session of the All IndiaCongress Committee on the 8th of August 1942

followed by a call for 'mass struggle on non-violent lines on the widest possible scale.'From 9th August onwards what Linlithgonprivately described on 31st August as "by farthe most serious rebellion since that of 1857and the extent of which we have so farconcealed from the world of military security."2

The rout of British hegemony in SouthEast Asia by the victory of an Asian powertotally shattered the white prestige. It againrevealed the gross racialism of the rulers ofIndia. The Europeans in Malaya, Singapore andBurma ordered all forms of transport of theirescape flight. At the same time they left theIndian immigrants there to make their own wayby trekking in atrocious conditions through thedense forests and dangerous mountain range.Eastern U.P. Northern and Western Biharregions were traditionally the main catchmentareas for Indian migrant labour to South EastAsia and other parts of the world.Coincidentally the 1942 rebellion attainedmaximum popular intensity in these regionswith its influence spreading over to theneighbouring states and adjoining areas.

The arrest of the Congress leaderstriggered off a massive popular upsurgethroughout India. In all the metropolitan cities,provincial capitals and district towns it sprungup. Unlike the civil disobedience movement,

August Kranti and Jatiya Sarkars in OrissaDr. Soma Chand

19


this rebellion was mostly confined to students,peasants and the lower-middle classpopulation. August Kranti became a formidablephase of National movement for the massupsurge of peasantry and common people. Forthe space a few weeks or months or years, theBritish rule ceased to exist. Intensity wasmanifested in the establishment of Parallelgovernments or Jatiya Sarkars and the Britishgovernment seemed to be in real danger ofbeing overthrown.

This paper aims at these Jatiya Sarkarswith a specific study of Orissa vis-a-vis India.At Bhagalpur in Bihar and Balia in UttarPradesh, the peasant discontentment manifestedin the parallel governments. The wrongeconomic policy and relief scares served thebasis of Jatiya Sarkar in Midnapore. In caseof Satara, it was the Maratha lineage andSatara heritage that were the key factors. Butin case of Orissa there were reflections bothin Garhjat and Mughalbandi areas. Even in theabsence of proper leadership and ableguidance, the mass national upsurge ran high.In case of Garhjats the oppression by the rulersand elite Prajamandal leaders set the highnational ideals to be echoed in popular hearts.In the Coastal British belt commoners embarkedupon the process of political experimentationwith future dreams. Even though they failed,these Sarkars of 42 days bear the testimony ofOriya Nationalism which still standunrecognised. In the remote state corners alsothe inhabitants of the province do not pay anyheed to this glorious trend. The objective ofthis paper is to highlight this feature of OrissanFreedom struggle in the Indian context. It dealswith the study of Bhagalpur in Bihar Balia inU.P., Satara in Maharastra, Midnapore inBengal with specific reference to Basudevpurin Balasore , Talcher and Dhenkanal in Orissa.These storm centres, as a matter of fact,

reflected the real mass rebellion at the grassroot level.

Bhagalpur

The idea of August Kranti flew fast overthe Bhojpuri speaking tract of Bihar. Both inintensity and extent Bhagalpur since 1930's hadserved as an important base of Kisan Sabha.The people declared the establishment of aNational Government or Jatiya Sarkar in NorthBhagalpur.

Under the guidance of indomitablerevolutionary Siaram Singh (the pivot ofBhagalpur people's movement) a parallelgovernment sprang up at Sultanpur and thisgovernment appointed its own Daroga. In theconstituent element of Bhagalpur such asMadhipur, all government offices came underpeople's possession who virtually ran them forfew days. A police Sub-inspector firedindiscriminately on a gathering of 12,000through the barred windows of a speciallyconstructed quarter of iron frame with asbestosroof. Immediately as a counter attack, theAssistant Sub-inspector and three others wereoverpowered and burnt alive. At Karabara,five British and one Anglo-Indian soldiers whohad fired on a meeting were disarmed andfinally killed.3 The leader of the insurgencyJaglal Choudhury was later sentenced to tenyears rigorous imprisonment on the charge thathe had urged the crowd to tie up a Sub-inspectorin a sack and throw him into the river.According to official version of course he hadmade plans to resist troops with spears, lightedtorches and boiling oils. In Manjhi, Daravli,Parsa, Siswan, Baikunthapur, Ekama,Dighwara, Raghunathpur and Garkha theBritish Machinery was almost paralysed. Anefficient administrative system was set up bythe people in the areas. Swatantra Mandal wasthe highest body which worked through village

20


Panchayats. Above it were thana Panchayats.There were four main departments underSwatantra Mandal - Department ofDislocators, Publicity Department, VillageDefence Department and VolunteersDepartment or Sevak Dal.

The head of each of the Department wasknown as Adliyaksha whose orders werecarried out by the Sevak Dals under him.

The two revolutionary groups SiaramDal and Parasuram Dal were active in Bihar.With a band of 150 young followers SiaramSingh, founder of Siaram Dal carried onguerilla activities in Bhagalpur and adjoiningdistricts to paralyse the government. A Regionof terror by police and military raj were letloose. Loot, arson and assaults wereunrestrained for a number of days. Even womenwere stripped of their ornaments. From aCongress source the estimated number of tribalkilling in Bhagalpur was 447.4

Ballia :

The movement took a very serious turnin U.P. especially in the eastern District ofBallia. To quote the official report "in theseareas the trouble soon spread from the bigtowns to the outlying areas, thousands of riotersgave them up to an orgy of destruction ofgovernment property, while districts wereisolated for days on end, a large part of theEast India and practically the whole of B &N.W. Railway systems were put out ofaction."5

The government report also refers to atypical type of mass attacks on governmentbuildings at a Tahasil in Ballia district whichwas one of the citadels of national government.The Mob led by a local Congress Man (ChituPande) according to government version hadinstalled himself as Swaraj Tahasildar broke

down the wall, destroyed official records,broke the treasury and looted Rs.15,000/-. Inthe connecting part of Bairia, a huge processionof over 20,000/- marched to the Kotwali anddemanded its surrender. Eight police stationswere set ablaze by the rowdy mob who werein total control of the district by 19th August.6

Each and every organisation in Balliawas destroyed and the roiters took possessionof treasury, armoury and everything else. Oneperson took charge of the office as oneadministrator and another assumed the officeof another officer and they attempted to carryon the administration in their own way.7

The arrested leaders were made free andNational Government was established underChitu Pandey. The people were asked to returnthe looted public property. To quote Nehru "InBallia the British rule ceased to exist. Thewhole structure of the British governmentcollapsed from top to bottom though not forlong". 8 The military arrived on the scenewithin three days and a wave of repressionflooded in.

Midnapore

The best account of a rebel 'NationalGovernment' is found from Tamluk sub-division of Midnapore district in Bengal. Incomparison with Ballia and Bhagalpur flare-up it was less violent but better organised andmore sustained. The inhabitants of the regionstarted slogans of resistance to British policyand stopped grain exports from the region.Well-planned attacks were made on the policestations of Tamluk, Mahishadal, Sutahat andNaudigrah. On 16th October, 1942 a terriblecyclone destroyed half of the crops, 70,000herds.

In Satara, the people threw up the foreignyoke and set up a parallel government known

21


as 'Satara Prati Sarkar'. Nana Patil was at thehead of this government which ran its coursefor a number of months Patels of about sovillages tendered their resignations.10 As perthe plan of Anna Master of army created wasknown as 'Tufan Sen' with the task ofmaintaining peace and discipline. Nathlal wasthe founding father of the village Raj and co-ordinated the works of Prati Sarkar.

The Satara movement was closelyrelated to the peasant based Non-BrahminBahiajan Samaj tradition which was strong inthis region. The parallel government developedbit late from mid 1943 and maintained itsexistence as late as 1945-46. It managed to runpeople's courts (Nyayadan Mandals). Apartfrom carrying guerilla war it took constructiveworks on Gandhian lints. Mortgaged land wasreturned to poor peasants and exploitation ofwomen by village big wigs were severelytackled. It reminds us the peasant mobilisationin French Revolution of 1789 which haddirected itself against the so called aristrocraticplot and brigands.

Basudevpur

August Kranti in the province of Orissawas sporadic by nature and could not be asustained one for the arrest of almost all top-ranking leaders. The congress organisedplunder of salt depots, disruption ofcommunication. Swaraj Panchayats were heldto stock food. The most spectacular was theformation of a parallel government on 17thDecember, 1942 in Eran-Basudevpur. It washanded as Swadhina Banchhanidhi chakla (inthe name of native Oriya Nationalist poetBanchhanidhi Mohanty) comprising 6Panchayats and 24 villages within a radius of19 sq. miles.11

For the smooth functioning of thegovernment a five member apex committee was

formed with Gouranga Chandra Mohanty as itsPrime Minister and Ramala Prasad Kar as itsDirector-cum-Commander-in-chief. AnirudhaMohanty, Pravakar Tripathy and Shyam SundarPanigrahi were the three members. The houseof Arjuna Biswal was made the office withCongress flag hoisted everyday and loweredafter sunset. They too had their own jails foroffenders. Bhagi Singh and his son Ram Singhof Eram were detained in their jail for defianceof Congress activities. The government hadthree departments : Intelligence Department,Food Department, Army Department with twowings, i.e.

A. Death squad B. Peace Squad

A letter from B.O. to C.O. dt. 29th Sept.1942 reported the formation of SwarajPanchayats in 12 villages and 250 soldiers ofMarana Sena (Death-squad) had beenenrolled." Attempts were made to destroy ruralpolice stations.

As a counter balance 29 persons werekilled in mass attack on Eram - Basudevpurpolice station on 28th September. Cases ofextortion of Paddy under threat from the richwere there. The official inquiry report on Eram-Basudevpur firing stated that rumours hadspread "Swaraj would be attained within aweek... that under a Swaraj government notaxes would be paid and the paddy of the richwill be available to the poor."

Talcher :

Kranti had its flame in the princely stateof Talcher. It had already witnessed struggleagainst forced labour (Bethi) forest laws andautocratic rule in September 1938. Theimmediate cause of the popular upsurge was arumour that Pabitra Mohan Pradhan, Presidentof Talcher state Prajamandal had beenmurdered.13 For all practical purposes the

22


ruler's administration had collapsed from 31stAugust 1942.14

The Jatiya Sarkar was called as 'Chasi-Maulia' or 'Mazdoor Raj'. It was to be set upon the basis of adult franchise in each village,block, circle, pargana and sub-division. TheCentral Government was accordinglyconstituted on the same line. Some governmentservants voluntarily resigned, burnt theirEuropean Dress and uniforms, set fire to theofficial records and swore allegiance to theNew Raj. People had their Raj almost in thewhole of Talcher except Talcher town wherethe ruler and his entourage were under Britishprotection.

A National Militia was formed by therebels. They were well equipped with crudeimplements and made an organised march inTalcher principality. They requested the rulerto relinquish British authority and to hand overthe government of Kisan Mazdoor Raj - theruler might act as the constitutional head.1 5

The counter move started with themachine - gunning the mob from the air. Thefiring of the British troops below resulted inmay casualties. Thus Talcher was one of thefive places in India where in 1942 the masseswere machine-gunned from air because of theintensity of the movement.1 6

Gurpal :

Jatiya Sarkar blooned with itsmultifarious petals in the Gurpal area ofBalasore district in September 1942.17 Theresidents of the locality being influenced byTamralipta Jatiya Sarkar in the East andSwadhina Banchhanidhi Chakla in the westresolved to have their own NationalGovernment. A strong determined public in theopen meetings vowed to paralyse theGovernment machinery. Payment of taxes were

stopped. Government servants were sociallyboycotted. Rural police force was compelledto resign. Post offices, police station and thegovernment offices were demolished. In aparallel judicial system the criminal caseswere settled by local Panchayat courts ratherthan by government institutions.1 8

Madhi (Kamakshya Nagar)

The Quit India movement in the state ofDhenkanal bore a violent look on 26th August,1942. Baishnab Charan Patnaik led a group of19 persons at Madhi and created a seriousproblems of law and order for the authorities.19

Burning of Madhi Police Station and its capturewere the most sensational events. The guerillasquad of 19 members including Musa Mallick,Ananda Charan Swain, Baidhar Sahu andothers looted the armoury, captured allarmaments, burnt the police station and quartersof all police personnel, Tahasil and forestoffices. Then they proceeded to Malapur andlooted the grannery of the Raja. After the successof the operation the rebels established anindependent government at Madhi.

The headquarter of the state being 22miles away from Madhi was having no easycommunication in rainy season. The riverBrahmani in between was in spate. So nothingcould be done immediately. Stateadministration became thoroughlydemoralised. The political Agent also askedthe neighbouring state of Keonjhar Pallahara,Talcher, Hindol and Tigiria to co-operate withDhenkanal in capturing the so calledmiscreants.2 0

For a short spell confusion engulfed thestate. It was Baishnab Charan Patnaik whomooted the idea and mobilised the people intoaction. Gandhian call of 'Do or Die' and thetorrent of repression unleashed by thegovernment engendered in him the spirit. State

23


administration vanished for few days andparallel government worked at his initiative.

The mass participation during this periodof August Kranti surpassed all the previousrecords. Rightly Nehru remarks in Discoveryof India -

"The sudden unorganised demonstrationsand outbreaks on the part of the peopleculminating in violent conflicts and destructionof powerful armed forces were a measure ofthe intensity of their feelings."

These intense attitudes manifested in theestablishment of Jatiya Sarkars in differentparts of the country. While volumes have beenbrought to lime light about these Jatiya Sarkarsor parallel governments of outside states inOrissa still more facts are to be explored fortheir gallant contributions to August Kranti.Orissa was no less.It stands in equal rank withthat of Satara, Ballia, Tauluk or Bhagalpur.Both in Garhjat and Mughalbandi areas ofOrissa Jatiya Sarkars made their benignpresence to be felt. These unrecognised herosand martyrs and their unsung activities stillremind the modern generations to fix them attheir proper places in the annals of AugustKranti.

