(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
Parida was undergoing treatment since many days after he was diagnosed with cancer.
He was a well known politician, columnist and a social activist. Parida had been fighting to bring the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954.
The senior leader was elected to Rajya Sabha in July 2010 and his term ended on July 1, 2016.
Expressing profound sorrow over the demise of Parida, CPM leader Janardana Pati said, "He was an initiator of the Bhasa Adolana and played a crucial role in implementation of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954. I condole his death and my deepest sympathy goes out to the bereaved family."
"Parida played a pivotal role in raising issues of criminalisation of politics and black money. May his soul rest in peace," said Rabi Behera, Samajwadi party leader.
"Parida's death is an irreparable loss for the State. He will be remembered for his contribution towards the interest of the State and Odia language," said Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, senior BJP leader.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the death of Parida.
Sad to hear the passing away of former Rajya Sabha MP Baishnab Charan Parida. My deep condolences to the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) November 22, 2018
OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and former MP Baijayant Panda also took to the Twitter to condole the demise of Parida.
Deeply saddened to hear about the unfortunate demise of former MP, social activist and writer Shri Baishnab Charan Parida. I pray to Lord Jagannath to give his family and loved ones the strength to endure this moment of grave grief.
— Niranjan Patnaik (@NPatnaikOdisha) November 22, 2018
ପୂର୍ବତନ ସାଂସଦ ବୈଷ୍ଣବ ପରିଡାଙ୍କ ବିୟୋଗରେ ମୁଁ ମର୍ମାହତ। ଜଣେ ରାଜନେତା, ସାମାଜିକ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକର୍ତା ଓ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା ସୁରକ୍ଷା ପାଇଁ ତାଙ୍କ ଅବଦାନ ଅତୁଳନୀୟ । ତାଙ୍କ ଅମର ଆତ୍ମାର ସଦଗତି କାମନା କରିବା ସହ ପରିବାର ବର୍ଗଙ୍କୁ ସମବେଦନା ଜଣାଉଛି ।
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 22, 2018
ପୂର୍ବତନ ରାଜ୍ୟସଭା ସାଂସଦ #BaishnabParida ଜଣେ ଦକ୍ଷ ରାଜନେତା ସାଙ୍ଗକୁ ସାହିତ୍ୟିକ ଓ ସାମାଜିକ କର୍ମୀ ମଧ୍ୟ ଥିଲେ। ଭାଷା ଆନ୍ଦୋଳନ ଏବଂ ଓଡ଼ିଆକୁ ସରକାରୀ ଭାଷା ମାନ୍ୟତା ଦେବା ଲାଗି ତାଙ୍କ ଅବଦାନ ଉଲ୍ଲେଖନୀୟ। ଅମର ଆତ୍ମାର ସଦଗତି ପାଇଁ ପ୍ରାର୍ଥନା ଏବଂ ଶୋକସନ୍ତପ୍ତ ପରିବାରକୁ ସମବେଦନା ଜଣାଉଛୁ।ଓଁ ଶାନ୍ତି? @PandaJay #Odisha pic.twitter.com/s8U04hZA6h
— Baijayant Panda Odia (@Panda_Odia) November 22, 2018
Parida was born in Jajpur in 1941. He was a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from 1960 to 1992. Later he quit CPI due to some differences on application of Marxist ideology in Indian reality.
In 1993, he joined Indian National Congress. Until 1998 he was in Congress but due to his differences with the then State party leadership he quit the party and joined Samajwadi Party in 1999 as its State President. He was in Samajwadi party until he resigned in 2008. In 2008 he joined the BJD.
The desire to ‘slot’ someone is so overpowering that it is beyond the comprehension of these trolls that someone can have an opinion of his/her own and need not work at the behest of someone or because s/he is inherently biased against someone. Thus, if you write something against the BJD, you have to be an agent of the Congress or the BJP. If you happen to write against the BJP another day, you are promptly slotted as a supporter – or, at the very least - an apologist for either the BJD or the Congress. No one will bother to find out what you had written against these parties or their leaders in the past. And it is not as if the trolls belong only to these three parties or, for that matter, political parties alone.
