CREATION OF SEPARATE PROVINCE OF ODISHA
● The present days Odisha or erstwhile Orissa, variously known as the Utkal, Kalinga, Odra/Odda and Kosala was a tera-incognita before the sanguinary war of 261 B.C. Its real history began after the Kalinga empire was ended. Its territorial integrity was kept at its highest echelon during the rule of the Sailodbhavas, the Gangas and the Gajapatis.
● Once again, its political dismemberment started after the rule of Mukundadeva, the last ruler of the Gajapati dynasty, was over.
● Thence, Orissa passed through the constant warfare between the Afghans and the Marathas.
● Orissa got into another historical mooring when it found its place in the “Diwani Rights” of the East India Company (EIC), after the 17th August 1765 treaty after the battle of Buxar.
● The Maratha Orissa came under the direct administration of the EIC when Lord Wellesley secured it from the Raja of Nagpur by the treaty of Deogaonon on 3 August 1803.
● Geographically, the whole of Orissa was divided into two major halves; the Mughulbandi, or the Orissa division, and the Garjats, or the hilly tracts.
● Mughulbandi area was comprised of the whole of the plain including three districts such as Balasore, Cuttack, and Puri.
● It extended from the river Subarnarekha on the north to the Chilka Lake in the south. It was placed under a separate Commissioner.
● The Garjats were left untouched where the tributary chiefs had been exercising their suzerainty.
● These tributary chiefs were kept under the supervision of the Superintendent of the Tributary Mahals, the post which was created in 1814 to check crime and outrages of the chiefs.
● Similarly, from the administrative point of view, Orissa was administered from three British administrative zones; the north of the Subarnarekhafrom the Bengal presidency, the south of the Chilka from the Madras presidency, and the Singbhum, Sareikala, Kharsuan, Gangapur and Bonai from the Chottanagpur Division.
● With the march of time, this administrative-cum-fiscal dismemberment of Orissa gave rise to the political consciousness by the beginning of the 19th century.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GROWTH OF POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS 1. Introduction of Modern Education in Orissa
● Ever since the British capture of Orissa in 1803, no substantial steps were undertaken by the British administration for the development of education in Orissa. Even the Charter Act of 1813 bore no fruit. A substantial portion of the amount was spent in Bengal proper.
● Credit for familiarizing Orissa with English education must be given to the Christian missionaries who could establish the first English school at Cuttack in 1822.
● They also attempted to print new textbooks, both in Oriya and English, through the School Book Society at Calcutta. Subsequently, they established schools at Balasore, Puri, Berhampur, and Sambalpur.
● The Macaulay Minute of 1835 opened up a new era in the history of modern education in Orissa. Accordingly, an English school was founded at Puri in 1835.
● Unfortunately, after five years of its opening, the school was closed owing to poor student enrollment. After that, H. Rickets, the then commissioner of Orissa, opened an English school at Cuttack which was popularly known as the Cuttack Missionary School. In 1841 an Education Committee was formed which took over the charge of management of the school. Surprisingly, it became the only British Government school in the whole of Orissa.
● In 1842 the Council of Education was established by him for the management of all the schools in Orissa. In order to bring more and more students into the arena of modern education, scholarship, and prizes were introduced.
● The first Oriya to get a scholarship was Nabeen Chandra Sarangi. In 1853, the government of Bengal opened two English schools in Orissa, one at Puri and another at Balasore.
● From 1845-54, initiatives were undertaken by Lord Harding, to open up vernacular schools in the Bengal Presidency.
● In Orissa, only eight schools were established at places such as Khurdha, Puri, Balasore, Remuna, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Mahanga, and Hariharpur.
● The Woods Dispatch of 1854, helped establish a special Department of Education in the place of the Council of Education in each province. Unfortunately, the Dispatch produced no immediate result for Orissa.
● In 1868, a college came into being with six numbers of students on the premises of Cuttack High School by the joint initiative of T. E. Ravenshaw, commissioner of
Orissa, and M. R. L. Martin, the inspector of the school. Historically, this college is known as the Ravenshaw College in Orissa.
● In 1876 a medical College was opened at Cuttack. In 1877 a Survey School was started in Orissa.
2. Growth of Transport and Communication
● The growth and development of Transport and communication including roads, canals, and railways proved to be a valuable thing for the general growth of political consciousness among the Oriya people.
● Interestingly, measures were undertaken for all these development after the great famine of 1866. The hidden motive was to prevent any similar kind of disaster in the future.
● Canals were constructed to fasten trading communication between Calcutta and Cuttack as well as to irrigate the agrarian fields.
● Two important canals fulfilling these needs were the Kendrapara Canal and the Taladanda Canal at Cuttack.
● The Dhamara harbor was thoroughly interlinked with the inland trading routes. Besides, durable roadways were constructed cutting across various scattered areas. Among many the Jagannath road which connected Cuttack with Calcutta bore historical importance.
● The Mahanadi bridge was constructed over the Mahanadi River in 1894-95. In 1896, a railway line was laid down connecting Puri with Jatani.
● The East Coast Railway, marching over coastal Orissa tracts, was completed in 1900. It connected Bengal with Madras and Nagpur.
● The development of transport and communication helped Oriya people to go out of the state for pursuing higher degrees in the field of education and business activities. Hence, it could offer a greater advantage for the achievement of political unity.