References :

1. Linlithgo to Amery, reporting Gandhi's pressinterview of 16th May, 1942 - Mansergh N.(Ed) - Transfer of power - Vol.I- London - 1970- pp.394-95

2. Ibid. Vol.II, p.853.

3. Sahai Govind - 42 Rebellion - An authenticreview of the great upheaval of 1942 Delhi,1947, p.167.

4. Ibid, p.135.

5. Majumdar R.C. & Majumdar A.K. (Ed)-'Struggle for Freedom' - Vol.X (Bombay, 1978),p.664.

6. U.P. Govt. Press Note dt. 17th August, 1942.

7. Majumdar R.C. & Majumdar A.K. (Ed) - op.cit.,p.661.

8. Deb J.M. - Bloods and Tears, Bombay, 1945,p.65.

9. Satish Samanta et.al. - August Revolution & TwoYears' National government in Midnapur,Calcutta, 1946, pp.32-39.

10. Majumdar R.C. & Majumdar A.K. (Ed.) - Op.cit, p.660.

11. Rath B.C. - Quit India Movement in Orissa,Cuttack, 1994, p.79.

12. Mahtab, H.K. & Dash G.S. (Ed) - History ofFreedom Movement in Orissa Vol.IV, (Cuttack,1957). Appendix-E, p.73.

13. AISPC (All India State People's Conference)Papers - File No.164.

14. Pradhan P.M. - Mukti Pathe Sainika (Oriya),Cuttack, 1979 - p.134.

15. Majumdar R.C. & Majumdar A.K. (Ed) op.cit.,p.671.

16. Proceedings of the Council of State Debates,Vol.II, 1942 (25th Sept. 1942), pp.163-164.

17. Mahtab H.K. & Dash G.S. (Ed) - H.F.M.O. -Op.cit, Vol.IV, p.96.

18. Rath B.C. op.cit., p.72.

19. Jatayu (Oriya Fortnightly from Dhenkanal),15th August, 1985.

20. Political Agent, Orissa State to Secretary toResident, Eastern States - (Dhenkanal SituationReport) No.457/1 dt. 29th August, 1942. FileNo.P-1-26/1946 - Orissa State Archives.

Dr. Soma Chand is the Reader in History, RavenshawCollege, Cuttack.

24


Krutibas Patsani, a real ball of fire was associatedwith the first war of independence of the Oriyaswhich was known as Khurda Paik Rebellion of1805. Gajapati Mukunda Dev II and his regent JaiRajaguru declared war against the mightyBritishers. Krutibas Patsani, a great hero of thetime emerged as leader of this rebellion fromBanapur region. He was a real Napolean from hischildhood. Like morning shows the day hisbravery bloomed at a very early age. He was agreat lover of patriot. As a true son of the soil hecould not tolerate the presence of the Britisherany more in the land of Lord Jagannath. HisHimalayan promise to drive out Britishers fromthe soil of Orissa was outstanding. Like a hungrylion he jumped to the battle field.

When Orissa was occupied by theMarathas, Krutibas decided to start rebellionagainst them. Also at that time Thagas (Robbersof a kind) created havoc by plundering wealth ofordinary people. Like a real hero, only at the ageof fifteen Krutibas could organise young matesto confront them. He was wandering in the forestto hound them out. Even once he murdered aman suspecting him to be a Thaga. preparationof salt and fishing in Chilika were prohibited bythe British Government from February 1804.Krutibas instantly protested against these illegalrules and appealed people to join the rebellion toprotest against this illegal act of the Britishers. Hecaptured the British Office at Banapur andplundered it. He also set on fire their SaltPreparation Centre. He also took away their boatsused for ferrying of salt. With the help of Paiks

of Mukunda Dev he plundered a village near Pipilwhich was under British. He alongwith the KhurdaPaiks brought massive destruction in British areaof Pipil. East India Company made armymovement from Ganjam to supress the rebellion.He was defeated by the Britishers and hided inKhurda Barunai Fort. A cat and mouse game wasplayed between him and the Britishers. Lastly hewas a victim of betrayal. Fate Mahammad - ageneral of Mukunda Dev revealed the secreatentrance of the Fort to the Britishers. In no timeBarunai Fort of Khurda was smashed. MukundaDev, Jai Rajguru, Krutibas Patsani and some otherrebels were caught. For this Fate Mahammad wasrewarded with Rs.3000/- by the Britishers. In 1807Khurda came under direct British rule. There afterMukunda Dev was released but Jai Rajguru wastaken to Midnapore and hanged. Krutibas Patsanialongwith 34 rebels were sent to Kalapani. It issaid that his father-in-law helped Brtitishers tocapture him. He had to suffer life timeconfinement. However, as he saved the life of aBritish officer, some of the British officersrequested the Govt. to reduce his punishment.But he refused such noble gesture very kindlyand in Andaman jail breathed his last. He was agreat patriot and true freedom fighter. He sacrifiedhis life for the sake of his Motherland. He hasbecome a remarkable figure in the history ofOrissa. He would always be remembered for hisoutstanding contribution in the Paik rebellion.

Pabitra Mohan Barik is a Lecturer in History in theS.H. Mahavidyalaya, Madanpur of Khurda district.

Krutibas Patsani : A Beacon Light of Freedom

Pabitra Mohan Barik

25


Peace is that harmony in the community ofhumanity as the health is to our bodies. Neitheranger, nor profit, can make us happy, if we aresick with a fever in our blood and pain in ourjoints or our head. Likewise, no kingdom canflourish or put at ease in which there is nopeace. There is nothing worthier of an honestman than to have contention or quarrel with noone. The greatest punishment of wickeds is thathe does not know peace. The greatest revengetherefore is to help our enmies, if it is followedreligiously, you will have tranquil mood andgreater freedom to move around and a soundsleep in the night. The most important businessof our life then is the issues of peace. The truthis inevitably applicable for life in isolation, infamily, among friends and above all in thesociety. The international peace convention isa need. Conflict is the very basis of our life.Heglian tried. The principle of Thesis,Antithesis and Synthesis is operatingeverywhere in mind, body and action. It isnever static. No interregnum. A continuousprocess. Each win begets its opponent. Theconflict starts again in a different improvedform. Stone and dagger are replaced by pistolor poison. It is the real problem in amaterialistic society to determine theconnotation of peace. Even in religious sphere,there exists little peace. We are relativelypeaceful in comparison to other disturbed areas

of our country. Absolute peace is a misnomer.An ideal state of peace, one should aim at, sothat we can rank ourselves among the names tobe counted in the kingdom of peace. Hencethere is talk of propagation, motivation, nobelpeace award so on and so forth.

Conventions after conventions have beenheld. The conflicts continues to exist and thisprocess will go on. Beauty is attractive to eyes,music of Bethovan still catches our ears.Likewise, peace and tranquility of heaven isthe desire of mankind. Beauty is peace, peaceis beauty. Truth only prevails in peace, loveand tranquility. These are the blessed effectsand legacy of world peace.

The whole beauty of law is that it hasprovided a secured umbrella to all of us. It isentirely the work of laws; no law, no security,no subsistence, and thus mere anarchy. In theworld of savages, equality of misery within.Man pursue man to prey one another, a horriblecalamity sets in and drags the old aged, weak,innocents to death. In a war, laws givingsecurity are in part suspended. The existingmass of riches, the foundation of abundance,and subsistence is decreased and evendisappears. The fate of the dwarf, lowlycottages and the lofty houses are alike proneto destruction, the process of productionincluding human family breeding slows down.

Peace, Prosperity and Civilisation

O.P. Mohapatra

26


Human labour creates property. Propertyexpands under canopy of laws. Economy hasmany enmies. The spendthrifts do not take anypains to produce, the idles and the injusticeconspire to grab the property, the fruits, theflowers of the individual and the society.Likewise, insolence and audacity plot to seizethem by sheer force. The condition of thesociety keeps tottering, threatened; never atrest, not conducive to production. Law neversays you to work and he will reward you,instead it assures, ensures the fruits of yourlabour. A harmonious nexus of law, labourproperty, prosperity and civilization. The

legislatures are required to be vigilantcontinuously against the law breakers andharbingers of anarchy and chaos.

The love, the world that we see today isours. It is today, tomorrow and yesterday,synthecised. A chain that binds past, presentand the future and passes beyond ourselves togenerations from generation.

O.P. Mohapatra is working as Deputy Secretary toGovernment of Orissa in Information & PublicRelations Department at Bhubaneswar.

Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik offering floral tribute toPandit Nilakantha Das on his 120th birth anniversary at Orissa

Legislative Assembly Premises on 5.8.2004.

27


Administration has a vital bearing on a countryand its people. In ancient India right from VedicDays, it has been avowed objective ofadministration to be responsive, transparent,accountable and citizen friendly. These factorscould be regarded as the touchstone of anyadministrative set up. The administration ofKoutilya during the Mouryan period was moreor less centralised with an effective system ofintelligence gathering. During Mogul period theconcept of centralised administration continuedwith greater vigour. Accountability andtransparency in this centralised administrationwere conspicuous by their absence. Then camethe colonial administration of British. Hereagain the basic format was of a centralisedadministration. There was a verticallycontrolled administrative set up with a DistrictMagistrate and Collector as the key figure. TheCollector in the eyes of the people was "Mai-Bap" whose job was to maintain law and orderand collect revenue. While the administrationwas efficient, it had hardly any room for beingresponsive, accountable and transparent. It wasnot responsive and not citizen-friendly. Theseconcepts however underwent a sea change inlater years with a token participation of peopleat various levels. Many administrativeinnovations were no doubt brought about invarious fields like social, economic andtechnological, but these were mere cosmaticchanges and primarily intended to suit thecolonial requirements.

The primary concern of the citizens in agood civil society is that their government mustbe fair and good. For a Government to be goodit is essential that their systems and sub-systemsof Governance are efficient, economic, ethicaland equitable. In addition the governing processmust also be just, reasonable, fair and citizenfriendly. For these and other qualities and goodgovernance, the administrative system mustalso be accountable and responsive, besidespromoting transparency and people'sparticipation.

The test of good governance lies in thegoals and objectives of the government, in it'spolicies and programmes, in the manner of theirexecution, in the result achieved and above allin the general perception of the people aboutquality of functioning of various agencies, theirattitude and behaviour towards the people, theirsincerity, honesty and their commitment towardsthe public duties. Good governance impliesaccountability to the citizens of a democraticpolity and their involvement in decisionmaking, implementation and evaluation ofprojects, programmes and public policies. Inthis perspective, transparency andaccountability become invaluable componentsof good goverance as well as of goodadministration.

Transparency makes sure that peopleknow exactly what is going on and what is therationale of the decisions taken by theGovernment or its functionaries at different

Transparency and Accountability inAdministration

A.N. Tiwari

28


levels. Accountability makes sure that for everyaction and inaction in government and itsconsequences there is a civil servantresponsible and accountable to the government,the society and the people.

World Banks Conceptualisation of a GoodAdministration

In this context, it is relevant to recall theconceptualisation of a good administration byWorld Bank. It has identified a number ofaspects of a good administration which hasassumed significance for the developed anddeveloping countries. These aspects of goodadministration are as follows :

i. Political accountability.

ii. An established legal framework basedon the rule of law and independence ofjudiciary to protect human rights, securesocial justice and guard againstexploitation and abuse of power.

iii. Bureaucratic accountability ensuring asystem to monitor and control theperformance of government offices andofficials in relation to quality of service,inefficiency and abuse of discretionarypowers. The related determinats includeopenness and transparency inadministration.

iv. Freedom of information and expressionneeded for formulation of publicpolicies, decision making, monitoringand evaluation of governmentperformance. It also includesindependent analysis of information bythe professional bodies, including theuniversities and others vital forestablishment of a civil society.

v. Cooperation between administration andcivil society organisations, is alsoessential.

Transparency and accountability areoften talked about in the context ofadministration in general and civil servicesreforms in particular.

Different Dimensions of Transparency

Transparency is to be ensured in differentdimensions namely,

i. Openness in public dealings.

ii. Right to information relating to servicedelivery process.

iii. Right to information relating to criteriaand their applications.

iv. Right to information to publicexpenditure / contracts.

v. Enactment relating to Right toinformation.

vi. Code relating to access to information

vii. Openness in the cost of the project,quality standard etc.

Working Group on Right to Information

In the context of national debate oneffective and responsive administrationinitiated in November' 1996 by the Govt. ofIndia, it was decided to formulate specificmeasures for introduction of greatertransparency in the functioning of governmentand public bodies, with reference to both theirown employees and public. It was alsoconsidered necessary to provide easy accessof citizens to information relating to operationof government and public agencies subject tospecified exceptions. Accordingly a workinggroup of right to information and promotion ofopen and transparent government was set upin January'1997 by the Ministry of Personnelto examine the feasibility and need of a fullfledged Right to Information Act and itsintroduction in a phased manner to meet theneeds of open and responsive govenment. The

29


working group submitted its report inMay'1997 and circulated in the Conference ofthe Chief Ministers held on May 25, 1997.There was a broad consensus in support oflegislation for freedom of information. Thedecision taken in the conference in enter alia,includes following :

"The Government of India would takeimmediate necessary steps in consultation withthe State Governments for examining the reportof the working group on Right to Informationand for introduction in Parliament before theend of 1997 a legislation for freedom ofinformation and amendments to the relevantprovisions of the officials secrets Act 1923and the Indian Evidence Act."

Need to Review the Archaic Acts

In the preceding context, there isimperative need to review the archaic actswhich impinge on Right to Information. Thereis urgent need for amendment of the archaiclaws such as Official Secrets Act 1923, IndianEvidence Act 1872 and Criminal ProcedureCode 1908 which were obviously drafted witha view to subserve the interest of the colonialforeign government. The perpetuations of theselaws in the 50 years after independence andtheir reinforcement through conduct rules hasonly throttled the free flow of informationrelating to matters of public interest and thushelping the unscrupulous and undesirablepolitical masters and bureaucrats in coveringup their nefarious activities, behind theprotective shield of these archaic laws andrules. Therefore in the changed context thesooner these laws are amended the better itwill be in the interest of the nation. In fact thisis the simplest and the best way in which thepresent govenrment could demonstrate it'sseriousness to the cause of probity in publiclife and thus fulfil it's commitment to cleanseit by providing an open and transparent

government. The attempt by the Central Govt.,to formulate Right to Information Bill is a stepin the right direction.

