Memorandum for Inclusion of Kosli Language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum (KDDF)[ A non-political and non-separatist organization focuses
only on the development of Koshal or Western Orissa]E-mail:
westernodisha@googlegroups.com; Web site:
http://kddfonline.com/
.
Submitted
to
Dr.
Manmohan Singh, Honourable Prime Minister of India
Smt.
Partibha Patil, Honourable President of India
Smt.
Sonia Gandhi, Honourable UPA Chairperson
Smt.
Sushma Swaraj, Honourable Leader of Opposition
Mr.
P. Chidambaram, Honorable Union Minister of Home Affairs
Mr.
Kapil Sibal, Honourable Union Minister of Human Resource Development
Shri
Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Honourable Governor of Odisha
Mr.
Naveen Patnaik, Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha
Honourable
Members of Parliament from Odisha
Submitted
& Approved by
Members
of Kosal Discussion and Development Forum (KDDF) & well wishers
Drafted
by
Dr.
Sanjib K Karmee
Department
of Biotechnology
Delft
University of Technology, The Netherlands
E-mail:S.K.Karmee@tudelft.nl
Dr.
Arjun Purohit
Canada
E-mail:
apurohit1934@gmail.com
Mr.
Saket Sahu
Editor,
BENI, Bargarh, Odisha
E-mail:
saket.sahu@gmail.com
----
To
Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Honourable Prime Minister of India
cc
Smt. Partibha Patil,
Honourable President of India
Smt. Sonia Gandhi,
Honourable UPA Chairperson
Smt. Sushma Swaraj,
Honourable Leader of Opposition
Mr. P. Chidambaram,
Honourable Union Minister of Home Affairs
Mr. Kapil Sibal,
Honourable Union Minister of Human Resource Development
Shri Murlidhar
Chandrakant Bhandare, Honourable Governor of Odisha
Mr. Naveen Patnaik,
Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha
Honourable Members of
Parliament from Odisha
Esteemed Honourable Prime
Minister, Dr. Singh,
In the past few years
the central govt. has included different Indian languages in the
8th schedule of the
Indian constitution by the recommendation of various committees. It
shows prudence on the
part of Indian government in being flexible in recognizing the
complexity of
linguistic diversity in India. In 2003, the 93rd Constitutional Amendment was
passed which enabled
the government to have a fresh look at the possibility of inclusion of
other Indian
languages in the 8th schedule. Consequently, four languages, viz. Bodo, Dogri,
Santhali and Maithili
were judged to be included in the 8th schedule. We the people of
Western Odisha were
hoping that Kosli be included as well because our situation is identical
to that of Maithili
as it is explained in the following sections of this memo. Therefore, we
humbly request you to
examine our request by the same yardstick used to include the four
recent languages in
the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
It is said that the
right of a mother tongue is a basic cultural right of the people which
link them with their
economy, socio-cultural system and political right. UNESCO has
recognized that the
concept of language equality among all languages is important
irrespective of
whether the languages have a script or not. Furthermore, the Indian
government is
promoting the mother tongue based multilingual education to reduce the school
drop-out rates and to
enhance communication using a mother tongue.1 This
is a good and
praiseworthy
initiative taken by the Indian government. In this regard, the Kosli language
(also called
Kosli-Sambalpuri, Sambalpuri) is the mother tongue of ten districts of western
Orissa (Kosal region)
viz. Balangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi,
Nuapada, Sambalpur,
Sonepur, Sundargarh, and Athmallik subdivision.2 In
addition, a large
population of Raipur,
Mahasamund and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh state also uses Kosli
language as their
mother tongue.2
The Kosli language
and literature is vast as it is blessed with a group of dedicated
writers. A large
number of books are published regularly and available in the Kosli language.
----
.
Epics like “Ramayana”,
“Mahabharat” and “Meghduta” are translated into Kosli language.2
Kosli language has a
rich literature in different areas viz. Architecture, Astrology, Mantra-
Tantra-Yantra
science, Medicine, Yoga, Music, Arts, Dance, Drama, Yoga, Philosophy, and
Grammar.
Kosli dramas, songs,
and dances are popular across the world. Kosli dramas are highly
acclaimed and
regularly staged at various places of India. For instance, a recent Kosli
language play “Maau”
is aiming to enter the Limca record book by becoming the biggest ever
stage show of its
kind in the world.2 In addition, the Kosli language cinema is attracting world
wide attention. “Bukha
(Hunger)” a Kosli language movie has won the Indian national award,
an international jury
award at the Gijón International Film Festival, Spain and was selected
for World Rural Film
Festival, Aurrilac, France.2 The
All India Radio (viz. Sambalpur,
Balangir, and
Bhawanipatna) and television channels (viz. Nxatra news and OTV) are
broadcasting their
news and entertainment programs in Kosli language.
More than five
registered newspapers and seventy magazines are available in Kosli
language.2 Unfortunately
Kosli language has no political and official support although there
was a discussion in
the Indian parliament to include Kosli language in the 8th Schedule of the
Indian constitution.3 Recently
the Orissa govt. has recommended the Ho language for its
inclusion in the 8th
schedule of the Indian constitution.4 This
is a welcome step. Along this
line, we sincerely
hope that the Orissa govt. will recommend Kosli language for the inclusion
in the 8th Schedule
of the Indian constitution.