3. Growth of Printing Press and Journalism
● The growth of the printing press and journalism helped creating a powerful public opinion in Orissa.
● In 837 Christian missionaries established the first printing press in Orissa known as the “Orissa Mission Press” at Cuttack.
● It published monthly magazines such as Jnanaruna, Probodha Chandrika, and Arunodaya to popularize Christianity.
● After the Great Famine of 1866, the people of Cuttack took an interest in journalism.
● In 1866 the “Cuttack Printing Press” was established by Gourishankar Roy and it brought out an Oriya periodical called the “Utkal Dipika” from the same year. Gourishankar Roy himself was its editor. It could vocalize the masses.
● Similarly, other printing presses established at different places in Orissa were as follows. The Utkal Printing Press was founded by Fakir Mohan Senapati at Balasore in 1868 and published the Sambad Bahika.
The De press was established by Baikunthanath De at Balasore in 1873 and published the Utkal Darpan.
The Utkal Hitaisini or the Orissa Patriot Press was established by the Zamindar of Kalipada Bandyopadhyay and published the Utkal Hitaisini.
The Bamanda Press was established by Raja Sudhal Deva in Sambalpur in 1885 and published the Sambalpur Hitaisini.
At Brarhampur another press was established in 1875.
● Besides, many other presses like Viktoria Press, Bhaktipadayini Press, Printing Corporation Press, Arun Uday Press, Ray Press, Binod Press, etc. were established.
● Similarly, some periodicals and magazines published were the Cuttack Argos, Cuttack Star, Cuttack Standard, Cuttack Chronicle, Dhumketu, Utkal Madhupa, Utkal Putra, Bidesi, Utkal Subhankari, Utkal Samskarak, Chandrika, Swadesi, Purushottam Dipini, Prajabandhu, Sevak, Nava Sambada, Asha, Utkal Bandhu, GanjamNews, Utkal Sahitya, and Ganjam Odia Hitabadini.
● All the newspapers and magazines covered the political, religious, and cultural aspects of the life of the common masses.
4. Growth of Associations
● Organizations and associations were found to have developed after the 1866 centering around the socio-economic and political issues of Orissa.
● Libraries for educating people politically were also established across the region.
● In 1874, a huge meeting was convened at Cuttack by Bichitrananda Das, the sirastadar of the Commissioner of Cuttack. This meeting was attended by people from all walks of life including zamindars, elite people, feudal chiefs etc. Probably, it was the first huge gathering in Cuttack town.
THE MOLECULAR CHANGE OF MASS IDEOLOGY AND THE LANGUAGE AGITATION
1. Language Agitation in the North
● Oriya, a widely spoken vernacular language of many Oriyas, was shrouded under a dark cloud ever since the occupation of Orissa by the Moghuls followed by the Britishers in 1803. It was not given due importance as compared to its counterpart, the Bengali Language.
● A primordial stage of agitation took its birth when Umacharan Haldar, a Deputy Inspector of schools, advocated substituting the Bengali language in place of Oriya. But this view was rejected by H. L. Harrison, the Inspector of schools.
● Similarly, the Bengal British Government, as part of its divide-and-rule policy, wanted to segregate Oriya from the Bengali language.
● On 9 October 1869, the government itself ordered the Director of Public Instruction to form a committee in Cuttack to help the “School Book Society of Calcutta” with the consideration, selection, and translation of Oriya textbooks. Hence, a committee was formed with W. C.Lecey as its president and Raja Bhagirathi Mahendra Bahadur, Bichitrananda Das, Banamali Singh, and Dwarikanath Chakravarthy as members.
● The language issue took a serious turn when Rajendra Lal Mitra, in a lecture at Cuttack Debating Club said that “a great injury was inflicted on the Oriya race by their attachment to a provincial patois, which they wished to exact into a distinct language” Also, he said that “it was impossible on the part of the Oriyas to maintain a separate language since very few among them was literate.
● Oriyas were poor and they were not in a position to publish a single book”. He, therefore, advocated substituting Bengali in place of Oriya as a vernacular language.
● Another disaster to the Oriya language came when Kantilal Bhattacharya, a school teacher at Balasore district argued Oriya was not a separate language.
● He argued this in his book entitled Oriya Ekta Svatantra BhasaNai. Also, in this book, he postulated a theory that Oriya was a branch of the Bengali dialect and recommended its substitution for Bengali.
● On the other hand, some colonial scholars like John Beams argued in favor of the Oriya language. He pointed out that Oriya contained unchanged forms which were older than Bengali and Hindi. He condemned Kantilal’s book as “profoundly destitute of philological arguments”. Basudev Mukherjee, a scholar from Bengal also criticized Kantilan’s argument.
2. The Reaction of the Oriya People
● The language agitation took a serious turn when the periodical newspapers like the Utkal Dipika by Gourishankar Ray, SambadBahika by Fakir Mohan Senapati, and the Ullhasini Sabha criticized the views of Kantilal Bhattacharya and Rajendra Lal Mitra.
● But some apolitical organizations like the Utkal Hitaisini Sabha, the Cuttack Society and the Cuttack Debating Club championed the cause of the Bengalis.
● In this regard
● John Beams wrote, “This little work, though profoundly destitute of philological arguments, has created some stir among the natives of the province, who are somewhat disgusted at finding their native language treated as a mere corruption of Bengali”.
