Rourkela : Clamour for constitutional recognition to Kosli language got a solid backing of one and all in the Kosali Mother Tongue Day festival organised by English weekly Kosal Horizon in its premises to mark the International Mother Tongue Day, on 21, February. The language, off late, has come up with a plethora of creations in various departments of literature and reached a cognizable stage, speakers said.
Chief guest of the function former Sub-Collector Mahendra Pattnaik said Kosli is no more a dialect as it used to be. It has far surpassed that stage to assert its identity as a ‘fully fledged’ language. Odisha CM’s recommendation to the centre to include Kosli in the 8th schedule of the constitution is a right step to fulfill the aspirations of nearly one and a half crore populace, he said. Pattnaik said demand for opening vernacular schools to teach children upto class – III in their mother language was not ‘off the cuff’ but related to a positive direction of child psychology.
Chief speaker Rajib Pani was critical about complacency of the leaders of linguistic movement after getting ‘classical’ status for Odia language. How can you feel proud of the achievment without any celebration on the Mother Tongue Day, he rued. Golden words of Kosli were not spaced up in Odia for years and that is the reason why Kosli demands a fully fledged status. Odiya and Kosli should be treated as two sides of one coin, he added.
Baidyanath Mishra, Editor, Kosal Horizon said, kept in abeyance of constitutional recognition, Kosli should be declare as the second official language of Odisha. Haldhar Nag and Jitendriya Harpal have been awarded ‘Padmashree’ because of their close connection with Kosli literature and music. Primary education to children in Kosli medium will help create more such talents in future, Mishra said.
Former General Manager of RSP Narayan Pati, Dr. Rashbihari Mohapatra, Lalatendu Choudhury, Kunj Bihari Rout, Surma Mishra, Dolirani Brahma, Chittaranjan Brahma also spoke on the subject to an interactive audience. At the outset rich tributes were paid by offering flowers at the potrait of Pandit Prayag Dutta Joshi, father of Kosli language.
Publisher Swarup Mishra proposed the vote of thanks. The audience included Dr. Anil Singhdeb, Rakesh Singh, Subhedu Mohanty, Subrat Rajak, Jogesh chandra Mohanta and a host of others.
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