For the people of
western Orissa it is not just a language but a way of life that propel
progresses and
harmony in the region. The inclusion of Kosli language in the 8th schedule of
the Indian
constitution will have following positive impacts on the people of western
Orissa:
· Kosli
language as a mother tongue and medium of instruction:
Western Orissa area
contains 40 to 50 % of the state’s population. The key to
development of
western Odisha is the Kosli language. Drop out rate in schools particularly in
rural and Adivashi
area can be ascribed to, among other variables, teaching in Odia language
which is not used in
day to day communication. It is as if learning through an alien language.
Kosli is the dominant
means of communication through out western Odisha. Though we have
several tribal
languages, all tribals have functional capability in Kosli not Odia. That is
the
main reason why KBK
has been found literacy rate is so low. We also have large population
of scheduled caste in
the area who are similarly impacted. It has caused various problems viz.
i) the overall marks
of students from western Orissa are lower than the students of coastal
Orissa and ii) many
bright students of western Orissa fail again and again in both 10th and
10+2 examinations
because of their poor knowledge in Odia language. Recognition of Kosli
language will
facilitate education among the kids of western Orissa in their mother tongue
and
solve the above
mentioned problems.
----.
· Freedom
of expression in legislative and social sphere:
In spite of
aggressive Odianisation, population of western Orissa has retained Kosli
language for day to day
communication. In large population centers where people of other
states, especially
from Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat and other
North Indian area
have come to work, they have opted Kosli instead of Odia because the
accent of Kosli
follows North Indian pattern. And when poor Koslis go out of their area to
seek employment they
choose to go to other Hindi speaking area such as Chhattisgarh, U.P,
Bihar and Jharkhand
instead of Odia speaking area in Odisha. All Kosli can be easily
identified by their
accent when they try to speak Odia. Elected representatives from western
Orissa can not engage
in debates in the State Assembly because of their poor knowledge in
Odia language.
Recognition of this language will facilitate communication in the legislative
and social sphere.
· Research
and development:
Dictionaries, grammar
books, plays, novels, anthology of poems, granthavalis of
major poets, Kosli
panjikas, several books on history of Kosal (western Orissa), and
biographies on Kosli
heroes are already available without any financial help from the
government.
Recognition of Kosli language will avail grants directly from the central
government. This will
facilitate the research and future development of Kosli language.
· Ease
of governance:
Currently, notices
are given in the villages of western Odisha in Odia; not very
literates do not
understand the full implications of these notices. Civil servants from other
areas who do not even
have rudimentary knowledge of Kosli language can not communicate
with citizens, thus
resulting in miscommunication. In fact, Orissa is among the minority of
states which claims
to have only one language. Out of 28 states, 15 have more than one
official language.
Out of 7 union territories, 6 have more than one recognized language. In a
democracy, freedom of
expression is a fundamental right of the citizen. Good governance
requires efficient
communication between the citizens and the government. In this context,
inclusion of the
Kosli language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian constitution will facilitate
governance in western
Orissa.
· Kosli
as a distinct language and its socio-cultural impact:
The linguistic
characteristics of Kosli language are markedly different. Kosli language
is a direct
derivative of Sanskrit.5 Odia scholars have accepted it as a dialect of Odia language
and Odia language as
a member of Eastern Magadhi group of Indo-Aryan family. But
genealogical analysis
shows two different sources of origin of the two languages, that is, Odia
and Kosli language.
Odia is originated from the Magadhi Prakrit; whereas, Kosli language is
originated from
Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit.4 So there is remarkable difference between the two
in the sphere of
phonology, morphology, semantics and syntax.5 The
researchers at the
Sambalpur University,
Odisha have shown that the Kosli is a distinct and old language.6
----
.
Kosli language is
intimately connected to the distinct culture and heritage of western
Odisha, quite
distinct from Odia culture. The unique folk songs and dances blends neatly with
rhythm and
punctuation of Kosli language. Inclusion of Kosli language in the 8th schedule
of
the Indian
Constitution will promote the culture and heritage of western Orissa.
Keeping the above
mentioned points into consideration we request you to recommend the
inclusion of Kosli
language in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Thanking you with
best regards,
People of western
Odisha and members of the Kosal Discussion and Development Forum
(KDDF)
Acknowledgement:
We thank the members of KDDF and other e-forums for suggestions.
We are grateful to
the people of western Odisha for constant support and encouragement.
References:
1.http://kddfonline.com/2011/07/31/mother-tongue-based-multilingual-education-koslilanguage-
as-a-medium-of-instruction-in-the-schools-of-western-odisha/
2. http://kddfonline.com/category/kosli-language-and-literature/
3.
http://kddfonline.com/2009/10/23/parliament-debates-on-koshali-language/
4.
http://www.orissasambad.com/news_article.php?id=60961
5. Kosli Bhasa Ra
Sankhipta Parichay, Kosal Ratna Prayagdutta Joshi, pp 6, 7, 16, 17, Ed. Dr.
Dolagobinda Bishi,
1991.
6. Peculiarities of
Sambalpuri Language in Its Morphology; Dr. Ashok Kumar Dash, Surta, pp
35-38, Ed. Saket Sreebhushan Sahu, 2009.
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