The worst part of being trolled is that no one has the patience or the inclination to read your article carefully before delivering the verdict. A stray sentence or an expression is picked up, meanings are read and inferences drawn where none is intended and conclusions arrived at. Rather than talk in abstracts, let me cite an example from the recent past. Taking umbrage at a piece this columnist had written in this space on the AAP after Arvind Kejriwal nominated businessman Sushil Gupta and chartered accountant ND Gupta for two out of the three Rajya Sabha seats for which elections are to take place, ignoring the claims of strong contenders from within the party, a party faithful wrote a long post on Facebook calling the author all kinds of names and accusing him of sins he had not committed! When a point-by-point rebuttal was made by the columnist rubbishing every claim made in the post with relevant quotes from the piece in question, the AAP social media warrior tried to wriggle out of the argument saying he did not wish to join issues with ‘a senior journalist and public figure’ like the author! And this when three quarters of the said article was actually quite supportive of AAP!!
Another irritating trait of the trolls is to drag the owner/editor of the platform where such articles appear. For example, if you write a piece against the all-powerful officer in the Chief Minister’s secretariat on odishatv.in, you are doing it at the behest of or in consultation with Mr. Jay Panda, who has a running battle going with the officer in question. Curiously, you are accused of doing things at his behest even when you write against Naveen Patnaik even though he has not, at least till now, taken on Naveen directly. ‘HMV’ is the cryptic comment posted by a ‘follower’ every time you write something that can be construed as anti-Naveen! Commenting on Sunday’s piece on Naveen Patnaik being conferred with the ‘Ideal Chief Minister', a former colleague now in the BJD sermonized the next morning that the least this columnist should have done was to ‘congratulate’ him (as if a journalist is a cheerleader!) and lambasted him for ‘labouring hard to write such a piece and that too on OTV website.’ The good friend apparently found no contradiction in the fact that Mr. Panda himself had promptly congratulated the Chief Minister on winning the award yesterday!
In the early days, the trolling on social media disturbed. But over time, one has learnt to take such things in his stride and accept that this is the price one must pay for the cheek to have an opinion on an issue and the audacity to express it without mincing words. If your conscience is clear; if you are doing your job honestly and without the expectation of rewards or fear of retribution; if you are even-handed and not acting out of pique or malice, the discerning, unaffiliated and unbiased readers would take you for what you really are though they may not necessarily agree with you on everything you write. In the long run, the trolls would fall by the wayside. That is the faith that has kept this columnist going so far – and will keep him going in the days ahead!
Bhubaneswar: Maoist rebels have warned the residents of a particular village in Malkangiri, state’s most formidable Red citadel, against using their mobile phones. Orapadar, located in the district’s Swabhiman Anchal ( earlier known as the cut-off area), is a dark hinterland with connectivity the biggest problem being faced by the people.
With roads in a bad shape, the residents rely on mobile phones, modern technology’s best gift to the world, to remain connected with the rest of the world which, in their case, does not extend beyond Malkangiri.
Now the rebels want them to switch off their sets. The obvious fear of the radicals is that the villagers could use their mobile sets to get in touch with the security forces preparing to launch an operation against them. The fear of being betrayed has made the Maoists panicky. They have in the past killed several tribals on the suspicion of being police informers. Now they have gone a step forward by issuing a diktat prohibiting the use of mobile phones.
The Maoist rebels, notwithstanding their so-called concern for the poor, have always been anti-development. Like politicians, they also have a vested interest in keeping people poor and under-developed. The more underdeveloped the people the greater their reliance on the radicals who have been projecting themselves as their saviours.
Their entire movement thrives on popular disillusionment against the government in backward areas where basic infrastructure is poor and government officials either corrupt or not willing to help people. Since connectivity is one of most important aspects of development the rebels are completely against any improvement in this, be it road or mobile phone network.
In the past Maoists in Malkangiri and its surrounding areas have blown up several mobile towers in a bid to destroy the mobile phone network. For them, such acts are insurance against the possibility of being betrayed and being tracked by police and paramilitary forces.
They have even equally fierce in countering other signs of government-sponsored development in their areas of dominance. They are against new schools and hospitals being opened and forest officials forming committees with the local people to guard forests.
Successive governments have lent the Maoists a helping hand in fulfilling their evil designs by failing to launch meaningful and lasting developmental initiatives in the areas dominated by rebels. While developmental projects have been few and far between their monitoring has been worse.
Corrupt contractors and government officials have been treating these projects as an opportunity to line their pockets. This has generated a sense of disillusionment among the people residing in the Maoist belt and making the job of rebels easy.