● The agitation got intensified when
i) On July 1869, Umacharan Haldar, Dy. Inspector of
Schools pleaded in the Cuttack Star for writing Oriya in Bengali script and ii) Rajakishore Mukhopadhaya, a lecturer in Law, of Cuttack College, argued in favor of the Bengali language.
3. Government’s Response
● Here the Government’s response was quite different. In a bid to follow the Divide and Rule policy, they also followed a rather sympathetic attitude towards the Oriya language. i. John Beams in his scholarly articles criticized the viewpoints of Rajendra Lal Mitra and Kantilal Bhattacharya and favored the Oriya language.
ii. T. E. Ravenshaw also actively supported for the cause of Oriyas.
iii. G. Campbell, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, acknowledged Oriya, Bengali and Assamese as separate languages.
Finally, towards the end of the 19th century, the Oriya language had replaced the Bengali language in the schools in Orissa.
4. Language Agitation in the South
● In the south, the Telugu-speaking people of Ganjam district and Vizagapattanam Agency had been trying to substitute the Telugu language for Oriya.
● The Director of Public Instruction of Madras argued the Oriya language as a semi-barbarous language for which it must be repudiated.
● Despite all these odds, in 1873, Madras University recognized the Oriya language to be taught at the University.
● In 1873 the Raja of Katinga made an appeal to save the Oriya language from the pre-dominance of Bengali, Hindustani, and Telugu people.
● In the Jaypore Agencytoo, all the records were maintained in the Telugu language. Finally, the Madras Government passed an order to use the Oriya language in the Courts and Government offices.
5. Language Agitation in Sambalpur
● In the District of Sambalpur, the majority number of people (595601 out of 796413 people) used the Oriya language as their lingua-Franka.
● In 1895, the Commissioner of Central Provinces introduced Hindi in the Sambalpur district for administrative convenience.
● This created a great problem for the Oriyas. An agitation started in Sambalpur against the decision of the Commissioner. Finally, the Government announced that “the people of Sambalpur have to learn Oriya for their mother, father, wife and children and Hindi for the purpose of Court and English for their welfare”.
● Against this decision, a great meeting was convened on 13 June 1895 with Somnath Baboo as chair and Dharanidhar Mishra as secretary. Similarly, in the same year, another meeting was convened at Cuttack with Madhusudan Das in the chair.
● Both these meetings severely criticized the decision of the Commissioner and the Raja of Bamara was declared as an enemy of the Oriya people considering his unconditional support to the British Government.
● In July 1901 the people of Sambalpur appealed to the Chief Commissioner to restore Oriya in the Court proceedings. On 2 September 1901, Madhusudan Das sent a telegram to the Government of India in favor of the Oriya language in Sambalpur. Finally, in June 1902 the Government restored the Oriya language in the District of Sambalpur.
Three Distinct phases of the movement
The First Phase Of The Movement: 1855 To 1905
The Second Phase Of The Movement: 1906 To 1919
The Third Phase Of The Movement: 1920 To 1936
The First Phase Of The Movement: 1855 To 1905
● The lack of a united Orissa province segregated the socio-political as well as cultural affinities of the Oriya people. The people of these ill-affected areas came to realize that achieving inclusive development without having a separate province is futile.
● Thus, in the long march of the language agitation, the Oriya-speaking people in different scattered areas coming under different administrative agencies, felt a grave urgency to have a united province for themselves.
● The process of amalgamation movement got intensified to put the Oriya-speaking people in a homogenous administration.
● For this purpose, both the role of the British Government as well as the Oriya intelligentsia would be scrutinized.
1. The Role Played by the British Government for the Amalgamation of Oriya-Speaking Areas
● In 1855, Henry Rickets, a member of the Board of Revenue, was the first to propose the segregation of the Sambalpur region from the Chottanagpur Division on commercial, administrative, racial, linguistic, and communicative grounds. Also, he recommended the transfer of Sonepur, Bodasambar, Redhakhol, Patna, Khariar, Bindra-Nawagarh, Saran-garh, and Phuljhar to Cuttack.
● In 1868, Sir Stafford Northcote, the secretary of state for India, criticized the Bengal Government for manhandling the Great Famine of 1866. So, he advocated for the separation of Orissa and Assam from the Bengal proper on administrative grounds.
● In 1868, George Chesney, the Accountant General (AG) of the Government of India. insisted upon the transfer of the Oriya-speaking areas under the three administrative aegis of Madras, the Central Province, and Bengal.
● In 1872, G. Campbell, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, advocated for the partition of Bengal on the ground of a huge population in the concerned province (around 72 million).
● Lord North Brooke, the Governor-General of India, expressed concern for the splitting up of the Central Provinces and adding its territories with the neighboring provinces. On the matter of Orissa, he contemplated bringing all the Oriya-speaking areas under the homogenous administration of a Chief Commissioner.
● In 1895, H. G. Cooke, the Commissioner of Orissa, demanded the expansion of Divisional boundaries so as to include the whole area populated by Oriya-speaking people.
● He also suggested the union of tributary states like Patna,
● Sonepore, Redhakhol, Bamra, Kalahandi with the Sambalpur Division. ● Similarly, in the case of south Orissa, he stated that the states like Paralakhemudi and Ghumsur be united with the Ganjam Division.