Technological Opportunities for EnsuringTransparency

The growing power of InformationTechnology has opened up possibilities whichdid not exist previously. The rapid processingand dissemination of information is allowingcloser scrutiny of administrative action, thusaffecting the apaqueness perpetrated bycolonial administrative structure.Computerised network of information atvarious levels of administration and it'sagencies could facilitate services andadministrative actions with transparency e.g.issue of revenue records and certificatessimplified and speedy system of securingapproval and permits and redressal ofgrievances.

Progressive States and Transparency

There is a distinct tendency foradministration in some of the progressive statesto encourage transparency. In KeralaGovernment has made it mandatory foradministrative agencies to display on billboards the details about the project and contractfor the people's appraisal. In Andhra Pradeshthe decision of Government taken at differentlevels including the cabinet are put on theinternet and the media.

Concomitants of TransparentAdministration

In the preceding context the questionarises as to what are the concomitants of atransparent administration. These could be :

i. Accountability

ii. Effective and speedy public grievancesredressal system.

30


iii. Empowering elected local bodies inrural and urban areas and decentraliseddelivery of services.

iv. Review of laws, regulations andprocedures.

v. Right to information.

vi. Access of the public to information frompublic offices and creation of facilitationcounters.

vii. Code of ethics for public service.

viii. Tracking corruption and cleaning theadministration.

Need for Facilitation Centres to PromoteTransparency

To have transparency and accountabilityin administration it is essential to havefacilitation centres. Such centres shall beeffective instruments for securing transparency.These centres shall perform followingfunctions :

i. Provide information regading servicesand procedures through brochures,booklets, reports etc.

ii. Provide information regarding positionof waiting list and applications throughcomputer screens updated everyday andthrough computerised querry todepartmental data base.

iii. Provide information regarding matters,such as bills payment, registration, landhouse allotment etc.

iv. Forms which are to be utilised forvarious procedures should be availableat the processing centres.

v. Receive complaints, issueacknowledgement slips etc.

vi. Time limits and other details to benotified by it through display boards fordisposal of different cases.

vii. Utilising interactive voice systemwhereever feasible for enquiry andresponse.

Administration and Rule of Law

It is imperative that administration issubject to the rule of law with an inbuilt systemof accountability. During the British days, theIndian Civil Service was described as the steelframe. But in post independent India,Bureaucrats were required not only to beefficient but responsive with a high sense ofintegrity. Bureaucracy is an instrument of Govt.,designed to fulfil the broad objectives of goodgovernance and to be citizen friendly. It is alsoimperative that qualities of leadership aredeveloped in administration for the good ofthe poor and down-trodden.

Let us go back to our constitution. ThePreamble of the Indian Constitution stipulatesthe goal of administration. The most importantgoal is to 'Secure for all citizens, justice, social,economic and political'. Ironically,administration has not succeeded in translatingthe philosophy of welfare state and goodgovernance embodied in the constitution.Administration is increasingly viewed as anoutdated, self-seeking and secretive agencywhich is responsible for stalling the welfareof the citizens. There is considerable frustrationparticularly among the weaker sections of thesociety about apathy, irresponsive and lack ofaccountability of public servants. Growingcorruption in administration with a strong nexuswith vested interests like politicians,Criminals, Business class and somebureaucrats has weakened the body structureof our administration.

Effective administration is vital fordelivering good governance to our people. Theavowed objective of good governance is toensure that the people get a stable, honest,

31


transparent and efficient government capableof accomplishing allround development.Implementation of progress within a stipulatedtime frame is also essential for saving cost andmaking it effective. Our Prime Minister in arecent talk has observed that the system ofadministration in the country is ill-equippedto fulfil our national objectives and theaspirations of the common man. In this contextthe need for administrative reforms assumesprime importance.

The objectives of administrative reformswhich could support the goal of goodgovernance are clear. We need anadministrative system that will be responsive,transparent, efficient and accountable. Thefunctioning of the administration should be openand accountable. How true is the saying thathonesty and ability to decide between the rightand wrong are qualities as important asprofessional competence.

I have already mentioned about the needfor an effective delivery system at economiccost so that the fruits of development can reachthe common man within the shortest possibletime at competitive cost. In the context of ourcountry where majority of the people arevictims of poverty and neglect, we have to havean administrative system that will have a heartthat feels for the poor and a mind that caresfor their needs. The civil service in India hasbeen recognised as a formidable humanresource and is capable of achieving theobjectives of building a strong, prosperousand self confident India. Often lapses in theadministration are attributed to poor politicalleadership. Political interference in day to daywork often affects the working of administrativesystem. Instances are not infrequent whenhonest officers are penalised by way oftransfers. It is time that the officers stand up tosuch political vilification and ensure justiceto all free of fear and intimidation.

Let us not forget that administration cannot deliver public good unless the politicalleadership firmly upholds people's interestsand national interest as supreme. It is thereforenecessary that implementation of schemes andmonitoring are given priority. Delays andslippages in implementation must not beallowed at any cost. It is essential to close thegap between people's aspirations andGovernment's performance.

There is an urgent need for ensuringtransparency and accountability inadministration so that the objective of socio-economic development of our country can beachieved. A good and transparentadministration is vital for citizens and requirean effective delivery system as an instrumentof good governance.

Governments are in the business ofpolitics and power and some times in thebusiness of diplomacy. The primaryresponsibility however for securingtransparency in administration lies and willcontinue to lie on the people themselves. Avigilant and well informed public opinion,people's participation in administration anddevelopment, an honest media are essential forpromoting a transparent and efficientadministrative system.

Let us hope that with the advent ofPanchayati Raj and increasing participation ofpeople in administration at grassroots, wewould succeed in giving a transparent,responsive, efficient and accountablegovernment which will help in building apolitically strong and economically vibrantIndia.

The author is a retired bureaucrat and now he lives atForest Park, Bhubaneswar.

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To meet the daily requirement of food peoplebelonging to tribal groups of Ganjam districtconsume cheaply available food duringscarcity season for their livelihood. Tapiocaand sweet potato, usually harvested in themonths of November and December areavailable in the hilly areas. The scientific nameof Tapioca is Manihat esculenta and SweetPotato is Ipomoea batatas.

Sweet Potato

Scientific name - Ipomoea batatasLocal name - Kandamula

It is an important root and tuber, ofteneaten raw and also by boiling for 15-20minutes in water and is consumed with salt.Some times raw tubers are baked and roastedin fire for five minutes until brown colour isobtained and consumed after peeling. For

domestic consumption it can also be used incurry or in preparation of Chutney and sweetdish.

Cassava Root or Tapioca

Scientific name - Manihot esculentaLocal name - Kathakanda

Cassava roots are some times eaten rawusually in the first year of harvest. Freshlyharvested after 8-10 months, these nature rootis soaked and boiled for 15 to 20 minutes andpeeled and eaten with salt or sugar. Alsosoaked, the raw roots may be roasted by bakingthem in fire for a few minutes till it gets thebrown colour. It may be eaten also with littlesalt. For domestic consumption it can also beused in the preparation of curry. It can beharvested after eight months of planting andstored for several weeks in a cool dry place.

NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FOOD ITEMS PER 100 GMS OF WEIGHT(INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH PUBLICATION)

Name of the food Carbohydrate Protein Fat Vitamins & Energy (K.Cal)(Gms.) (Gms.) (Gms.) Minerals (Mg.)

1. Sweet Potato 28.2 1.2 0.3 6 mg. Carotene 120 100 Gms. 0.08 Thiamine

0.04 Riboflavine0.07 Niacin24 mg. Vitamin C46 mg. Calcium50 Mg. Phosphorus0.8 Mg. Iron

2. Tapioca 38.1 0.7 0.2 0.05 Thiamine 157 100 gms. 0.10 Riboflavine

0.3 Niacin25 mg. Vitamin-C50 mg. Calcium40 mg. Phosphorus0.9 mg. Iron

Food Habits of the Tribal People DuringScarcity Season

Dr. Saswati Parichha

33


Both the roots and tubers possess a largequantity of starch, least amount of protein, fatand sparing amount of Vitamin-C and minerals.These can be considered as a poor quality offood. The root of Tapioca if kept unharvestedfor more than a year, it contains a poisonoussubstance. It is found in the outer peels of theroot which is normally peeled off whilecooking. The poisonous substance is bitter totaste and can be easily known. It should not beconsumed as raw.

Villagers of Ganjam district belongingto tribal groups consume dried seeds duringlean period. Mango seed kernel, jack fruit seedsand ragi also serve their staple food.

Jack Fruit Seeds

After eating the juicy pulps of jack fruitthey collect the seeds, wash and dry them undersunlight by indigeneous method and store it forfuture use. During scarcity season, they boil it

in hot water, chop and mash it. Then they saltto taste and consume it as their staple food.

Ragi Porridge

After collecting the ragi husk they cleanit, wash it and dry it in a wooden tray, undersunlight for 3 days. Then they grind it and keepit in power form for future use. They make aporridge by putting powdered ragi to boilingwater and storing constantly for 20 minutes.They add a little salt to taste. Some time theyalso consume it with Pakhala (fermented ricewater) and eat it after 12 hours (over night).

Ragi Cake

To boiling water they add grinded powerof ragi in proportion alongwith conconutgrantes, ground nut pieces and jaggery and alittle water. Then they boil it in slow heat untilit sets in a flat container, put a little oil or gheeat the bottom and top of the cake. After cutrtingit into small pieces with a knife, they eat it onfestivals.

keeps the body of pregnant, lactating womenand young children healthy.

Dr. Saswati Parichha is the Training Associate in HomeScience, in the Direcrtorate of Extension Educationin the Orissa Univesity of Agriculture and Technology,Bhubaneswar - 751003.

NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THE FOODS PER 100 GMS OF DRY WEIGHT(SOURCE : INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS)

Name of the food Carbohydrate Protein Fat Vitamins & Energy (K.Cal)(Gms.) (Gms) (Gms) Minerals (Mg.)

2. Jack Fruit Seeds 26 6.5 0.4 Calcium - 50 mg 133Phosphorus - 97 mg.Vitamin C- 11 mg.

3. Ragi 72 7.3 1.0 Calcium 0. 344 mg 328Phosphorus - 283 mg.Iron - 6.4 mg.

All the food stuffs are good source ofCarbohydrate.

But Ragi and Jack Fruits contain goodsource of protein. Ragi is a rich source ofCalcium, Phosphorus and iron minerals, which

34


To study the population growth if 1901 is takenas the base year, the population of Orissa grewabout 113 folds during the first 70 years of the20th century, whereas in the next 30 years itswelled about 153 percent of the basepopulation. Thus speaking precisely, the 10million people of Orissa in 1901 has becomenearly 36 million at the time of 2001 census,increasing at a faster rate of about 256 per centin a span of 100 years.

Viewing the growth of population in thecountry as a whole vis-a-vis the state of Orissaduring the same period under reference, themega problem facing the nation today is foundmore tense in the country rather than in thisstate. 238 million people of India as per 1901census counting, rolled with manymultiplications with the passage of time tobecome 1027 million now. To put it in absoluteterms 238,396,327 Indian populace in thebeginning of the 20th century has become1027,015,247 in 2001 census as per theprovisional release.

Thus, the percentage increases inpopulation in the previous ten censuses in thecountry divulge figures that run proportionatelymore compared to the state with few exceptionsparticularly in the initial decades. Till 1931the percentage increase is recorded higher in

case of the state than that of the nation. Andafter independence one such decadal figure(1971 census) exhibits that trend though thedifference is marginal.

But if the decadal variations are re-grouped, the progressive growth rate of thecountry during the first seventy years iscalculated to be about 130 percent of thepopulation of the base year. This is more thanthe state figure of 113 percent. And the rate ofgrowth during the last three decades of the 20thcentury is definitely more alarming for thenation with a growth of population of about200 percent of the base year. This in toto,indicates a difference of about 74 percentagepoints in the cumulative growth rates of thestate and the country during the period underreference.

Recapitulating the aggregated figures forthe last century as a whole, the growth rate ofpopulation of Orissa with 256.28 percent is ata lower level than that for the nation with330.80 percent. This is definitely a consolingsituation for the state. But still, from thenational back ground, un-hindered vigilance isa must for the administrators and the commonpeople as well to see that the growth rate ofpopulation is not only checked but also reducedto the extent possible.

Trends of Population Growth in Orissa

S.N. Mahapatra

35


The population for each decennial censusstarting from 1901-2001 for the State of Orissais presented in the table below along with thedecadal variation in percentage. Progressivegrowth rates for the last 100 years is alsoreflected in the table for an easy access of thereaders to the problem of rapid populationincrease. Further, for getting a comparativepicture of the trends of the growth of populationin the country as a whole vis-a-vis Orissa, thedecadal variation and the progressive growthrates for the Nation is given brackets along sidethe corresponding figures of the State.

The Growth of Population of Orissa

Year Population Decadal Variation in Progressive growthOrissa / (India) rate over 1901 in

Orissa / (India)

1901 10,302,917 - -

1911 11,378,875 10.44 (5.75) 10.44 (5.75)

1921 11,158,586 -1.94 (-0.31) 8.31 (5.42)

1931 12,491,056 11.94 (11.00) 21.24 (17.02)

1941 13,767,988 10.22 (14.22) 33.63 (33.67)

1951 14,645,946 6.38 (13.31) 42.15 (51.47)

1961 17,548,846 19.82 (21.51) 70.33 (84.25)

1971 21,944,615 25.05 (24.80) 112.99 (129.94)

1981 26,370,271 20.17 (24.66) 155.95 (186.64)

1991 31,659,736 20.06 (23.86) 207.29 (255.03)

2001 36,706,970 15.94 (21.34) 256.28 (330.80)

It comes to sight from the tabulated dataon the decadal variation in population duringlast 10 decades is that the growth rate ofpopulation is on the rise constantly except inthe lone decade 1911-1921 where it is foundnegative in the State and the Country as well.

But, the rate of decline is calculated much morefor the state vis-a-vis the nation. Whereas thenegative growth rate for the nation is mainlyattributed to the resultant outcome of the SecondWorld War (1914-19), that for the state is multinumbered. Besides the global war, thedevastating floods, famines and epidemics indifferent parts of the State brought down thenumber of people in Orissa as a chain eventcompared with the previous decadal counting.