But there has been some positive change in the last one decade in districts such as Malkangiri and Koraput which have been rebel fortresses. Not only have roads become better in these districts the condition of schools and hospitals have also improved significantly. One of the biggest achievements of the government in Malkangiri has been the opening of the Gurupriya bridge connecting the district’s “ cut-off” area, now known as the Swabhiman Anchal, with the mainland.
All this has rattled the Maoists who now appear to be taking out their anger on the people who they publicly profess to protect. People, however, are unlikely to be fooled by them anymore.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
Moderating a session as part of a seminar/workshop/discussion can be a thankless job, more so when you are not an expert on the topic being discussed, but a member of the 'jack of all trades, master of none' tribe like yours truly! You read up all that you need - and more - on the subject before the event to make sure you don't make a fool of yourself on stage. Next, you painstakingly jot down questions for each of the panelists based on their profiles and area of expertise. You bank on your presence of mind to spot any possible opportunity for a supplementary while banking as the panellist speaks. Paper in hand, you think you are fully prepared!
But all your preparations go out of the window once the first panelist starts speaking, not in response to what you have asked but a rather long-winded version of what s/he has come prepared with. At times, it can get hilarious as you listen to the speaker going on and on without paying even passing attention to the question asked. By the time s/he finally relents (often only after a gentle and polite prod from you!), you yourself forget what you had asked! This, by no means, is true of all such events. But it is certainly more the norm than the exception at least in Odisha. And you can’t really blame the panelists because they are not given the questions in advance and thus have no means of knowing beforehand what they would be asked. So, they do some ‘blind’ preparation of their own and then rattle them off no matter what question is asked. Organisers of such events should take note of this point and ensure that the panellists are given the questions in advance. [Of course, there is no guarantee that the speaker would stick to the question and respond to it even if the questions are supplied before the event! Some people are just incorrigible!!
Even serving a ‘polite’ reminder is not an easy task because you don’t quite know when and how to stop him/her. There are many instances where the speaker, when told to wind up, flares up and gives you and the organisers a mouthful, certainly not an experience you would like to have as an anchor. Things become particularly difficult when you are dealing with dignitaries with an enviable profile. Even if you muster the courage and whisper into his ears, there is no guarantee that s/he would end. More often than not, s/he would say “I would end in a minute’ and then go on for the next 5-7 minutes! Since serving a second warning is nothing short of blasphemy with such people, you can do little better than twiddling your thumbs and bank on his/her good sense to honour the promise just made. If s/he doesn’t, there is simply nothing that you can do except endure it! If one speaker takes up more than his/her allotted time, two things can happen; the session could go well beyond its stipulated time schedule or another speaker loses out on his/her allotted time. As the moderator, you don’t want either of these situations. The challenge for the moderator is how to manage time without inviting accusations of being ‘partial’ to a particular speaker (more so when the panellist is a woman!) as this columnist did on one occasion!
The toughest part of the moderator’s job, however, is handling the customary question and answer (Q & A, they call it) session with the audience. You see a sea of hands being raised in the hall and have the unenviable task of deciding who to invite to ask a question. While doing this, you have to be mindful of several things at the same time: making sure that you don’t allow too many questions, ensuring that the questioners are not all picked from one section of the crowd, ensuring gender non-discrimination and – the most difficult of them – sticking to the time schedule. With the oragnisers constantly breathing down your neck, this is a tough time at the best of times. No matter how loud and clear and how often you announce “Please keep your question short, simple and direct”, the ‘question’ invariably turns out to be a mini-speech, replete with quotes, facts, figures, data and so on. “But what is your question?” the panellist asks at the end of it all. It’s only after this that the questioner starts thinking about how to frame his/her question. At other times, the panellist, having forgotten the question amid the long-winded pontification, asks rather embarrassedly: “Will you please repeat a question?” There are some people who just would not stop at one; they would ask two, three or even more.
No matter how often and how emphatically you request the audience to switch off their mobile phones or keep them in silent/vibration mode, a few phones are certain to ring. People will crane their necks to see who the ‘culprit’ is. But blissfully unmindful of the prying eyes, the ‘culprit’ himself would be merrily talking to the caller, disturbing everyone. There are others who are completely oblivious of what is being said on the dais and are busy browsing their smartphones, taking pictures or videos, clicking selfies and posting them all on social media or going ‘live’. But at least they don’t disturb others as the ‘culprit’ does! It becomes completely chaotic if lunch/snacks/tea is being served in the same hall. The moderator, in such cases, has the unenviable dilemma of choosing between winding up in a huff and carrying on, knowing full well that no one is listening!