● He expressed his views on ethnological, philological, and political grounds. From every point of view, therefore, recommendations were made by the British high officials for bringing up all Oriya-speaking people under an umbrella.
2. The Role Played by the Oriya Intelligentsia, Newspapers, Journals, Associations, and Representations
● The great intellectual and philosophical underpinnings of the first half of the 19th century had its repercussion on Orissa too. Hence, the genesis of the process of amalgamation of the Oriya-speaking area started in the middle of the 19th century.
● In 1845 the Oriyas of the Singhbhum region were the first to demand to be amalgamated with the Orissa.
3. Role Played by Newspapers and Journals
● The role played by Oriya newspapers for the same cause cannot be relegated to a distant background. In 1895, a letter entitled “Wants of Oriyas” found its place in the Utkal Dipika.
● It advocated for the amalgamation of all the scattered areas of Orissa under a single union.
● Similarly, another newspaper called the Utkal Putra published the criticism of the people under the title “The Opinion of Sambalpur”. It vehemently resisted the proposal of splitting up the Central Provinces and merging of Sambalpur with the Chottanagpur Division.
● A demand, however, was published in the Utkal Dipika under the title “The Change of Administration of Orissa”.It stated that “with these new areas merged with Orissa, a new distinct division thus emerged will be placed under a separate commissioner”
4. Role Played by Associations
A good number of apolitical organizations and associations found their existence in View of the amalgamation with the Orissa Division.
● In September 1870, a meeting was held in the Rasulkunda village, Ganjam in which the participants expressed their dissatisfaction over the introduction of the Telugu language in that region.
● The “Ganjam Utakal Hitabadini Sabha” came into being in Ganjam in 1872 with Sri Venkatesh Beu, Raja of Katinga, as its secretary. The association fought for the preservation of the Oriya language as well as the amalgamation of Oriya-speaking areas.
● In 1877, the“Utkal Sabha” was formed with Madhusudan Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, and Radhanath Ray as its prominent members. The Sabha aimed at improving the standard of the Oriya language and bringing up all Oriya people under one administration.
● On 16 August 1882, the “Orissa Association” was formed under the leadership of Madhusudan Das with a view to introducing Self-government in Orissa.
● In April 1903, the “GanjamJatiya Samiti” or the “Ganjam National Conference” came into existence with the initiative of Harihar Mardaraj, the Raja of Khalikote at Rambha,
Ganjam. Its first meeting was presided over by Syamsundar Rajaguru of Paralakemudi. Nilamani Bidyaratnawas its first secretary. The Samitigot its financial assistance from Harihar Mardaraj, and Madhuri Sahoo, a businessman. The meeting was attended by Madhusudan Das, Biswanath Kar, Nanda Kishore Bal, Krishnaprasad Chaudhuri, and Gopal Chandra Praharaj.
● The meeting resolved unanimously to enrich Oria literature. Activities of the Conference were recorded in the Oriya language. This conference was regarded as the first national conference of the Orissa people.
● The grand idea of the National Conference which had its origin in Ganjam culminated in a formal conference convened by Madhusudan Das at his residence from 30 to 31 December 1903.
● About two hundred and fifty people attended with some European ladies, landlords, Government servants, and College students. This conference gave birth to the “Utkal Samilani’ or the “Utkal Union Conference” (UUC). Henceforth the UUC took the charge of amalgamation of Oriya tracts.
● In that conference, it was said that the “national feeling which is manifested in Orissa today we owe to the people of Sambalpur and Ganjam to a great extent” ● The conference resolved to send a memorandum to the Government of India to transfer the Oriya divisions of the other provinces to Orissa Division.
● Anyway, we see all these associations held meetings for public opinion, representing grievances to the Government for the creation of separate provinces.
● In 1888, the members of the “Orissa Association” made a representation to Sir Stewart Colvin Bayley, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal for the same cause. On 15 December 1902, Baikunthanath De, a nationalist of Balasore, submitted a memorandum to Lord Curzon to save Orissa from the morbid state of extinction.
5. Representations to the British Government
Besides, steps were also undertaken to submit a representation to the Government to that effect.
● When John Beams was the Commissioner of Orissa, a representation was sent to him demanding the merger of the Oriya-speaking region into a distinct linguistic unit. ● The people of Balasore sent a representation to Richard Temple, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, demanding the merger of Sambalpur and Ganjam with Orissa under one administration.
● In 1876, Baikunthanath De and Bichitrananda Das wrote to the Government of India for the union of all Oriya-speaking areas under one administration.
6. Lord Curzon and the Merger of Sambalpur
● On 3 December 1903 Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India, proposed a scheme for partition of Bengal.
● Accordingly, Henry Risley, the secretary of state for India wrote a letter to the Governors of Bengal, Madras, and Central Provinces speaking for bringing all the scattered Oriya-speaking people under a single administration. In other words, the Oriya-speaking tracts of Sambalpur and its feudatory states, Ganjam, and the Vizagapatanam tracts would be united under a single administration.
● But the Utkal Union Conference in its meeting held on 30 and 31 December 1903 expressed its regret to Lord Curzon and demanded for the union of the whole of Oriya speaking tracts.
● Finally, the Government of Central Provinces expressed its willingness to transfer the Sambalpur district to Orissa.