In absolute terms the 11,378,875 peoplein Orissa in 1911 was reduced to 11,158,586in 1921 downsizing by about two lakh 20thousands people in 10 years time. This decade

shook hands with a number of un-warrantedincidents which created a devastating socio-economic situation in Orissa. Some in-auspicious years starting from 1915 owned theresponsibility of a number of unnatural deathsdue to emergence of a large number of killer

36


epidemics like small pox, cholera anddysentery. Misery and misfortune never camealone - it is said. Another disastrous epidemicoverclouded the sky of Orissa was theinfluenza in 1917 which spread its tentaclesup to the year 1919. It took away a lot ofprecious lives putting the rates of morality at ahigher level. Besides that ravaging flood of1917, the drought of 1918 worsened the livingconditions of the people to a large extent.Coupled with bad harvest for some years, thesevagaries of nature also demanded their shareand created a condition of scarcity of food-stuff resulting in high market prices which ledto starvation deaths. That was the decadesingled out in the last century as the worst onewhich not only affected the economy but alsoreduced the population size of the State.

Going a bit further, it can be seen thatthe population in almost throughout Orissa wereaffected severely during that decade and inmajority districts, the population was found lesscompared to the previous census counting of1921. In seven out of 13 undivided districts ofthe present Orissa, a reduction of populationwas clearly picturised in absolute terms. Thehighest reductions were recorded in Dhenkanal(12.81 per cent) followed by Puri, (10.04 percent) and Balasore (6.99 per cent). The otheraffected districts that follow them are Ganjam(3.25 per cent), Koraput (3.12 per cent),Cuttack (2.81 per cent) and Phulbani (0.45per cent). In other six districts there was agrowth of population, but in five of them it isless than only five percent and only inKalahandi there was 15.50 per cent incrementthan the previous decade. Whether the decadalhappenings are in support of the Malthusiantheory of population or not is a separatequestion, but that inauspicious scenario is notrepeated in Orissa once again. Ever since, the

growth rate of population in this state isincreasing alarmingly - particularly afterindependence. This is a point of much concern.

This history of decadal growth ofpopulation in the state during the last centuryreveals that disregarding the negative figuresof 1921, the ever lowest rate of growth ofpopulation was recorded in the decade 1941-1951 - the first decadal census afterindependence. But such a situation wasencountered for the nation as a whole in 1911.And thereafter, there was a steady growthrecorded in the decadal variation in populationtill 1971 in the country except in twointermillitante periods. In 1921 there was anegative growth as in case of Orissa and in1951 there was a little fall in the growth ratecompared to the previous decade. That besides,it may also be stated here that this was the yearwhen the growth rate was lowest for Orissaencountered in this entire century.

But, so to say, a regular trend not foundin these figures for the state. Although, therewas a trend of growth in population ever since1901 (excepting in one decade) in the state, itcan be found from the table that the rate ofgrowth is not in a systematic manner inconsonance with the somewhat regular risingtrend of the nation as a whole. However, thehighest rate of the growth of population in thisstate was noticed in 1971 and situation wasalso the same for India as well. At both levelsthe rate of growth was hovering round 25percent over the previous figures. But howeverthe rate of decadal growth in the state is at alittle higher level than that for the country.

And thereafter, for the next part of thelast century i.e. for the last 30 years, the trendof growth noticed for the state of Orissa andfor the country is on similar lines. There is a

37


constant fall in the rates of growth marked indecadal variations of population figures.Though the fall is very remarkable in case ofOrissa for 1981 and for 2001 figures whichspeaks of a reduction of about five and fourpercentage points respectively, at the nationallevel it is not that remarkable. In the countryduring this entire period of constant fall ofabout 30 years, the decadal growth rate ofpopulation has come down to 21.34 per centin 2001 from 24.80 per cent in 1971. This tenureof 30 years brought down the figure of about3.46 percentage points in the country. But thatfor the state of Orissa is a bit encouraging. Therates of decadal fall is much faster here. Interms of figures a substantial 9.11 percentagepoints have been reduced from the 1971decadal growth rate of 25.05 percent to become15.94 per cent in 2001.

Thus form the point of view of thedecadal population growth, the entire lastcentury may be divided into two groups. The

first seven decades may be termed as the"period of rise" and the rest about 30 yearsi.e. the last three decades as the "period of fall".The fall in growth rates of population is ofcourse, a good indicator of a healthy societyin the notational context-particularly at present.Hence it is worth mentioning here that thebeginning of the new Millennium has indicateda good signal in the population scenario. Thesituation seems to be somewhat favourable inresolving population problems in the country.The more is the reduction of the decadal growthrate - More favourable situation for the areaconcerned. From that background Orissa enjoysa better position compared to the nation. Everyattempt should be made not only by the Centraland State Governments but also by the non-governmental organisations and the people ofthe country as a whole to maintain this fallingtrend in the years to come.

S.N. Mahapatra lives at 3R/10, Census Colony,Baramunda-751003.

GOVERNORMENT OF INDIA SANCTIONS RS.47 CRORE GRANT-IN-AID FORUPGRADATION OF INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE STEEL &

METALLURGICAL CLUSTER AT JAJPUR

The Apex Committee on Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) at its meetingheld on 2.7.2004 approved the proposal of the State Government for strengthening industrialinfrastructure in the Jajpur Steel and Metallurgical Cluster at a total cost of Rs.62.50 crore. Governmentof India will provide Grand-in-Aid amounting to Rs.47 crore and the balance amount of Rs.15.50crore will be raised from the user industries as promoters' contribution.

The Project will benefit the steel complex near Dubri as well as the mining industries operatingin Daitari. The main components of the project include augmentation of water supply, upgradationof roads, development of utility corridors, upgradation of power distribution infrastructure anddevelopment of a Common Facility Centre.

The project would be implemented by a Special purpose Vehicle (SPV), which has been setup for this purpose. 51% of equity in the SPV will be held by the user industries, including smallscale industries. The balance 49% will be held by IDCO on hehalf of the State Government. Theproject is expected to benefit both large / medium and small scale industries operating in the area.The State Government is in the process of developing more porposals for receiving Central assistanceunder the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme.

38


Water is life. For every living animal, water isprecious for continuing their lives. Everybodyis aware of the importance of water.

In India, the groundwater is mainly usedfor drinking purpose. About 85% of drinkingwater is available through dug well, bore well,filter point and tube well etc. Besides, theIndian farmers have the age-old tradition ofground water irrigation. In 1950-51, about 65lakhs hect. of land were used for irrigation inIndia which has crossed 400 lakhs hect. bynow.

Over Exploitation of Ground WaterResource Effects

- Drastic fall of groundwater levels.

- Drying up of wells/bore wells.

- Enhanced use of energy.

- Ingress of sea water in coastal areas.

Therefore, there is need of rain waterharvesting in order to artificially recharge theground water and also for use of domestic orcommunity purposes.

The Concept- 'Catch Water Where It Falls'

In the Estate of President of India, 2.5million liters of water is used everyday. ShriK.R. Narayanan, the former President of India

has decided to set an example. Centre forScience and Environment, New Delhi wasinvited by him to make a plan for waterharvesting in the President's Estate.

What is Rain Water Harvesting ?

Rain water harvesting is the principleof collecting and using precipitation from acatchment surface.

Rain water harvesting is a well knownand extensive traditional system in India. Rainwater was collected in large earthern pitchersfor consumption in the households by peopleand animal. Village ponds are also dug for thecommunity purposes.

Why Rain Water Harvesting ?

Rain water harvesting is essentialbecause :

1. Surface water is inadequate to meet ourdemand and we have to depend ongroundwater.

2. Due to rapid urbanisation, infiltration ofrain water into the sub-soil has decreaseddrastically and recharging ofgroundwater has diminished.

3. Over exploitation of groundwaterresource has resulted in decline in waterlevels in most part of the country.

Rain Water Harvesting - A Ray of Hope

Dr. Pranab Kumar Ghosh

39


4. To enhance availability of groundwaterat specific place and time.

5. To arrest sea water ingress.

6. To improve the water quality in aquifers.

7. To improve the vegetation cover.

8. To raise the water levels in well andborewell.

9. To reduce power consumption.

In Orissa, average annual rainfall isaround 1500 mm. which is quite higher incomparison to world's average rainfall (i.e.800 mm.). But this rainfall occures for a veryshort period. As a result, maximum amount ofrain water flows away very rapidly on earthsurface - consequencing poor recharge ofground water. So, scarcity of water fordomestic purpose is a common phenomenonin most parts of Orissa.

Rain Water Harvesting Techniques

There are two main techniques of rainwater harvesting.

(a) Storage of rain water on surface forfuture use.

(b) Recharge to groundwater.

The storage of rainwater on surface intraditional techniques and different aspects canbe made by :

1. Construction of ponds/tanks.

2. Underground tanks.

3. Check dams.

4. Percolation tanks

5. Weir

6. Roof-top water harvesting structure.

7. Reclamation and revitalisation oftraditional water arresting structure.

8. Control of evaporation from surfacewater bodies.

9. Prevention of seepage losses inappropriate situations.

10. Soil and water conservation practicescomprising contour and terrace bunding.

Recharge of groundwater is a newconcept of rainwater harvesting and thestructure generally used are :

1. Pits

2. Trenches

3. Dug wells

4. Hand pumps for recycling of discharge

5. Recharge wells

6. Recharge shafts

7. Lateral shafts with bore wells

8. Spreading Techniques

9. Sub surface dams to arrest baseflow ofgroundwater.

10. Control of transpiration without affectingnormal plant growth.

Expected Benefits

1. Find a better solution for water problemsin areas having inadequate waterresources.

2. Rise in ground water levels.

3. Increase availability of water from well.

4. Reduction in the use of energy forpumping water and consequently the cost- a one metre rise in water level savesabout 0.49 KWH of electricity.

5. Reduction in flood hazard and soilerosion.

6. Improvement of the water quality.

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7. Mitigate the drought effect and achievedrought proofing.

8. Upgrade the soil and environment status.

A multi-pronged strategy has to beevolved to implement the system of rain waterharvesting. The approaches, inter alia, shouldbe designed to :

1. Revive / rehabilitate all village ponds.

2. Provide all drinking water wells with arecharge structure.

3. Subject to technical feasibility, provideat least one check dam/weir in eachstreamlet with a catchment of 1-3 sq.km.

4. Provide at least a roof top rain waterharvesting structure for every 200 sq.mt.plot in urban areas (Please see figure).

5. Ban construction of irrigation wells/tubewells within a distance of 200 m or lessof the drinking water supply well.

References

1. Where water matters (1996) published byCAPART & Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari.

2. Rain Water harvesting and Artificial rechargesto ground water (2000) published by CGWBand UNESCO.

3. Krishak Bandhu Annapurana (March, 2003)published by Sagarika Publication,Bhubaneswar.

4. Rain Water Harvesting from Roof Tops (1998)published by CAPART and CTD, New Delhi.

5. Akshya Vikash (2001) published by VivekanandaKendra Prakash Trust, Chennai.

Dr. Pranab Kumar Ghosh is working at CAPART,Regional Committee (CZ), PICUP Bhawan, 6th Floor,Gomti Nagar, Lucknow - 226010.

INSTALLATION CEREMONY OF ROTARY MID-TOWN, BHUBANESWAR

The Rotarians could play a major role in providing help to the needy families living in the remoteparts of the State, said Mr. Debasis Nayak, Minister of Information and Public Relations, Sports and YouthServices. Speaking as Chief Guest at the Installation Ceremony of the Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar Mid-Town, Mr. Nayak appreciated the good work being done by various Rotary clubs and expressed hope thatRotarians will reach the far-flung areas of the Stae to extend help and succour to the under privileged anddeprived class of the society.

On this occasion, Mr. Nayak was inducted to the Rotary movement as an honorary member of theRotary Club of Bhubaneswar Mid-Town.

The Hon'ble Minister, narrating an incident about his chance encounter with a poor family duringone of his official visit to Berhampur. Mr. Nayak said that when he got down from his car to have a glass ofwater he found that the family he met was not able to provide him a glass of water because of non availableof utensils to store water at his residence. To his surprise, he found that the family was not able to sendtheir children to school due to shortage of money. Later, he discussed the matter with Chief Minister andarranged to send the children to school of that family.

The installation ceremony marked the formal taking over of the new office hearers of the club. Thenewly elected President Rotarian Nanda Kishore Agarwalla took over the charges from the out goingPresident Rotarian Binapani Sahu. Similarly the out going Secretary Rotarian S. Prasad Rao handed overthe charge to newly elected Secretary Rtn. L.C. Mahapatra.

The twin hamlets Ranipur and Jharial arelocated in Bangomunda Block in theTitilagarh subdivision of Balangir district ofOrissa on the Titilagarh - Kantabanji road.This site is approached through a kacha roadof 8 km. from Mundpadar. The ancientarchaeological complex is found to besituated on the ancient trade route thatconnected Titilagarh, ancient TaitalyaJanapada referred to by Panini in fifthcentury B.C. with Madhya Bharat andDakshinapatha. The river Tong or Tong Jor,a tributary of Tel flows nearby. The Telvalley is archaeologically very rich andRanipur-Jharial occupies a central position,being surrounded by a chain of historicalsites like Narisinghnath, Maraguda,Podagarh, Asurgarh, Belkhandi, Saintala andPatnagarh all around. At present thearchaeological complex is found spread ona vast flat rocky surface. The one nearRanipur may be called Ranipur complex andthe other one near village Jharial may becalled the Jharial temple complex. The rocksurface seems to have been exposed fully byerosion in remote antiquity. Taking advantageof the sedimentary rock deposit, the buildersof the monuments, palpably have removedthe stone pieces layer wise to use in themonuments. In the south-west, there is thefamous Someswar Sagar locally called

Jogibandh and in the north-east, we see adeep nala. Temples of varied dimension,deserted and forlorn, stand in isolatedsplendour on the rocky outcrop, giving animpression of divine solemnity.

