Voicing concern over the exclusion of Odia language from the curriculum of teachers’ training course in Jharkhand, the Odisha government has taken up the matter with the neighbouring State government to maintain the homogeneous cultural heritage and identity of the two states.

Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash in a letter to Jharkhand counterpart Jagarnath Mahto said the Jharkhand government has recognised Odia as the second state language, and the status of the Odia language should remain intact for the larger interest of thousands of Odia-speaking people in the neighbouring State.

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“Our government is funding about 160 teachers through Utkal Samilani to impart education in Odia in the Odia speaking tracts like Sadheikala, Kharasuan, Singhbhoom, and others. Around 35 Odia schools are also running in your state with the patronages of the government,” Dash said.

Earlier BJP leader and Leader of opposition in Odisha legislative assembly Pradipta Kumar Nayak had urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to initiate steps to protect the interest of the Odia speaking people staying in Jharkhand.

A recent advertisement by Jharkhand Academic Council has fuelled uncertainty and Odia-speaking people are perturbed over the future of their mother tongue. The government advertisement was related to the primary school teachers’ training. From the advertisement text, it has become apparent that Odia language has been excluded from the 7th paper while languages like Sanskrit, Bengali, Urdu, Ho, Mundari, Sanathali, and Kudmali have been included, Dash said.

The exclusion of Odia from the 7th paper language in Jharkhand has deeply hurt the sentiment and dignity of Odia people, Dash lamented while making an official request to Jharkhand’s counterpart to take back the notification.

Around 70% of people of Sadeikala, Kharsua, East Singbhum, and West Singhbhum areas speak Odia language. These areas instead of being included in Odisha had merged with the erstwhile Bihar during the reorganization of State in 1956 on a linguistic basis. It was a historical blunder that continues to bother the Odia-speaking natives in Jharkhand, language experts pointed out.