● Hence, on 1 September 1905 a larger portion of Sambalpur save some regions like Chandrapur-Padmapur estates, Phuljhar Zamindari estate, and five feudatory states viz. Patna, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Bamra, and Redhakhol were transferred to Orissa.
● Still, some other Oriya-speaking estates such as Sarangagarh, Raigarh, and Bastar under Central Provinces were not transferred.
● In the case of Ganjam, Sir Hammick, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, objected to the process of amalgamation of Ganjam and Vizagapatanam with Orissa proper.
● The opinion of the Madras Government intensified the agitation and the people of Orissa started sending memorials and petitions to the Imperial and Provincial Governments. Similarly, the Telugu-speaking people of Ganjam sent a counter-petition to the Governments. Also, Lord Ampthil who visited Berhampur in 1905, abandoned the question of transfer of Ganjam and Vizagapatanam to Orissa.
THE SECOND PHASE OF THE MOVEMENT: 1906 TO 1919
● The first phase of the amalgamation movement ended with the transfer of Sambalpur to the Orissa proper. But it was a half measure towards the process of amalgamation of the whole of Oriya-speaking areas.
● The transfer of Ganjam and Vizagapatanam still remained under a big question mark. Proposals and recommendations for a united Orissa were repeatedly made through resolutions and representations.
● On 30 November 1905, a memorial was sent to Lord Ampthill, the Governor of Madras.
● In 1907 representations were sent to the Royal Commission on Decentralization asking for a Chief Commissionership for united Orissa.
● In 1908 Madhusudan Das went to England to convince the British Government to a united Orissa.
Despite several attempts, the Government paid no heed to the process of amalgamation.
1. Lord Hardinge and Formation of Bihar and Orissa Province
● The demands of the Oriyas made through different channels bound the Government to come to the real ground.
● The Government of India also realized that the existing state of territorial distribution was far from being satisfactory. So, on 25 August 1911, Lord Hardinge proposed for the annulment of the partition of Bengal and the creation of a new province consisting of Bihar and Orissa with a legislative council and a capital at Patna.
● These decisions of Lord Hardinge could not satisfy the sentiments of Oriyas. Dissatisfaction continued without having a complete Oriya-speaking province. Meetings, resolutions, memorandums, etc. became a day-to-day affair.
i. The people of Ganjam and Vizagapatanam being dissatisfied formed the South Orissa Sahitya Samaj for the development of Oriya literature and amalgamation of Oriya-speaking areas. When a memorandum to this end was rejected by Lord Hardinge, the Utkal Union Conference decided to observe fasting each year on the day of Sunia Bada Ekadasi. In this meeting, it was decided unanimously to participate in the Congress to fight out the fundamental demand of the Oriyas.
ii. In 1912, the Balasore National Conference in a meeting held at Balasore resolved to push a memorandum to the Government of India for the amalgamation of Oriya-speaking areas either under administrative control of Bengal or Bihar.
iii. In March 1912, a meeting was held in Ganjam with the Raja of Chikiti in the chair. It was resolved to create a new association called the Utkal Milan Samaj and it was decided that it would vigorously work for the merger of Ganjam with the Orissa.
iv. In April 1912, the Utkal Union Conference met at Berhampur and resolved to make Ganjam the Centre for national activity in the ensuing year.
v. In July 1912, a meeting was held in Cuttack under the chairmanship of the Raja of Kanika. In this meeting, it was resolved to give a memorandum to the Viceroy of India. In 1913, a memorandum was presented to Lord Hardinge on his visit to Orissa.
vi. On 28 and 29 December 1913, a meeting of the Utkal Union Conference was held at Puri under the presidentship of Madhusudan Das. Besides amalgamation, the question of the introduction of the Oriya language in the court of Singhbhum, the opening of an Engineering school, and M.A. and B.A. courses were discussed.
vii. In December 1913, the Utkal Youth Assoiation held its annual meeting and decided to open its branches in all Oriya-speaking areas.
viii. On 27 and 28 December 1915 the Utkal Union Conference held its meeting at Sambalpur under the presidentship of Laxminarayan Sing Deo. The members of the Conference demanded for the opening of an Oriya University in Orissa, the introduction of Khurdha-Sambalpur railway line, and the representation of the Oriya people in the Imperial Council.
ix. The Oriyas of the Vizagapatanam Agency under the leadership of Vikramdev Varma continued to demand its merger with Orissa through their association called the Oriya Samaj.
x. An agitation for the amalgamation of Singbhum, Saraikella, and Kharaswan was started by B. N. Mishra and Krishna Chandra Acharya. They formed an association called Udita Club for this purpose.
2. The Reaction of Telugu-Speaking People
● When the people of Orissa were demanding the amalgamation of Oriya-speaking areas with Orissa, a seminal counter-movement was launched by the Telugu-speaking minority in the Ganjan District.
● They started protesting the idea of a merger of Ganja through their association called the Ganjam Defense League founded in 1904. They also opposed the introduction of Oriya as a court language in the Ghumsur Division of the Ganjam District.
● On the other hand, the Andhra Business People’s Association envisaged forming a separate Andhra Province with Ganjam as a part.