Brief History

Archaeologists like Kedar NathMahapatra, Prof. Dr. N. K. Sahu and J. D.Beglar assigned the monuments to earlymedieval period. However, from personalobservation we assign an anterior date toRanipur-Jharial. From the epigraphinscribed on the lintel of the Someswartemple, we know that one Saiva Archarya“Gagana Siva” was the donor and in theinscription the site has been described asSomatirtha, which finds mention in thePuranas of 3rd/4th century A.D. Thus it isevident that since 3rd/4th century Ranipur-Jharial has assumed the reputation of a SaivaTirtha. More over, Saivism was popular inancient Kosala and Kantara region since thedays of the Nalas who ruled over this regionfrom the middle of the fourth century A.D.This is corroborated by the recent excavationat Maraguda in Nawapara district where aSaiva Vihar of circa 4th/5th century A.D. hasbeen excavated. Archaeological probe ofMaraguda valley excavations have indicatedthat many Saiva Vihars had been destroyed

Monumental Efflorescence of Ranipur-JharialDr. C.B. Patel

ruthlessly by the invaders, probably theVakatakas or the Sarabhapuriyas, who werestaunch Vaisnavites. After the destruction ofthe Maraguda Saiva Vihar, the Saivacharyasseemed to have proceeded to the north-westernly direction and established theSaiva establishment at the ancient Somatirthareferred to in the Puranas . The kernel ofTantricism that originated at Maraguda hadfuller efflorescence at Ranipur-Jharial. TheTantric Vajrayana and Sahajayana whichIndrabhuti and Laxmikara of ancient Sambala(modern Sambalpur) propounded, were verymuch popular in this region. However,Ranipur-Jharial witnessed great religiousdevelopment during the time of theSomavansis who ruled over this tract in 8th/9th century A.D. Most of the existingmonuments can be assigned to this period.When exactly, this place was deserted isdifficult to say due to want of evidence. TheMuslim invasion in the 15th century mightbe a factor for its downfall. We believesystematic exploration and excavations in thislocality will throw new light on the historyand culture of this place. From surfaceobservation, it appears that the site mighthave still greater remote antiquity. Wenoticed here foot print emblem, thereminiscent of early Buddhist worship ofanoconic diction. Thus prior to 3rd centuryA.D. probably Ranipur-Jharial had Buddhistassociation.

Important Monuments

Hypaethral 64 Yogini Temple

This circular roofless templededicated to the 64 Yoginis is a monumentof the Somavansis who ruled over thisterritory in 8th/9th century A.D. It is built ofsand stone of the local variety. The templeis in good condition. At the centre there is a

roofed porch enshrining a six-handeddancing Siva. All around in the niches wefind Yogini images. Beglar who visited theplace in 1874-75 has also noted them. Wecount now 62. There might had been twomore on both sides of the southern entrance.The niches measures 100 x 50 cm. The wallmeasures from 2.60 to 2.65 m. The nichesbegins in the third course of stone slab. Thewall is covered with a coping stone.

Leharigudi

Originally this temple was inKhakhara order. It is in a dilapidatedcondition. The name of the temple is perhapsderived from Luipa a tantric Siddha . It islocated on the bank of the Someswar Sagar.This temple seems to be a prelude to theVaital temple of Bhubaneswar on stylisticconsideration.

The ‘Leharigudi temple’ now in utterdeplorable condition, with its semicylindricalroof like the Vaital temple of Bhubaneswar ofthe Dravidian Salasikhara order (KalinganKhakhara order) furnishes an anterior datumline of the building activities of this place. TheVaital temple of Bhubaneswar with itsdeveloped architectonic and artisticcharacteristics is being dated to the 6th centuryA.D. A similar date or even an anterior date,

Somesvara Temple, Ranipur Jharial

atleast by half of century for the ‘Leharigudi’of Ranipur-Jharial is not wide of the mark in

view of the obvious archaic and early tectoniccharacteristics of the temple. Sculpturalrepresentation is conspicuous by its absencein this temple which in our opinion appears tobe a marked feature of the early templearchitecture of this type of Sakta shrine, andso we are tempted to suggest a date by the closeof the 5th or beginning of 6th century A.D. forLeharigudi. The antiquity of temple buildingactivities of this place thus, could beconvincingly taken back at least to 5th centuryA.D. to the days of the Nalas, who were havingundisputed sway in this tract as late as 7thcentury A.D. During 6th/7th and 7th/8th centuryA.D. the movement appeared to have continuedunabated and the literally hundreds of extanttemples of varied dimensions at various stagesof preservation and the similar number ofalready vanished ones amply speak of theglorious epoch of the area.

Someswar Temple

It is comparatively in a good state ofpreservation. Here we find the inscriptionof Gangana Siva which reads

“Somasvami Siddhesvara

Laxminama Chaturthanam”

We noticed here an image of Durga, aVrisabha, a Nagi and a Dwarapala. On thelintel of the entrance to the GarbhagrihaGajalaxmi is seen. On the entrance wall adeity possibly a Buddha or a Siddha indhyana-mudra and in the sanctum proper alinga palpably Someswar is seen. Near thisSiva-Parvati or a worshipper couple hasbeen placed in recent time. In theJagamohana, the Kakshasana design like thatof Khajuraho temple is noticed. The railingin the Kakshasana is made of burnt bricksand stones.

Ranipur Mound

Ranigudi

The name of the site is perhaps derivedfrom the term Ranigudi or Ranipur (Queen’sPalace). This temple seems to have derivedits name from this. Somewhere near thetemple, probably the place of residence ofthe Queen was there. This was a Siva templeand is in utter ruin. It gives the impressionof a four chambered temple and may be of alittle later in date. In the Ranod Inscriptionof Madhya Pradesh we find reference toRanipadra, which may be identified withpresent Ranipur.

Indralath Brick Temple

It is a unique brick temple, variouslydescribed as a Siva or Vishnu temple. Thesikhara is more than 60 feet high. It isstanding on a high platform of sand stone.Some scholars opine that originally it was aVaisnava temple. Later on it was convertedinto a Siva temple. However, after carefulobservation we think that it was a Sivatemple. In the temple we notice images ofSiva-Parvati, Ganesh etc. The water channeltraced out from the linga seems to be theoriginal one.

Chousathi Yogini Temple, Ranipur Jharial

The builders of the famous Indralathbrick temple as well as the hypaethral templeof 64 Yoginis are not known for certain. Beglarand Williams suggest a 7th century date forSirpur temple, and therefore, Ranipur Indralathtemple being a phototype of the former can bedated in the same epoch as well. The Nalarulers of the 7th century A.D. were pre-eminently Vaisnavites and their political andcultural activities were mostly confined inRajim, Kalahandi and Balangir region and sothe possibility of their association with theconstruction of this temple may not be ruledout altogether. Beglar is also inclined to takeback the antiquity of 64 Yogini as well as theSomesvara Siva temple to the 8th century A.D.In the present state of our knowledge, we cannotsay with certainty the precise time and theregime, when and by whom these temples werebuilt. This much we can say here that theaccumulated artistic and architectonic accumenof the post-Gupta age seemed to have hadsignificant contribution to the buildingactivities of this centre.

We believe that our comprehensivesurvey of art and architecture of South Kosalawith special reference to Ranipur-Jharialduring the period under discussion reveals thatthere was unprecedented outburst of artisticactivities. Keeping pace with the theoreticalconcept of the multiplication of gods andgoddesses of the various pantheons, the rulersof this region sincerely attempted to reflect themthrough the medium of stone. The economicprosperity of the kingdom combined with thebenign patronage and zeal of the rulers seemto have offered a most conducive atmospherefor prolific attainment of the artistic excellenceof this age. In fact, with numerous monumentsRanipur-Jharial can well be designated as atemple town of an estimable importance in theremote past.

Somatirtha

Somatirtha is identified with the presenttwin hamlets of Ranipur-Jharial in Balangirdistrict of Orissa. Beglar who visited the templetown in 1874- 75 counted 57 temples of variedshape and size at various stages of decay andpreservation and noted about the existence ofabout 120 temples in early times. We made asystematic survey of the temple complex andtraced out the outline of the foundation of twentytemples and we believe that not less than 200temples of various dimensions existed here inthe heyday of the sacred place over an area of2 x l km. Beglar further writes “the occurrenceof so many temples at this spot is sufficientlyaccount for by the inscription which recordsthe existence here of a tirth or place ofpilgrimage”. He assigns the latest date of thestructures to 8th century A.D. and notedhistorian K.N. Mahapatra between 650 to 950A.D. Now so far the antiquity of the place as atirtha is concerned, we are inclined to dateback as early as 3rd/4th century A.D. Ourcontention is based on the fact that Somatirthaapparently, named after the presiding deity ofthis sacred centre Somesvara Siva, findsmention in the Vamana Purana. According toPargiter the Puranas are compiled in the 3rdcentury A.D. and hence we can safely assignthe existence of this place as a tirtha in thesame age. A careful study of the monumentsalso suggests an anterior date of a fewstructures. The same Purana states that inSomatirtha, Siva named as Somasitala, andGopal are worshipped together. The existenceof Somasagara, Somesvara Siva temple and aVisnu temple at Ranipur-Jharial furthercorroborates this contention.

Dr. C.B. Patel is the Superintendent of Orissa StateMuseum, Bhubaneswar.

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One of the earliest iconographic descriptionof Brahma is found in Brhatsamhita, in whichhe has been described as a four-faced godholding a ritual water-vessel Kamandalu inone of his hands (Brahma kamandalukaras'-caturmukhah). In the last part of the Utpala'scommentary from Kasyapa, Brahma isdescribed as four-faced having a staff (Danda),the hide of a black antelope and a ritual watervessel (Brahma caturmukho dandikrsnajinakamandali). The iconographic detailsof Brahma image have been found in the textslike Amsumadbhedagama, Suprabhedagama,Silparatna, Visnupurana and Rupamandanaalso. His hands are invariably four in number,the attributes in them being Aksamala, Sruk,Sruva and the Vedas etc. In early images, he isinvariably shown without beard.

Although Brahma is assigned with theact of creation in the Hindu mythology and hasbeen taken as the first member of theBrahmanical triad, his position in the Hindupantheon is even inferior to that of any of theprincipal cult deities like Visnu, Surya, Siva,Durga and Ganesa. Therefore, the images ofBrahma, found in very few places are of asubsidiary in character. In most of the SasasayiVisnu images of the upper Mahanadi valley ofOrissa, Brahma is depicted to be seated on afull-blown lotus, the stalk of which issues from

the navel of the god Visnu, sleeping on the bodyof the serpent Sesa. in the center of the upper-most portion of the back-slab of a Uma-Mahesvara image, at present kept in thevestibule (Antarala) of the Indralath bricktemple at Ranipur Jharial, the Hindu Trinity ofBrahma, Visnu and Siva in a sequence fromleft to right are carved, sitting on theirrespective mounts (Vahanas) Hamsa, Garudaand Nandi bull. A detached image ofCaturmukha (four-faced) Brahma is foundinside the premises of the Ramesvara Groupof temples at Baud. It is a four-handed figureof Brahma, standing in the Samabhanga posture.In his uplifted proper left and right hands arePustaka and Sruk respectively, while in hislower left and right hands are Kamandalu andAksamala. A long garland, made of rosarybeads is hanging from his neck upto the knee-level. He is wearing a broad band of necklaceon his chest and also a Yajnopavita around hisbody. A Dhoti-type garment is covering hisbody-portion from the waist to the feet-level.Another Uttariya-type garment is strongly tiedaround his waist. A beautiful conical Mukutafitted with many strings of beads in round andvertical arrangements is adorning his head. Thecentral stripe of the Dhoti is decorated withfloral motifs and the many-folded Dhoti makethis garment very beautiful. His fourth face,which is on the back side is not visible in the

Minor Gods in Sculptural Artof West Orissa

Sasanka Sekhar Panda

Surya, BhuliasikuanDist. Nuapada

Surya, Kamsara-MajhipaliDist. Sonepur

image. He isc l e a n - s h a v e n .This image is ofthe size of aroundtwo feet in hightand one foot inbreadth, and canbe dated to circa10th century A.D.iconographically.

The Vedicaspect ofSarasvati, thegoddess oflearning and musicis described in

texts like Visnudharmottara,Amsumabhedagama, Purvakaranagama andRupamandana etc. Like Brahma, the image ofhis consort west Sarasvati is even rarely foundin Orissa. An image of Sarasvati is found in aParsvadevata niche of the Siva temple at Narlain Kalahandi district. As the stone inscriptionof this temple records the name of the Gangaking Madana Mahadeva, who was ruling in thelast part of the 12th century A.D., this imagecan be dated to that period also.

Although, usually in Siva temples,Parvati figure is housed in the northernParsvadevata niche, here at Narla, Sarasvatiis housed. It is a sculpture of the hight of nearlyeight inches and breadth of four inches.Goddess Sarasvati is seated in Lalitasana ona Visvapadma pedestal. Below her left foldedleg, her Vahana, the Swan (Hamsa) is carved.She is two-handed, her right hand being inAbhayamudra, while in her left hand, she isholding a Vina.

In the two stone panels containing thefigure of the Uma-Mahesvara, which wereoriginally fitted to the Dvaralalatavimba of

the Kosalesvara temples, both at Patnagarh ofBalangir district and Vaidyanath of Sonepurdistrict, a seated lady holding a Vina in herhands is carved inside two pilaster designs.

In the both figures of the stone panels ofPatnagarh and Vaidyanath, Hamsa (swan), theVahana (vehicle) of goddess Sarasvati isabsent, which might have occured due to thecallousness of the sculptor in depicting herimage.

Another minor god with whom muchimportance is attached in the Hindu pantheonis Surya, who was either worshipped as anindependent god or in a subsidiary shrine asone of the Panchadevata in a subsidiary shrineof the Panchayatana temple complex.

Surya, the visible celestial luminary, wasbeing worshipped in India from very earlytimes. The Vedas refer to him and his variousaspects asSavitra, Pusan,Bhaga, Vivasvat,Mitra, Aryamanand Visnu. Suryawas the mostconcrete of thesolar deities, andSavitra, 'thestimulator ofe v e r y t h i n g '( S a r v a s y aPrasavita -Nirukta, 10, 31)denoted hisabstract qualities.

Mitra wasan Indo-Iraniangod. Aryamanwas also an Indo-Iranian deity.

