Archive for July, 2017
Ruins of ancient temple found in Jhinkerpali village, Boudh
BOUDH:The recovery of remains of a purportedly 10th century temple from a farm land in Jhinkerpali village under Palsagora gram panchayat in Kantamal block of the district has opened up a new chapter in the history of temples under Somvansi rulers. As per reports, the ruins of the temple were found while earth work was underway in the farm land of Parameswar Sahu on Friday.
The ruins include pillars with engraved motifs besides blocks with writings in Palli script. The excavator, which was deployed in the farm land, came across the ruins following which the work was put on hold. As the news spread, excited villagers rushed to the spot to catch a glimpse of the ruins.
Local villagers call the place from where the ruins were recovered as ‘Chandi Taal’ while revenue records reflect it as ‘Deva Staal’. Manoj Mohanty, a villager, recalled his grandfather mentioning about the existence of a Maa Chandi Bhairavi Temple at the place. In 1991, two Shiva Lingas had been found from the location which are currently being worshipped in Palsagora temple.
Researcher Satyanarayan Pani said the ruins hint of the temple being constructed during 10th Century. As the Somvansi rulers were devotees of ‘Chandi’, they could have built the temple, he said.
While the early history of Boudh is still obscure, the discovery of three remarkable Buddhist statues from the region had led some scholars to believe that the place was an important Buddhist centre of Odisha.
The town, which has over 200 temples built by Somvansi rulers, has led some to believe that the ruins could be that of a Shiva temple.
Boudh houses some ancient temples including the famous twin temples of Nilamadhava and Sidheswar and the twin temples dedicated to Hari and Hara. These apart, there are Chari Sambhu temple and the Ramanath temples dating back to the 9th century AD.
MP Prasanna Acharya urge center to include Kosli in 8th schedule of constitution
Following is a report from HT:
The government on Friday asserted in Parliament that it has no intention to impose Hindi over any other Indian language, a remark which assumes significance because of protests in some states due to apprehensions over the issue.
All languages are national languages, althought Hindi is the official language, said minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who is in-charge of the department of official languages in the central government.
He said the government is trying to find a way soon on how to bring the pending 38 languages in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, which grants official status to a language.
“There is no question of imposition of Hindi over any other language. Hindi is the official language. There is no one language which is national language,” he said in the Rajya Sabha.
He was replying to a debate on a private member’s bill which sought inclusion of ‘Tulu’ and ‘Kodava’ languages in the 8th schedule of the Constitution moved by BK Hariprasad of the Congress.
“It is not a question of trying to impose Hindi. Let us be very clear. There is no one language which is national language, all languages are national languages. Hindi is the official language, so there is no question of discrimination. There is no special effort or attempt to promote Hindi,” Rijiju said.
His comments assume significance as they come in the backdrop of allegations by certain quarters in some state like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu that the central government is trying to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.
The controversy over Hindi being imposed was generated after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the recommendation of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language that all dignitaries including the president and ministers, especially those who can read and speak Hindi, may be requested to give their speech/statement in Hindi only.
The president had accepted several other recommendations, including making announcements on board aircraft in Hindi followed by English.
Elaborating on the government’s three-language formula, Rijiju said it is already in existence and there is no bar on any state to conduct its business in regional languages.
The minister observed that the issue of language is very sensitive and a slight mistake or misrepresentation can lead to many differences within the country.
“We have not given any preference to one language over another. While justice is being done, we must ensure that no complications arise in the future because it is a very sensitive subject,” Rijiju said.
Clarifying the government position, he said, “We have made it clear that there is no question of imposition of Hindi over any other language. Hindi was made the official language taking into account the spirit of members of Parliament. Hindi has to be promoted but at the same time all other regional languages also have to be promoted”.
Hariprasad, while piloting his private member bill, highlighted the importance of regional languages.
“We have no problem in making Hindi compulsory in southern states but please make one southern language compulsory in north India,” said Hariprasad, who hails from Karnataka.
Hariprasad also demanded that a criteria be developed for inclusion of languages in the 8th Schedule to make the process transparent and devoid of politics.
To this, Rijiju said it is not easy to define the criteria which will make a particular language qualify for inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
He said the Home Ministry had set up a committee to have a look at the cases pending regarding inclusion of more languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
The minister urged Hariprasad to withdraw his bill, saying the two languages cannot be considered in isolation for inclusion in the 8th Schedule, to which the Congress member relented.
At present, there are 22 languages under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution while 38 languages have been listed formally. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
Participating in the debate, Prasanna Acharya (BJD) urged the central government to come out with a broader Constitution amendment bill.
“Let the government constitute a committee which should go deeper into the subject,” he said.
“India cannot unite unless we bring the people together,” he said, adding “in spite of all diversities, this nation is one and it continues to be one”.
He said sometimes people are angry like in Gorkhaland, who are demanding a separate state, and urged the government to take care of the sentiments of people of the area.
He urged the Centre to also bring Sambalpuri and Kosli languages of Odisha as part of the 8th Schedule.
Shiv Pratap Shukla (BJP) said if all the languages were taken care of, then there would not have been problems as existing today.
The President of India has himself said that if a language is spoken more in a state, then the government can include it in the 8th schedule, he said.
He said the three-language formula has been diluted as Sanskrit has been abandoned and only English and Hindi are recognised more.
He lamented that while India has not bothered about promoting Sanskrit, Germany has adopted it and is promoting it. He urged the government to include Bhojpuri and Tulu in the 8th schedule as it is spoken by a large number of people across the country.
Anand Bhaskar Rapolu (Cong) stressed the need for protecting lesser-spoken languages in the country.
La Ganeshan (BJP) cautioned against imposition of English, saying in Tamil Nadu the mother tongue is Tamil but a generation has grown which didn’t know how to write it and now there is a generation which doesn’t know how to read it.
Pradeep Tamta (Cong) said languages like Bhojpuri, Kumaoni, Garhwali should also be included in the 8th Schedule.
Ram Vikas Netam (BJP) lamented that though Chhattisgarh was carved out as a separate state, its language Chhattisgarhi was still to be accorded official status.
Dr. Lalit Kumar Meher appointed first dean of Balangir Medical College
Following is a report from OTV:
Bolangir: After a wait of 18 years, the dream of the people of Bolangir to have a medical college in the district will soon become a reality. The project, proposed after formation of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC), is all set to see the light of day with the college building nearing completion.
Besides, the state government has also appointed new Dean and Superintendent for the medical college.
Dean Lalit Kumar Meher along with a four-member team recently inspected the college infrastructure and facilities available.However, since construction of its independent hospital building has not started yet, the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) would be used as the hospital for the medical college.
Meher said, “This is a government medical college. So the government has to do everything. Apart from appointing doctors for the institution, the college requires all possible help from all the departments. Everybody has to be involved including the paramedical staff as well as nurses.”
We hope the Medical Council of India (MCI) grants permission to start admissions next year, said Meher.
“The Odisha government should by far start the admission process in 2018. The Dean and four other officials including Superintendent have already been recruited. Other faculty members would also be recruited in the next phase,” said Local MLA and Opposition leader Narsingha Mishra
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 