● But very interestingly, some Telugu-speaking intelligentsia well supported the cause of the Oriyas. For example; Dr. B. Sittaramya, who had been demanding a separate Andhra province, supported the transfer of regions inhabited by Oriyasin Ganjam and Vizagapattanam Agency. N. Subha Rao, a Telugu member of the Imperial Council, also argued the same. Sri Rama Rayanger, a member of the Governor General’s Executive Council, strongly supported the transfer of the Oriya-speaking areas of Madras to Orissa.
3. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reform Report, 1919
● In 1917, Mr. Lionel Curtis, a member of the Round Table Group (RTG) in London, advocated for the breaking up of India into smaller provincial states. In the case of Orissa, he suggested the amalgamation of all Oriya-speaking areas under one umbrella.
● On the eve of the Montagu-Chelmsford Commission’s visit to India, a large number of formal meetings were held in different pockets of Orissa to convey the destitute condition of Orissa through the submission of memorandums to the commission.
● In a series of meetings held at Puri, Rambha, and Dharakote, resolutions were passed demanding a separate province for Oriya-speaking people.
● The Utkal Union Committee started to publish an English weekly newspaper under the title “The Oriya” to educate the public in this regard. The Commission was also warmly welcomed by Madhusudan Das and the Raja of Kanika at Calcutta on 11 December 1917.
● On 15 January 1918, the Government of India issued circular letters to the provinces on the subject of constitutional reforms. The legislative Councils of Bihar and Madras and the Imperial Legislative Council raised and supported the question of subprovincial Councils by which the men of local weight would come forward and make their influence felt.
● In July 1918 the report on the Constitutional reform (made by the Mont-ford Commission) was passed. It recognized the need for an administrative union of the Oriya-speaking people.
● At the same time, it rejected the general division of provinces on the basis of language and race as it required a pre-requisite to revise of the constitution.
● According to the Mont-ford Report, two committees were appointed i) one on the question of franchise and ii) two on the question of Imperial and provincial subjects as well as the division of functions in the Provincial Governments.
● The report of these committees was published in May 1919. It recommended only ten seats for the Orissa division (out of the total number of seventy-three elected seats) in the Bihar-Orissa Legislative Council.
● Similarly, it also recommended only two seats for the Ganjam District and three seats for the Guntur District (out of the total number of 126 seats) in the Madras Legislative Council.
● By this report, the Oriyas of Central Provinces and Midnapur (Bengal) were not given a nominated seat. Being disgusted, the Utkal Union Conference and the Utkal Hitaisini
Sabha insisted upon the introduction of a separate electorate for Oriyas. But this proposal was rejected by Lord Pentland, the Governor of Madras.
● The Mont-Ford Reform Act of 1919 could not produce any concrete result on the Constitutional plane. The meeting of the Utkal Union Conference held on 19 and 20th April 1919 under the presidentship of Gopobandhu Das, decided to launch a movement with more virulent form.
● In this conference, Gopobandhu Das said “Firstly the people of Orissa were human beings next Indians and at last Oriyas”.
● In the 15th session of the Utkal Union Conference held in 1920, he said the national freedom of the Oriyas was impossible unless they merge themselves into the All-Indian nationalism.
THE THIRD PHASE OF THE MOVEMENT: 1920 TO 1936
● With the creation of a separate province of Bihar-Orissa, the amalgamation movement entered into its third or last phase. On 20 February 1920, Dr. Sachidananda Sinha, a prominent member of the Imperial Legislative Council, moved a resolution concerning the problem of Oryas in the Imperial Council.
● It got wide support from other prominent members like Surendranath Banerjee, Dinesh Wacha, Kamini Kumar Chanda, and Rajendra Narayan Bhanja Deo, the Raja of Kanika.
● Sir William Vincent, the Home Member, in his reply, expressed a tone of sympathy to the Oriays and advocated to make a just investigation into this matter after getting a nod from His Excellency-in-Council.
● On 21 September 1921, A. B. Lathe moved a resolution in the Imperial Legislature concerning the reorganization of provinces on a linguistic basis. He also requested the House to recommend to the Governor-General-in-Council to undertake the task of reconstituting the provinces of India in consultation with the various local Governments.
On the basis of the resolution moved by A. B. Lathe, the Government of India sought the opinion of the Governments of Bihar-Orissa, Madras, and Central Provinces to effect the unification of Oriya-speaking areas.
The recommendation for amalgamation was accepted by the Bihar-Orissa Legislative Assembly.
The Madras Legislative Assembly objected to the transfer of Oriya-speaking areas coming under the Ganjam and Vizagapattanam Agency.
The Bengal Legislative Assembly opposed the transfer of Singhbhum to Orissa. The Central Provinces also opposed the recommendation for the transfer of Oriya-speaking areas. But it accepted to Khariar to Orissa which contained the majority of Oriya-speaking people.
The replies could not satisfy the Government of India. The Government proposed to make an inquiry into this matter.
1. The Muddiman Committee Report, 1924
● In 1924 a Reform Enquiry Committee under the name of the Muddiman Committee was constituted to review the situation thoroughly.
● Madhusudan Das, the Ex-Minister of the Bihar-Orissa Legislative Council, demanded the appointment of a separate Minister to deal with all transferred subjects relating to Orissa. ● The proposal was rejected in toto by the Committee. And stated that the redistribution of the territories would not be effected without the consent of the population concerned. ● The Muddiman Committee also could not satisfy the grievance of the Oriya people.