Sarasvati, Narla, Dist. Kalahandi

Varuna, Kosalesvara Temple,Patnagarh, Dist. Balangir

Therefore in the Suryaimages, the god isdepicted as wearinghigh boots upto theknee-level like theIranian gods. Verypeculiarly enough theSthanaka YogaNarasimha image ofN a r a s i n g h n a t hstanding in aSamabhanga posture

is seen wearing high boots of the Iranian originlike that of Surya. Surya's connection withVisnu is well-known. But this might be the onlyNarasimha image in entire India wearing thehigh Iranian boots of Surya. It can be calledSurya Narasimha. An exquisitely carvedViranchi Narayana image has been collectedfrom village Salebhata in Balangir district bythe Sambalpur University Museum authorityalso.

Independent standing Surya images arefound in the Durga temple at Manomunda inBaud district, in the Siva temple at Panchgaonin Jharsuguda district, amidst temple ruins atBhuliasikuan in Nuapada district and carvedin one side of a square-shaped temple pillar,presently kept inside the Jagamohana of theSvapnesvara temple at Kamsara-Majhipali inSonepur district. Another standing Surya imagewas found during excavation amidst templeruins at Sauntpur in Balangir district during theState period in 1946, which has been shiftedto the Sambalpur University Museumsubsequently. The pedestal portion of thebroken Surya image are found at Narsinghnathin Bargarh district, Gandharadi in Baud districtand Lalei in Sundargarh district. The onlySurya image, seated in Padmasana is found asa loose sculpture, and at present kept insidethe Jagamohana of the Siva temple at

Kapilapur in Jharsuguda district. In the pedestalportion of the standing Surya figures ofManomunda, Kamsara-Majhipali, Sauntpur andPanchgaon, as well as in the broken pedestalsseven galloping horses pulling the chariot withAruna as the charioteer are depicted, whereasin the cases of the Surya images at BhuliaSikuan and Kapilapur, there are three and fourhorses on the pedestal respectively. Surya isalso depicted as sitting in Padmasana in thefirst position on all the Navagraha slabs foundfitted on the door lintels of many early temples.

The image of Surya (sun-god) enshrinedin the Durga temple at Manomunda isworshipped as goddess Durga by the localvillagers. It is a standing image of Surya(3'x1-½'). In both his raised hands he is holdingstalks of lotus and has a Kirita Mukuta on hishead. In both sides above his head are flyingVidyadhara couple with garland in hands. Inhis left and right sides are two standing femalefigures representing his wives, Rajni andNikshubha. Seven front-faced horses in thegalloping position are depicted on the pedestal.His charioteer Aruna with a whip in his righthand and the reins of the horses in his left handis seen in between both legs of Surya, on thepedestal. Manomunda being a village justacross the river Tel and situated on theopposite bank ofSonepur, it is presumedthat this unique image ofSurya might have beentaken away by thevillagers of Manomundafrom Sonepur in theremote past.

From the Sonepurcopper-plate charter ofthe mighty Somavamsi

Surya, Siva Temple,Kapilapur, Dist. Jharsuguda

Indra, Bahari GopaljiTemple, Sonepur

king MahabhavaguptaJanmejaya, which wasissued from Arama inhis seventeenth regnalyear, it is that the kingdonated Gettaikelavillage to the illustriousKamalavana VanikaSangha, who in turnbestowed the samevillage on the templesof Lord Kesava (Visnu)and Lord Aditya

(Surya) for charity, oblation and offerings aswell as for repairing wear and tear in thetemples.

Now we get ample evidence of theexistence of an early temple of Visnu atSonepur from the loose sculptures of theNarasimha and Trivikrama incarnations ofVisnu, at present kept in the Jagamohana ofthe Suvarnameru temple. The Surya image ofthe early temple is not found anywhere atSonepur. Therefore, the Surya image ofManomunda might be the Surya image whichwas worshipped as the central deity in thetemple of Aditya, of the Sonepur plates ofMahabhavagupta Janmejaya.

Inside the Jagamohana of the Sivatemple at Kamsara - Majhipali, the broken baseportion of one square-sized pillar is kept tothe proper left of the Sanctum doorway. Fourfigures, namely those of a standing Nayika,Surya, dancing Ganesa and Uma-Mahesvara inSukhasana are carved in all four sides of thispillar. The Nayika is standing in tribhanga withher right hand raised up and the left handhanging in the Katyavalambita posture. ARatikera scroll-work is carved as borders ofthis figure in all four sides. Surya is seen to

be standing in Samabhanga, holding the stemsof two full-blown lotuses in both his raisedhands. He is seen wearing a Kiritamukuta onhis head and Makarakundalas in his ears. Inboth sides are two profiled female figures seento be standing near his legs. They can be takenas his wives Rajni and Niskhubha. In thepedestal portion are carved seven horses withthe diminutive figure of Aruna, the leglesscharioteer.

Another Surya image of utmostimportance is kept near the Jagannath templeof the village Bhulia Sikuan, who is standingin Samabhanga holding two round lotusflowers in both his hands. He has a smilingcountenance. A beautiful Mukuta is adorninghis head. He is wearing long boots up to hisknee-level. Two female figures are standingin both sides of his legs. Four horses insteadof seven horses are depicted on the pedestal,which might be denoting four directions; east,west, north and south. In the central portion ofthe pedestal is his charioteer, the legless Aruna,who is depicted as front-faced, with both ofhis hands folded in obeisance. This sculptureis of the height of30" and breadthof 18".

The Suryaimage is of theheight of 18" andbreadth of 15"approximatelyand depicts thetwo-handed Sungod standinginSamabhangaposture holdingtwo full-bloomedlotus flowers in

Brahma, RamesvaraTemple Complex, Baud

Surya, Siva Temple, Panchgaon,Dist. Jharsuguda

both hands. Dandi(Yama) and Pingala(Agni), who are thedoor-keepers ofSurya are sitting inboth sides of thepedestal, while hischarioteer the leglessAruna is sitting in thecentre and sevenrunning horses arecarved on thepedestal.

A n o t h e rimportant sculpture found here is the four-handed Surya, sitting in Padmasana andholding two full-bloomed lotus flowers in bothof his lower hands while in the upper left andright hands are Cakra and Kaumodaki Gada(a kind of mace) respectively. As periconography, it is the immage of Aryaman, whois taken as one of the twelve forms of Surya(Adityas).

Besides Surya images, independentimages of Astha Dikpalas, the guardians ofeight directions like Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirriti,Varuna, Vayu, Kuvera and Isana are found invarious temples.

Not a single Indra image has beendiscovered so far amidst loose sculptures orParsvadevatas / Avaranadevatas of any of theearly temple in situ or ruins. But in templesbelonging to the later period images of Indraare found fitted in the Parsvadevata niches.Inthe southern side, in the truncatedPidhamundi design near the Anuratha portionof the Uparajangha in the vestibale (Antarala)corner of the Nilakanthesvara temple atPapadahandi, there are figures of Indra seatedon the elephant and a goddess (most probablyIndrani), also seated on the elephant. The

Nilakanthesvara temple belongs to thefourteenth century A.D.

Another four-handed Indra image, seatedon the back of a profiled figure of his Vahanaelephant is housed in a Parsvadevata niche ofthe Bahari Gopalji temple at Sonepur town. Abroken image of Agni, of the hight of aroundfifteen inches and breadth of eight inches, isfound in the temple precinct of theKapilesvaratemple at Charda in the Sonepurdistrict. Flames of fire are carved behind hishead. This four-handed image is standing in aTribhanga posture.

A beautiful image of Varuna has beenwrongly identified as Dvarapala by noted arthistorian Prof. Thomas E. Donaldson. It is abeautiful image, with an exquisitely carvedhead-gear having a Kirtimukha head in thecentre of it. A semi-oval Prabhavali is behindhis head. His right leg is broken, while the leftone is firmly placed on the ground. He iswearing Haras, Keyuras, Kankanas Katisutraand Yajnopavita etc. His Vahana Makara(crocodile) is carved very distinctly in theproper right side, being depicted as discendingto the pedestal. A youthful male, whose headis adorned by a Mukuta is sitting in Lalitasanaon a high platformbesides the left leg ofVaruna on the pedestal.This image of Varuna ishaving the iconographicfeatures of the sculpturesof the Panduvamsiperiod, i.e. circa 8thcentury A.D.

In the Dharmasection of the Teresinghacopper-plate grant of kingTustikara, belonging tothe 5th-6th century A.D.

Surya, Durga Temple,Manomunda, Dist.Baud

Surya, Sauntpur. Now inSambalpur University

Museum

gods like Aditya(Surya), Hutasana(Agni) and Sulapani(Siva) have beenprayed - AdityoH u t a s a n aPurogamah /S u l a p a n i s c aBhagavanabhinandatiBhumidam //.

Similarly in thec o p p e r - p l a t echarters of theBhanjas of Khinjali

Mandala and Somavamsis of Suvarnapura-Yayatinagara fame, belonging to the 8th-9th and9th-11th centuries A.D. respectively, gods likeAditya (Surya), Varuna, Visnu, Brahma, Soma(Moon), Hutasana (Agni or fire) and Sulapani(Siva) have been prayed in the Dharma Section.- Adityo Varuno Visnu Brahma SomaHutasanah / Sulapanisca BhagavanAbhinandati Bhumidam //

It is proved from the mention of namesof minor gods like Surya, Brahma, Candra,Varuna and Agni in the copper-plate chartersbelonging to the period from 8th to 11thcenturies A.D. that their worship was extemelypopular among the common populace. Evenfrom the 5th-6th centuries A.D. the worship ofAditya (Sun) and Agni (Fire) gods wasprevailing in the upper Mahanadi valley fromthe ruling period of the Parvatadvaraka dynasty.Solar eclipse was so auspicious that many landgrants were given to the Brahmins to earnreligious merits of king's parents as well asfor himself and his family members by the kingsof the Somavamsa who were ruling west Orissain the 9th-10th centuries A.D. These are thereasons that images of minor gods are foundamidst sculptures in the upper Mahanadi valleyof Orissa.

References

1. The Journal of the Kalinga HistoricalResearch Society, Vol.I, No.3, December 1946,p.247.

2. Orissa Historical Research Journal ,Vol.XXXVIII, No.1-4, Bhubaneswar, 1992.

3. The Orissa Historical Research Journal ,Vol.XLVI, No.3, Bhubaneswar, January 2003.

4. Orissa Review, Vol.XLIX, No.3, Bhubaneswar,October, 1992.

5. Orissa Review , Vol.L, No.6, Bhubaneswar,January, 1994.

6. Orissa Review, Vol.LX, No.5, BhubaneswarDecember, 2003.

7. Orissa Review, Vol.LX, No.10, BhubaneswarMay 2004.

8. Satyanaranayan Rajaguru, Inscriptions ofOrissa, Vol.I, Part-ii, Orissa State Museum,Bhubaneswar, 1958, p.83.

9. Rajaguru, Inscriptions of Orissa , Vol.IV, OrissaState Museum, Bhubaneswar 1966.

10. Dr. Snigdha Tripathy, Inscriptions of Orissa ,Vol.VI, Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar,1974.

11. T.A. Gopinatha Rao, Elements of HinduIconography, Vol.II - Part-I, Indological BookHouse, Varanasi, 1971.

12. Jitendra Nath Banerjea, The Development ofHindu Iconography, Munshiram ManoharlalPublishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, Third Edition,January 1974.

13. Thomas E. Donaldson, Hindu Temple Art ofOrissa , Vol.III, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1987.

The researcher is the Joint Director and DeputySecretary to Government of Orissa in Information &Public Relations Department, Bhubaneswar.

Agni, Kapilesvara Temple,Charda, Dist. Sonepur

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The term science appears to be verycomplicated and critical for the common manbut the meaning of this word is simple. Thisterm is derived from Latin word Scientia, themeaning of which is 'to know'. The broaddefinition of science is 'the knowledgeascertained by observation and experiment,critically tested, systematised and broughtunder general principles.' Precisely speaking,science is systematic knowledge withreasoning. Further it is the knowledge obtainedby putting questions through five words suchas why, what, when, where and how. In generalthe answers of "WHY" through observation,experiment and logic is science.

In our day to day life many things happen,the reason of which is sometime not known ormay be difficult to findout. There are certainaspects which are just believed blindly withoutany justification. Many misconceptionspropagate in our society which drags us back.To March forward, we have to look at theproper or exact causes of the happenings oroccurrences. That in fact, broadens our ideas,knowledge and thought. Many preconceivedwrong ideas and beliefs are there in our mindirrespective of caste, creed, sex, tribe andreligion. For example, discussions or rumoursare heard that "Lord Ganesh drinks milk","Diabetes is caused due to intake of sugars or

sweets", "Ghosts are there in crematorium andproduce light", "Eclipses are caused due togiants like Rahu and Ketu", "Snakes can hearthrough their eyes" and many more. Are theseall true ? Certainly not. These are all falsehaving no scientific justification. People havecreated these without finding any reason forthem but science reveals the truth and finds outthe reasons and causes of everything thathappens in and around us. We should notbelieve or accept anything without knowing thereasons. Science is such a branch which spellsout the solution of all queries and problems.

YSA - 2004 : A Vision

There is hardly an aspect of our liveswhich is not affected or imparted upon byscience. It is therefore, imperative to inculcatein the people a habit of being scientific in theirapproach, attitude, aptitude and to make themable to participate in decision making processon issues which concern them. NationalCouncil for Science and technology (NCSTC)or Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Pradyogiki SancharParishad (RVPSP), Department of Science andTechnology, Government of India has beencommunicating science to masses since itsinception in 1982. The NCSTC (RVPSP) has,in the past, executed successful and highlyacclaimed campaigns such as the Bharat Jan

Year of Scientific Awareness - 2004

Dr Prafulla Kumar Mohanty

52


Gyan Vigyan Jatha (BJGVJ) in 1992. Theseprojects had short, long and very long - termimpacts on the science communications scenein India. The insights and experience gainedduring these two large projects would bebrought to bear on the "Year of ScientificAwareness" (YSA), 2004." The intent of thisis clearly to focus attention on and to spreadscientific awarenesss far and wide in thecountry and much wider than what is, or hasbeen possible ordinarily through the effortsbeing made in the normal course byorganisation, partly or fully made in themandated to do so. Accordingly, keeping thisin view, Government of India have designated2004 as the Year of Scientific Awareness(YSA).

