K’handi at receiving end after merger of princely States

The Pioneer, Dec 5, 2009
Digambara Patra

It is said that the demand of a separate Odisha province, which was created in 1936, was mooted before the British Government on the basis of linguistic affinity. At that time, Harekrushna Mahtab started planning how to bring the Princely States within the fold of Odisha province and thereby strengthen the economy of the new province, as these princely States were repository of mineral and forest resources. But Mahtab could not execute his plan due to the outbreak of the World War II.

The people and rulers of the princely States started the Eastern States Union, a province under the Indian Dominion. The Eastern States’ Union immediately took the cause of the Indravati Dam Project in Kalahandi. As Indravati is an inter-State river, the State union appealed to the Indian Government for clearance. Just at that time, the Prajamandal Movement broke out in many Odia-speaking States except Kalahandi and a few small States, under the direct instigation of the then Congress-led Government of Odisha or Harekrushna Mahtab, the then Chief Minister. The leaders of Prajamandal movement were impressed upon by Mahtab and the Congress party that their movement is primarily designed to obtain democratic right, self-determination and people’s representative form of Government from their rulers. Princely States like Nilgiri, Dhenkanal, Talcher, Ranapur, Nayagarh, Bonai, Sonepur and Mayurbhanj witnessed the outbreak of this movement and the problem of law and order aroused in these States. This became a plea for Mahtab to argue and impress upon the Indian Government to take way the administration of these princely States and merge them with the Odisha province and not to recognise the Eastern States Union as separate province.

PK Deo, ruler of Kalahandi, openly said that since the legislative Assembly of Kalahandi has passed a resolution to join with the Eastern States’ Union, it is difficult on his part to agree to join with the Odisha province. On the next day, the DIG of Odisha Police was ordered to proceed and forcibly occupy the princely States which would not join with the Odisha province. Then one by one all rulers put their signature on the merger document. PK Deo, the then Maharaja of Kalahandi, was the last to sign it. Under intimidation and threatening to people and rulers, Mahtab achieved his objective. The leaders of the Prajamandal Movement met Mahtab on the next day and condemned him for betraying to the cause of self-determination of the people for which Prajamandal Movement was working. But the leaders of the Prajamandal Movement withdrew in view of Mahtab’s threat to it

Even the selection of Bhubaneswar as capital was wrong in view of the fact that a capital city should be located in the centre of a State. Mahtab exploited the situation in favour of Bhubaneswar to safeguard the interest of coastal people.

Though Kalahandi is infamous for poverty these days, the general condition of these Princely States was not so miserable before their merger with the Odisha province. There was no scarcity of food in these States. During the great Bengal famine of 1942, Kalahandi alone had supplied 1 lakh tonnes of rice to Bengal. But suddenly, after the merger of Princely States, these British-administered areas or previous Odisha province started to develop. The Government of Odisha and Govt. of India started to build all necessary infrastructures, and the Princely States were sidelined. This policy continues until now by the Odisha Government. This is just like the apartheid policy pursued by the White minority Government of South Africa over the black majority.

There are many examples which prove that whenever any issue relating to two different zones arises, the Odisha Government favours the former British-ruled area. The latest example is the establishment of the Central University at Koraput instead of Kalahandi, despite Kalahandi being centrally located in the KBK region and Kalahandi struggling for a Central University since the past two decades. Public sector industries like Nalco, HAL, etc were also established in Koraput. The JK Paper Mills was initially proposed in Kalahandi, but it was shifted to undivided Koraput later.

Unfortunately, Kalahandi has always been at the receiving end by the Odisha Government since it merged with the Odisha province. Joining Odisha province costs Kalahandi in development. This must be addressed.

(The writer is an Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. He may be contacted at digpatra@yahoo.com)