2. The Phillip-Duff Enquiry Commission Report, 1924
● The Phillip-Duff Committee was appointed by the Government in 1924 to report on the attitude of the Oriya inhabitants in the Madras Presidency towards the question of amalgamation. The Commission submitted its report on 26 December 1924.
● The Commission visited the Vizagapattanam Agency. On the basis of the census report of 1921, it opined that the hill-men of Koraput, Navarangpur, and Jeypore taluks had adopted the Oriya language.
● The Commission visited the Ganjam District next. The Zamindars of Paralakhemundi, Khalikotte, Tarla, Bobbili, Jalantar, Bodagada, Dharakote, Manjusa, Chikkiti, Sergada, Tekkali, Athagada, Surangi, Nandigram, and Baruva expressed the desire to be amalgamated with Orissa.
● Similarly, the people of the areas like Aska, Surada, Ghumsur, Chattrapur, Athagada, Biridi, Huma, Pulur, etc. also expressed their desire to be merged with Orissa.
● The Amalgamation Committee met at Ganjam under the presidentship of Lingaraj Panigrahi and it Passed a resolution concerning the transfer of the entire Ganjam district except for Chikacole and Narasanapeta where Oriyas were the minority.
● On 29 November 1924, the Oriya-speaking people of Berhampur submitted a memorandum to the Commission for their union with Orissa.
● After a great scrutiny, the Commission considered the amalgamation of the entire Ganjam district save Chikacole and Narasanapeta areas.
Hence, this was the first ever example of the creation of Orissa Province on the basis of language.
Next, the Government of India called for views of the Provincial Governments viz. the Madras Government, Central Provinces, and Bihar-Orissa Government with regard to the proposal of the Phillip-Duff Enquiry Committee Report.
i. The Government of Madras opposed the transfer of the whole of the Ganjam on the ground of socioeconomic and administrative issues. Instead, it demanded 16 lakh rupees as compensation as it had transferred 10 taluks of Ganjam to Orissa.
ii. The Government of Central Province expressed their unwillingness with regard to the transfer of Phuljhar and Khariar to Orissa.
iii. The Government of Bihar-Orissa also opposed the proposal of transfer of Oriya-speaking areas on the ground that it would affect the linguistic balance and enhance the strength of Oriyas in the Legislative Council.
● After getting the views of the provincial Governments, the Government of India with clarification replayed that the issue under consideration was not the formation of a separate province but to amalgamate all the Oriya-speaking areas.
● Pandit Nilakantha Das, for the first time, raised the question of the formation of a separate Province of Orissa in the Central Legislative Assembly which was surmounted with severe debate by the provincial Governments.
3. Nehru Committee, 1928
● The Nehru Committee was appointed in 1928 by the All-Party Conference with Pt Motilal Nehru as its chairman. The Committee was formed to deal with the issue of the redistribution of provinces.
● Subhas Chandra Bose, one of the members of the committee, demanded the amalgamation of all Oriya-speaking areas under different administrative agencies and the formation of a separate province of Orissa provided the province is financially solvent.
● The committee recommended the redistribution of provinces on the basis of the linguistic unity of the people of the area concerned. The Nehru Report was approved by the All Party Conference met at Lucknow on 30 August 1928. In this conference, it was resolved to create a separate province of Orissa after amalgamating all the Oriya-speaking tracts.
4. The Simon Commission, 1928
● When India was passing through a severe political crisis, the Simon Commission was appointed by the British Government in November 1927 to report on the working of the Constitution in India.
● The Commission reached India on 3 February 1928. On 16 August 1928, a resolution was passed in the Bihar-Orissa Legislative Council for the constitution of a committee which in turn would assist the Commission on some crucial matters like the division of existing provinces, reconstitution of provincial boundaries, and provincial autonomy.
● Owing to this situation the leadership in Orissa was sharply divided over the attitude of the Commission. Leaders like Lingaraj Mishra decided not to cooperate with the Simon Commission.
● He opposed the Commission on the ground that no Commission would satisfy the demands of the people of Orissa.
● He, further, argued that despite repeated prayers and petitions before the Montagu-Chelmsford Commission and the Phillip-Duff Committee no fruit had been attained.
● The District Conferences like the Cuttack district conference held at Kendrapara, Puri district Conferences held at Kakatpur, and the Balasore district conference held at Dhamnagar also held similar views.
● On the other hand, leaders like Rai Bahadur LaxmidharMohati and Krishna Ballabh Sahay unanimously advocated cooperating with the Commission. On 14 December 1928, an Oriya deputation met the Commission at Patna and demanded a separate province for the Oriya-speaking people.
● They also rejected the proposal of a sub-province under a Deputy Governor, advocated by a member of the Central Committee. At last, the Commission by supporting the Nehru Report, recommended the redistribution of provinces on the basis of language.
● To meet this end, the Committee appointed a sub-committee to have a detailed investigation into the problem of Oriyas.
● Accordingly, a sub-committee was constituted with Major Atlee as the chairman and Mr. Shurwardy of the Indian Central Committee, the Raja of Kanika, and Rai Bahadur Laxmidhar Mohanti as the members.
● After making a detailed investigation into the matter it recommended the creation of a separate province of Orissa consisting of Orissa Division, Anugul, feudatory states of Orissa, a portion of Mohanpur and Gopiballabhpur under the Bengal Presidency, Khariar estate under Central Province and Ganjam district under Madras Presidency.