Objective of YSA - 2004

YSA-2004 was formally launchedduring inaugural session of the Indian ScienceCongress Association (ISCA), held fromJanuary 3-7, 2004. To generate scientificawareness among people, students and massin general, all its associated activities andprogrammes have been proposed to continuethroughout the Year 2004 for which the termYSA 2004 is coined. YSA 2004 basically hasbeen conceived as a compaign of one full yearof multiple level activities to be organised bothhorizentally and vertically across the country.However, the important objectives are statedbelow.

(i) To make as many people and studentsscientifically aware as possible.

(ii) To satisfy people through answers totheir queries, questions and certain beliefs.

(iii) To help create a congenial environmentfor a better living.

(iv) To make people conscious regarding thecontribution of forest, plants, animals, hills,falls and other natural surroundings.

(v) To eradicates blind beliefs, superstitionsor wrong ideas through various programmes,discussion, audio visual aids, jathas etc.

(vi) To create awareness as to properhygienic food and drinks for a better health.

(vii) To help the people in understandingvarious types of pollutions (land, air, water,themal and noise).

Activities and Programmes

It is seriously felt that all self-respectingcitizens of our country ought to becomescientifically literate. The country-widecoverage is sought to be given effect as per aconstruct which devides the country into eightregions. These are - Eastern Coastal Region,Western Coastal Region, Eastern HimalayanRegion, Western Himalayan Region, Arid ZoneRegion, North Central Region, South CentralRegion and Central Region.

A large number of central GovernmentMinistries and Department, many State Counciland Department of Science and Technology,Academic and Research Institutions all overthe country will carry out activities. Activitieswould be based on themes and core issues ofrelevant local, regional and national concern.It may be precisely as follows :

1. Discussion, Public Debates on burning andcontroversial issues, 2. Theme-basedexhibitions, 3. Radio and televisionprogrammes, multimedia CDs, publications,posters and wall-charts, 4. Awarenesscompaign on specific issues or themes, 5.Puppet shows, folk-performances and popularlectures, 6. Features and articles in

53


newspapers, 7. Contests and competitions,8. Activities and experiment- corners forchildren, 9. Group discussion and questionanswer programme on specific scientific topicsand 10. Website to report on and inform aboutthe project, its progress and for exchange ofideas, expression of views on ongoingactivities.

Broad Identified Fields

The major and broad issues of concernhave been identified and all activities wouldbe built arround them keeping in mind the localand region specific contexts. These are asfollows :

1. Water and Sanitations

This will explain water management, itstesting and hazards polluted water can cause,general meaning of cleanliness and sanitationas well as the use of safe drinking water.

2. Health and Nutrition

This will create insight into healthhazards, their forms and causes, possiblesolutions through integration of traditional withmodern scientific knowledge, focusing onconditions and periods of the year when thesehealth hazards are likely to assume threateningproportions, creating awareness on nutritiousand hygienic food practices.

3. Conservation of Environment andBiodiversity

By this people will be motivated to lookfor alternatives to the practices that lead toenvironmental degradation to give insight intothe threats to biodiversity and the ways toconserve it.

4. Disaster Preparedness

Many regions in India are prone to sameform of natural or man-made disasters.

Thorough awareness may be created as to whatare these and what preparation can be made tominimize the damage to life and property andfor better post-disaster management.

5. Soil Management

The objective is to create an insight intotop soil quality and its possible pollutants,ways of maintaining soil moistures and fertility,guarding against erosion or soil degradation.

6. Empowerment of People ThroughInformation Technology

This will focus on informationtechnology (IT) as a means of access to theproblem - solving and decision makingcapabilities.

Target Group (Beneficiaries)

Since the objective of the programme isto create awareness amongst people in general,the target groups to be benefitted by thisprogramme are all undividuals of our country.School children, teachers, house wives,organised labourers, farmers sector specificworkers such as those in the armed forces,steel and coal sectors, construction workers,railway men, those in NSS, Nehru YuvaKendras and so on. Some likely ones may bementioned here.

(i) School science clubs, (ii) College studentunion, (iii) Community Groups (Lions, Rotary,RWA, Ladies clubs), (iv) Youth Clubs (NYKs,Adventure Clubs etc.) (v) Labour Unions(Industrial and Service Sectors),(vi) Employees' Association (Teachers,Supervisors etc.) (vii) Industrial Associations(Small, medium, large, MNCs),(viii) Professional Societies, Scientiests andEngineers (ix) Science and Technology (S &T) - Based Voluntary Organisation and(x) Academic and Research Institution andorganisations.

54


Follow Up YSA 2004

A whole lot of non-government andvoluntary organisations spread throughout Indiaare participating in this noble endeavour. Therewill be Regional Co-ordinating Agencies, StateCo-ordinating Agencies, District Co-ordinatingAgencies and Local co-ordinating Agencies.At the national level there is the nationalorganising committe at New Delhi. Year ofScientific Awareness is not just a programmetaken up to fulfil certain physical targets. It isa larger and continuous process started to makepeople participate in a continuous endeavourof scientific realisation to build a modern,sustainable and developed India. YSA 2004is a platform for the people of India. YSA

2004 is a platform for the people of India tocame forward, work and move together andmake the dream of modern India come truescientifically. It is hoped that the inculcationof scientific spirit and bent of mind wouldmetamorphose developing India into adeveloped one. The scientific approach isbelieved to be reflected in the entire crosssection of people of our country by which thedream would be fruitful.

Dr. Prafulla Kumar Mohanty is a Reader in the Post-Graduate Department of Zoology, Utkal Univesity, VaniVihar, Bhubaneswar.

CHIEF MINISTER SEEKS SPECIAL ECONOMIC PACKAGE FROM CENTRE

Chief Minister, Shri Naveen patnaik in a letter to Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has sought a Special EconomicPackage of Rs.13,096 crore from Government of India over a period of 5 years. The proposed Special Economic Packageconsists of three distinct components. The first component is aimed at addressing fiscal distress and consolidating andrestructuring finances of the state so that desired fiscal space is created for undertaking development interventions. Thiscomponent consists of Rs.3,778 crore towards debt write off, Rs.400 crore towards interest relief for debt and Rs.830crore for compensation for loss in royalty for coal and other major minerals due to delay in revision of royalty rate, thustotaling Rs.5,008 crore. The second component is for Special Central Assistance worth Rs.7,869 crore for intensive sectoralinterventions in identified thrust areas (i.e. horticulture (Rs.200 crore), fisheries (Rs.135 crore), forestry sectors (Rs.600crore), irrigation (Rs.2408 crore), road connectivity (Rs.4276 crore) and tourism infrastructure (Rs.250 crore) so that theobjectives of equity-oriented economic growth, poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals are achieved. Thethird component focuses on financial support worth Rs.219 crore for massive self-employment programme so that theproblem of unemployment is effectively addressed.

The State, with around 86% rural, 22.21% ST and 16.20% so population, has had the highest incidence of povertyamong all India States. Orissa is also in a serious debt trap, the debt burden being 63% of GSDP and 329% of the State'stotal revenue in 2003-04. Thus, it is facing a serious financial crisis in view of the unsustainable burden of debt services. Theassistance provided by Government of India in various shapes is inadequate to meet the huge requirement of the State thatis deficient in infrastructure and is visited by various natural calamities such as droughts, floods and cyclones very frequently.

The present State Government has taken several reform measures including expenditure compression, revenueaugmentation and good governance. A number of development initiatives including improvements in road, irrigation andother productive infrastructure have been taken during last five years. Some positive impacts of these measures have alreadybecome manifest. However, the State Governmnet on its own can not achieve fiscal consolidation. With all its rich naturalresources and reform efforts, Orissa still faces serious handicaps in attracting much needed private investment because of itsweak infrastructural linkages. Thus, without a structural change in the nature of financial assistance to the State, it would benot possible to break the vicious circle of poverty.

The State's own efforts need to be supplemented with substantial support from Government of India in order toaccelerate the pace of the reform and development process in order to alleviate poverty and bring the State at par withdeveloped state within a compressed timeline. It is against this background that the State Government has sought a SpecialEconomic Package of Rs.13,096 crore for Orissa from Government of India over a period of 5 years.

55


* 10,600 Pani Panchayats have beenformed all over the State to promotefarmers' participation in the system ofWater management covering an area of8.79 lakh hectares.

* Under Biju Krushak Vikash Yojana,Rs.47.96 crores have been released for785 lift Irrigation Projects in the KBKarea and Rs.14.12 crore in non-KBKarea for 257 LIPs.

* Due to the emphasis laid on theconstitution of Vana SamrakshyanaSamities (VSSs) to involve people in theprotection and management of forests,more than 7002 VSSs have been formedin the stae bringing 6,68,894 hectares offorests under their protection.

* A Welfare scheme has been launched toprovide financial assistance to Kenduleaf workers in the event of Sickness anddeath. The next of kin of a worker willbe entitled to a compassionate grantamounting to Rs.10,000 in case of deathand Rs.1,500 in case of illness.

* During last 4 years, 52 bridges have beencompleted and 800 km. of State roadshave been improved under Rural

* A total number of 58,996 IAy houseshave beenconstructed with anexpenditure of Rs.126.36 lakhs. Aftersuper cyclone of 1999, 6,65,297additional IAY houses have beenconstructed till April, 2004.

* A number of programmes and projectshave been implemented under RevisedLong Term Action Plan (RLTAP) withan outlay of Rs.569.03 crore for allrounddevelopment of KBK districts.

* A sum of Rs.50 crore are being providedevery year to Western OrissaDevelopment Council (WODC)constituted for speedy development ofWestern Orissa.

* Development of the Micro Watershedsin drought prone areas of the state fordrought proofing and improving themoisture regime has been taken up. 1,712watersheds with a total treatable area of9.52 lakh hectares are being developedfor this purpose.

* To tackle the problem of distress sale ofpaddy it has been decided inprinciple toopen up paddy procurement centre indifferent districts.

A New Era of Progress & Prosperity

56


Infrastructure Development Fund(RIDF), Central Road Fund (CRF),Revised Long-Term Action Plan(RLTAP) and other State Plan Schemes.

* Under Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakaYojana (PMGSY), 2055 km. of all-weather-roads have already beenconstructed to provide connectivity tounconnected habitations. With NABARDassistance, 107 bridges have beencompleted on rural roads.

* Government has provided 54,809 tubewells, 2,250 sanitary wells and 395piped water supply projects to ensuresafe drinking water in rural areas.Besides this, 700 drinking water projectsare under execution under"Swajaladhara".

* To meet requirement of primary schoolteachers 17,000 Swechhasevi SikhyaSahayak (SSS) have been employed sofar. The Government has providedcontractual appointment in 1,078vacancies in the High Schools.

* Eight Regional Diagnostic Centres aregoing to be completed and would beoperational soon, under the EleventhFinancial Commission award at a costof Rs.24 Crore.

* 5,05,500 poorest of the poor familieshave been covered under AntyodayaAnna Yojana by giving rice @ 35 kg.per family per month.

* 64,800 senior citizens, who have notbeen covered under the Old Age PensionSchemes are being provided 10 kg. riceper beneficiary per month underAnnapurna Scheme.

* 18.21 lakh Kissan Credit Cards, 59,077Kalinga Kissan Gold Cards and 67,798Kaling Kissan Silver Cards have beendistributed to farmers through Co-opeative Banks.

* 1000 Information Kiosks in urban andsemi-urban areas are being opened topromote self employment in IT sector.

Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik reviewingthe work of State Medicinal Plant Board at Secretariat

on 3.8.2004.

ORISSA REVIEW VOL. LXI NO. 1 AUGUST 2004

SURENDRA NATH TRIPATHICommissioner-cum-Secretary

BAISHNAB PRASAD MOHANTYDirector-cum-Joint Secretary

SASANKA SEKHAR PANDAJoint Director-cum-Deputy Secretary

Editor

BIBEKANANDA BISWALAssociate Editor

Debasis PattnaikSadhana Mishra

Editorial Assistance

Manas R. NayakCover Design & Illustration

Hemanta Kumar SahooManoj Kumar Patro

D.T.P. & Design

The Orissa Review aims at disseminating knowledge and information concerningOrissa’s socio-economic development, art and culture. Views, records, statisticsand information published in the Orissa Review are not necessarily those of theGovernment of Orissa.

Published by Information & Public Relations Department, Government ofOrissa, Bhubaneswar - 751001 and Printed at Orissa Government Press,Cuttack - 753010.

For subscription and trade inquiry, please contact : Manager, Publications,Information & Public Relations Department, Loksampark Bhawan,Bhubaneswar - 751001.

Five Rupees / CopyFifty Rupees / Yearly

Editorial

Azad Hind Fauj and Provisional Government-A Saga of Netaji Prof. Jagannath Mohanty ... 1

Harijan Upliftment Movement in Orissa DuringNational Freedom Struggle Dr. Janmejay Choudhury ... 4

Buxi Jagabandhu : The Chief Architect of KhurdaPaik Rebellion of 1817 Braja Paikaray ... 7

Gandhiji's Visit to Indupur - Dhumat Sukadev SahuTr. by Marina P. Mohapatra ... 11

Birsa Munda - The Great Hero of the Tribals Satyanarayan Mohapatra ... 14

Participation of Oriya Women in the IndianFreedom Movement Balabhadra Ghadai ... 16

August Kranti and Jatiya Sarkars in Orissa Dr. Soma Chand ... 18

Krutibas Patsani : A Beacon Light of Freedom Pabitra Mohan Barik ... 24

Peace, Prosperity and Civilisation O.P. Mohapatra ... 25

Transparency and Accountability in Administration A.N. Tiwari ... 27

Food Habits of the Tribal People During ScarcitySeason Dr. Saswati Parichha ... 32

Trends of Population Growth in Orissa S.N. Mahapatra ... 34

Rain Water Harvesting - A Ray of Hope Dr. Pranab Kumar Ghosh ... 38

Monumental Efflorescence of Ranipur - Jharial Dr. C.B. Patel ... 41

Minor Gods in Sculptural Art of West Orissa Sasanka Sekhar Panda ... 45

Year of Scientific Awareness - 2004 Dr. Prafulla Ku. Mohanty ... 51

A New Era of Progress and Prosperity ... 55

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL Orissa Review

Participation of Oriyas in the Indian Freedom Struggle is an unforgotten chapterin the history of our country. The fight against Britishers was the altar whereinnumerable men and women sacrificed themselves paying no heed to personalcomfort and family front. The echoes of Indian War of Independence vibratedOriyas to such an extent that even tribals in remotest corners of the state cameforward to join the War of Independence and their leadership effected a considerablechange in the whole course of the struggle.