● But it left out the inclusion of Singbhum and Jeypore estates on various grounds. On the basis of the recommendation of the Sub-Committee, the Commission appointed a Boundary Commission for the new Orissa Province.
5. Round Table Conferences, 1930 to 1932
● The first Round Table Conference (RTC) was held in London in 1930 to decide the future constitution of India. In this conference, the Orissa question was raised by the Raja of Paralakemundi.
● He circulated a pamphlet entitled “The Oriyas, Their Need, and Reasons for a Separate Province”. He got unanimous support for the creation of a separate province.
● Before the third RTC in 1932, the Orissa Boundary Commission was appointed on the basis of the Simon Commission to draw the boundary lines of the proposed Orissa province.
6. The O’Donnell Boundary Commission Report
● The Boundary Commission was constituted with S. P. O’ Donnell as the chairman and other members of the Commission were T. R. Phooktun, H. M. Mehta, Raja of Paralakhemudi, Sachidananda Sinha and Rai Bahadur C. V. S. Narasimgha Rajaguru.
● The Commission while examining the issue of the creation of a separate province, took the consideration of language, race, wishes of the people, geographical position, economic interest, and administrative convenience for the settling of boundaries.
● The Commission made the following recommendations;
It rejected the inclusion of Midnapore, and Bankura on racial and linguistic grounds. It rejected the proposal for the inclusion of Singbhum with Orissa and recommended for transfer to Bihar along with Chottanagpur, Manbhum, and Ranchi.
It also rejected the inclusion of Phuljhar but agreed to transfer Khariar and Padampur to Orissa.
It recommended the inclusion of Ganjam save Ichchapur, Manjusa, Budarsingh, Jalantar, and Tarla.
So far as the case of Paralakemudi is concerned, it recommended for its transfer to Madras Presidency. Also, it recommended for the transfer of Vizagapattanam Agency except for some Telugu-speaking areas like Gudem taluk, Veravilli area, the Palakond tract, etc.
Thus, the Boundary Committee recommended the transfer of about 33,000 sq miles with a population of about 8,277,000. But the decision of the Committee was severely criticized on the ground that it excluded the Oriya-speaking areas proposed by the various committees.
7. The White Paper, 1933
● Consequent to the discussion at the RTCs, the British Government was all set to reform the Constitution of India. The draft proposals to this end were embodied in the White Paper which was published on 17 March 1933.
● The White Paper recommended creating two new provinces-Orissa and Sindh. For the drawing of boundary lines, it accepted the proposals of the O’Donnell Boundary Committee with certain modifications.
● It excluded the Vizagapatanam Agency, Paralakimedi estate, and the Jalantar Malihas(in the Ganjam district) from the proposed Orissa Province.
● The White Paper treated Orissa as a Governor’s Province. Finally, it was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee for approval.
● Meanwhile, an Orissa Administration Committee was appointed to report on the administrative problem of Orissa before it was created as a separate province.
● The proposals of the White Paper created severe disappointment among the Oriyas. Some Oriya people decided to boycott the proposed Province of Orissa.
● Without getting no way, on 21 March 1933, Niranjan Patnaik called for the Congressmen to join the amalgamation movement for a complete Orissa province.
8. The Orissa Administration Committee
● The Government of India, in order to avoid any future administrative problems, appointed the Orissa Administrative Committee under the chairmanship of J. A. Hubback on 24 June 1933.
● The Committee spotted Cuttack as the capital of the proposed Orissa province. It also recommended the appointment of a Chief Secretary, Revenue Commissioner, a Legal Remembrancer, the establishment of a Forest Department with its headquarters at Anugul, a Police Department with I. G. as its head, Civil Hospitals, a Director for the Education Department, a Chief Engineer for Public Work, a High Court and a University.
9. Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)
● Before the appointment of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), a committee, consisting of eight members- five from the Joint Committee and three from India- was constituted by the Secretary of State for India to report on the boundary question.
● It recommended the inclusion of the Jeypore Agency and the exclusion of the Paralakemidi estate from the proposed province of Orissa.
● It created resentment among the Oriya people. The Raja of Paralakhemundi was stubborn in his approach. He requested the Secretary of State for India to transfer at least a portion of the Paralakhemundi estate including the Paralakhemundi town to Orissa.
● But it was strongly rejected by the Viceroy himself. Finally, the JPC considering the proposal of the White Paper recommended that “A separate province of Orissa would, however, be perhaps the most homogenous province in the whole of British India, both racially and linguistically……”.
● It recommended the inclusion of a portion of Jeypore Agency, a portion of Paralakhemundi including the Paralakhemudi town and Jalantar Maliahs. Thus, the total area of the proposed state rose from 21, 545 square miles to 32,695 square miles with a population of about 16,000,000.
The Government of India Act, 1935
● The recommendations made by the JPC were accepted by the House of Commons. Accordingly, the Government of India Bill was prepared which enlisted provisions for the creation of a separate Orissa province. After lots of debate and discussion, the Bill was passed and became an Act.
● According to section 289 of the Government of India Act, 1935, two new provinces of Orissa and Sindh were created and the inaugural date of the separate province of Orissa was fixed on 1 April 1936. Thus, the new province of Orissa was born on 1st April 1936.
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