Their voices in the periphery still remain unrecorded and deeper research onthis angle becomes imperative. Realising such academic need we are endeavouringconsistently to encourage writers to cast new lights in terms of historical factsand events. Oral traditions, age-old tales and relevant remains provide enoughclues to add varied information to authenticate history of a nation. We hope, ourcontributors of articles will continue to support us in fulfilling this august work.Many articles in this issue convey such meanings to a greater extent.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

On the auspicious occasion of the Nation's 58th Independence Day I extend my warmgreetings and good wishes to you all.

2. This is an opportunity to pay our respectful homage to all those patriots, freedom fightersand unsung heroes, who have sacrificed their lives to give us our present identity. This is a day ofrejoicing as well as introspection. As we commemorate this momentous occasion, let us alsorededicate ourselves to the task of nation building to translate the dreams of our forefathers intoreality.

3. India's struggle for freedom is a unique phenomenon in world history to demonstrate thatthe path of non-violence shown by Mahatma Gandhi could indeed be successful in winningindependence. In Orissa, history bears witness to the sacrifices and contributions made by greatsons of Orissa like Jayee Rajguru, Buxi Jagabandhu, Veer Surendra Sai, Birsa Munda, LaxmanNaik, Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and many others.

4. During the last few years we have suffered frequent visitations of terrible calamities buthave overcome them emerging stronger than before through people's determination to meet thosechallenges with courage.

5. The State is blessed with rich mineral, water, forest and marine resources, but as we havenot harnessed them to the extent possible, our standing in socio-economic development is lowwith our high poverty and infant mortality levels. We need to redouble our efforts in our corecompetence areas like agriculture, mineral based industries and tourism. Agriculture is the mainstayof our economy, with about 80% of the population depending on it for direct and indirectemployment, but our agricultural productivity and land utilization give enormous scope for furthergrowth. Our production of rice per hectare is much below the national average and only half ofwhat Punjab produces. Our performance in cash crops and horticulture is also not encouraging.Now what compounds the problem is the steady increase in population and constant decrease infarmland availability for a family. This is like a silent time bomb ticking away and waiting toexplode; and explode it will, one day, unless we make significant progress in adopting modernmethods to increase our agricultural productivity. There could be many reasons for this, but the

MESSAGE OF

SHRI M.M. RAJENDRANHIS EXCELLENCY

THE GOVERNOR OF ORISSAON THE OCCASION OF

THE 58th INDEPENDENCE DAY - 2004

first is proper water management. We cannot go on letting 80% of the rainwater flow into the sea.Our average use of fertilizers per hectare is much below the national average. So also our plantprotection measures. And it is only lack of awareness among farmers in remote and tribal areasthat they go on cultivating rice in upland areas that are entirely rain dependant, instead of going infor cash crops which are less dependant on water. Our mindset in agriculture has to change andwe must make all out efforts through long-term and farsighted planning to increase our productivity.Pani-Panchayat and watershed mission programmes are right and positive steps in that direction,yet it demands wholehearted cooperation and support from the people coupled with dedicatedefforts at the Block and Gram Panchayat level. Water conservation measures in the uplands ofWestern Orissa should have high priority.

6. This brings me to two other areas where Orissa can reap rich dividends : Crop diversificationand herbal and medicinal plant cultivation. We cannot go on forever having a paradoxical scenariowhere distress sale of rice is reported from some parts of the state despite favourable conditionsexisting for crop diversification in those parts. Our extension staff and Panchayats should takesteps to encourage cultivation of pulses, oil seeds and high yielding vegetables and fruits, to suitland and water availability. Orissa is home to almost 250 varieties of herbal plants. OurRashtrapatiji lays great emphasis on this and recently when he came for Sambalpur University'sconvocation, inaugurated a herbal garden. This symbolic gesture, I am sure, should awaken thepeople of Orissa - including policy makers, bureaucrats and entrepreneurs to open their eyes tothe enormous potential this sector offers. India's share is just about 2% compared to China's 40%of the world market in herbs and aromatic plants. It is high time all of us realized its importanceand put in synergised efforts to make Orissa a number one state in herbs production. This will notonly open up employment opportunities, it will definitely improve the economic standard of ourtribal brethren who have been for centuries the unofficial custodians and preservers of these rareplant species.

7. Another area to pay attention is animal husbandry and dairying. Livestock rearing is anintegral part of crop farming and the progress in this sector will result in a balanced developmentof the rural economy. We have plenty of water and greenery. In spite of this, I am pained to findthat the state imports fish, eggs, poultry and goats, from other states. Efforts to encourage privateentrepreneurs, both big and small, to take to these in big way will provide employment to thevulnerable sections of our population in rural, remote and inaccessible areas.

8. Orissa is fortunate to have national organizations like Central Institute of Fresh WaterAquaculture, Central Rice Research Institute, Central Horticultural Experiment Station, CoconutDevelopment Board and Central Poultry Development organisation besides others. We shouldmake use of these organisations in formulating policy for improving our production and productivityin Agriculture, Horticulture, Fishery and Animal Husbandry, which will surely yield positiveresult.

9. We should also not lag in promoting and attracting investment in sunrise industries likeInformation Technology and Bio-Technology, which have potential to create good employmentopportunities for educated unemployed. The State Government has taken steps to attract Information

Technology entrepreneurs by highlighting available strengths and opportunities of the State likequality working space, Information Technology manpower, electricity, communication etc. Computereducation in schools needs to be streamlined and made more attractive to the rural students. StateGovernment's programme to set up information kiosks should be utilized for dissemination ofimportant development information to the people, besides providing employment to youth. Furtherthere is very good scope for development of biotechnology in agri, marine and herbal sectors.

10. Women who constitute half our population cannot move forward, unless given fullparticipation on the basis of equality in all spheres of activity. Formation of Self Help Groups isan initiative in this direction. 83,939 new SHGs for women have been formed in the State tomobilise savings amongst the rural poor with some of them getting credit linkage and a smallnumber taking to economic activities. These SHGs can be put on a sound footing, if more of themare enabled to take to economic activities and support provided for marketing their products.

11. The changing pace of rural development and the growing requirements of the rural peoplerequire revitalizing the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). Even after 57 years of independence,the relevance of Gandhiji's clarion call for rural development has not ceased. It is not that noprogress has been made, but the pace and the extent of achievement have not been up to expectations.To achieve Gandhiji's vision of Gram Swaraj, it is essential that we develop panchayat as anautonomous domain of self-Governance to ensure true decentralization of power.

12. Education is perhaps the most important development tool available in our armoury. Whilewe have made some progress in this, the literacy levels particularly among women in remote andtribal areas are abysmally low. Reorientation of school syllabus for tribal people giving dueimportance to their culture, making education relevant to their needs and requirements, reachabilityof the schools in remote and inaccessible areas, rescheduling of school timings so that tribalchildren can attend to some of their domestic activities that augment their family income, ensuringpresence of teachers through recruitment of teachers at the local level, are some of the aspects thatdeserve immediate attention.

13. We now have a global economy in which we have to compete with the best available in theworld, just as it opens up opportunities for the best among us to compete with others in the rest ofthe world. This is possible only if we maintain very high quality in all stages of education,especially higher education. After my more than four and half years in Orissa and after manyregular visits to schools and colleges in different parts of the state including KBK districts, I mustadmit that the quality of higher educations, particularly science education is not on par with otherparts of the country. We have to drastically improve the quality of higher education which canhave a percolation effect on other levels of education also. To achieve that, we need to constantlyupgrade our syllabus and equip teachers with state-of-the-art knowledge.

14. The health scenario in the state is a cause for serious concern. Infant Mortality Rate andMaternity Mortality Rate have to be reduced and the efforts already launched have to be accelerated.What is standing in the way for reaching an efficient health care and education system to rural andtribal areas is the unwillingness and hesitancy of Government employees especially teachers and

doctors to serve in KBK districts and other remote areas. My suggestion is to evolve a mechanismwith a cadre of doctors, teachers and other employees who are willing to work in these areas, andhave incentives like quick promotion, extra increments, scope for higher education and mostimportantly, ensuring their return to the place of their choice after five to six years.

15. The State is rich in its handicrafts, handlooms and various forms of arts. But majority of theartisans and craftsmen continue to persist with traditional tools and practices with adverseconsequences for themselves as well as for the rural economy. As a result they fail to competewith machine made counterparts. So, while our artists and craftsmen need to be exposed to newtechnologies and training, proper marketing facilities should also be provided for their products.Steps should also be taken to preserve and enhance the skills evolved over thousands of yearsfrom extinction. IT can be of immense help for projecting and vigorous positioning of theseproducts in the market.

16. Tourism in Orissa has tremendous potential for growth and development. That people failto understand its potential continues to baffle me. Tiny countries like Thailand and Malaysiadepend mainly on tourism for the survival of their economy; yet we have every thing but havefailed to capitalise on it. Orissa with rich bio-diversity can be a sound base to start eco-tourismventures. Places rich in Buddhist and Jain relics and our architectural masterpieces can attracttourists from many countries. With advances in Information Technology and communicationfacilities, the beautiful tourist spots in remote areas can easily be projected to the prospectivetourists. Expansion of the runway at Bhubaneswar Airport will give a fillip to the growth oftourism and attract international tourists.

17. Implementation of Government's policies and programmes is in the hands of its employeeswho come into contact with the people at the cutting edge. My appeal to all my colleagues in thegovernment at all levels is that please remember people are our masters and we are in ourpositions only to serve them sincerely and with integrity. If this work culture is developed, I amconfident Orissa will certainly see a better tomorrow.

18. This leads me to finally say a few words on industries in Orissa. No wonder, India missedthe bus when the waves of industries revolution swept Europe and America, because India of thattime was under colonial rule. But it seems Orissa will similarly miss the enormous opportunitiesin value addition of our minerals and utilisation of our rich water and coal resources. And it stillis a conundrum why such a state having abundant and varied mineral resources finds it difficult towoo investors ! We have iron ore, bauxite, chrome, manganese and coal - yet investors movedaway from us. What really is the reason ? This is not an occasion to point fingers at anybody, butI must say Orissa has not made use of the opportunities and other states with less mineral resourceshave moved ahead. Yet all is not lost. My sincere appeal to all on this auspicious occasion is, letus join hands and work together and create a conducive atmosphere to investors, to make Orissaan industrially vibrant state. I have always been an optimist and I firmly believe, if the people ofthis state are determined, they will make Orissa a developed state by 2020. Let that be our pledgeon this day.

Jai Hind

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

On the auspicious occasion of Independence Day, I convey my heartiest greetings andcongratulations to you all. For all of us Independence Day is a great day. Our country was freedfrom the British Rule on this day. Many patriots have sacrificed their lives to achieve thisIndependence. I express my deepest homage to them.

After Independence democracy of our country has been strengthened. Our country has madeprogress in many spheres. Attempt is on to develop Orissa.

My Government have served the people of Orissa for four years by your blessings. Youhave again given us a chance to serve. For this we are grateful to you.

The development of Orissa is my sole aim. We have undertaken many programmes for theuplift of the poor, cultivators, wage-earners, tribals, harijans and women. Through new programmesin various sectors like Agriculture, Industry, Rural Development, Irrigation, Health and Education,the development process is on.

Orissa has vast resources. We are trying to create employment and increase per capitaincome by utilising these resources. Many new projects are going to be set up in different sectorslike steel, aluminium and energy. Opportunities have been created for private investments ofmore than Rs.45,000 crores in our State. Orissa has been made a centre of industrial developmentas a result of which the scope of resource development and employment opportunities have beencreated in the State.

Blocks, Tahsils, and Police Stations will be made more active and people-oriented. Toimprove the working pattern in these offices, an established institution will study their functioning.

Agriculture is the mainstay of our people. We are according priority to the development ofagriculture and irrigation. During the coming days we will put more emphasis on the developmentof agriculture, irrigation as well as farmers. I have always given top-priority to provide employmentto the educated youth of our State. We have therefore launched self-employment schemes. Enoughemployment opportunities will be created by extending these programmes.

Let us resolve on this auspicious occasion to make Orissa prosperous.

Jai Hind

Message ofSHRI NAVEEN PATNAIK

HON'BLE CHIEF MINISTER OF ORISSAON THE OCCASION OF

THE 58th INDEPENDENCE DAY - 2004

I convey my heartiest greetings and good wishes to all my dearest brothers and sisters of Orissa

on the occasion of 58th Independence Day.

As a free nation, India took birth on 15th August. It is a memorable day not only for the

people of India but for the entire world. After a long period of subjugation, our country attained

Independence on this auspicious day in 1947 by braking the shackles of alien rule. Attainment of

this Independence was possible only due to endless sacrifice, relentless endeavour and firm

determination of our countrymen. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation and forerunner of the

Indian Freedom Struggle inspired us to pursue the path of truth and non-violence. We will continue

to pay respectful homage to him. The great contribution of leaders of Orissa like Utkalamani

Gopabandhu Das, Acharya Harihar Das, Smt. Rama Devi, Saheed Laxman Naik and many others

will continue to inspire us to march ahead with enlightment and ecstasy. We offer our glowing

tribute to those great souls. We will remain filled with gratitude for those great leaders of freedom

struggle.

India is a prosperous land. It's great heritage and tradition have always inspired the Indian

people. Every particle of this land is sacred. Each and every citizen of India are quite blessed

having born on this august land.

On this auspicious occasion of the Independence Day, I request all my brothers and sisters

of the State to join themselves in the enormous task of making Orissa a developed and prosperous

State under the leadership of our Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik.

Jai Hind

Message ofSHRI DEBASIS NAYAK

HON'BLE MINISTERINFORMATION & PUBLIC RELATIONS

ON THE OCCASION OFTHE 58th INDEPENDENCE DAY - 2004

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