If you still want to become a moderator, good luck!
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
Life during lockdown is debatably the new living order. Officially, the nationwide lockdown is still on and will remain in force for 10 days more. But if you are out on the streets, you don’t quite realise it. Lockdown 4.0 is only a shadow of Lockdown 1.0 imposed on March 24 midnight.
It’s ALMOST business as usual. Empty roads are now well and truly a thing of the past. Though they are not yet choc-a-bloc with vehicles as in the pre-lockdown days, their numbers are increasing with each passing day. With restrictions on intra-state movement of vehicles now all but lifted, the traffic on the road is all set to increase in the days ahead. Traffic lights, which remained suspended for a good six weeks or so, have started functioning again. Barricades on the roads, put up to restrict the movement of vehicles, have started disappearing one by one.
Closed for weeks on end, most shops have started opening again – though malls and multiplexes still remain shut. Business is slowly but surely limping back to normal, though the 7 pm to 7 am ‘curfew’ has ensured that it would be sometime before full normalcy is restored. Instead of a handful of people as seen during the first three phases of lockdown, the streets, shops and markets are now bustling with people once again. Just about the only visible difference is the ubiquitous mask on the faces of most people out on the streets. [It is another matter that the vast majority of people wear it in a way that defeats the very purpose of wearing a mask!]
This is as it should be. Life cannot come to a standstill for months on end just because there is a tiny virus on the rampage looking for vulnerable human bodies to settle in. With most experts resigned to the fact that COVID-19 has ‘come to stay’ and no vaccine in sight in the foreseeable future, life had to begin returning to track at some stage – with adequate precautions and some unavoidable restrictions, of course. Large religious or social gatherings, for example, have to remain banned for some more time. And so do malls, multiplexes and other places where a large number of people congregate. But as the decision to start limited air and rail services even before Lockdown 4.0 is over shows, the Central government is now reconciled to the fact India – and the world at large – has to learn to live with Coronavirus. For example, Sweden, which has stubbornly refused to enforce a nationwide lockdown, has not done too badly when compared to some European nations which have. And an indefinite state of lockdown is particularly untenable in a county like India where the vast majority of people work in the unorganised sector and earn their living on a daily basis. In any case, if two months of lockdown has failed to drive the point home, it is highly unlikely that another fortnight or even a month will achieve the purpose. The Odisha government too appears to have recognised this ground reality when it lifted restrictions on most economic activities and mandated full attendance in its offices after the announcement of Lockdown 5.0.
The latest thinking of the medical fraternity suggests that large scale infection is not such a terrible thing after all! As Dr Jayant Panda, technical spokesperson for the state Health department said today, large scale infection is actually ‘necessary’ to develop herd/community immunity, which would be the only guarantee against the deadly virus in the long run – after the vaccine, that it. Hence, he advised people not to panic at the burgeoning number of cases in the state (which, he said, is likely to touch 10, 000 by June). Since we know precious little about the virus and how to fight it, we have little choice but to trust the wisdom of the experts.
What all of it boils down to is this: we have to learn to live with Corona, just as we have learnt to live with, say, HIV. And God save those who refuse to take the required precautions!
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
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‘Lockdown’ Isn’t Such A Terrible Thing After All!
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The PM, of course, had done the same - making an aerial survey of the cyclone affected areas – last year after ‘Fani’ as well. But the one thing that this columnist has never quite understood is: does an aerial survey serve any purpose in this age of satellite imagery, Google maps and what not? What more could the tech-savvy Prime Minister – or the Chief Minister, for that matter – possibly see during an aerial survey that he could not have seen by just looking at high-resolution satellite imagery sitting in his office in New Delhi or Bhubaneswar?
Of course, one can always argue that there is no substitute for ‘first hand experience’. But that spawns another question. What kind of ‘first-hand experience’ can one have from that height during an hour’s helicopter ride covering hundreds of square kilometers of cyclone-ravaged territory? After all, aerial surveys by VVIPs rarely involve getting down on the ground and witnessing the damage ‘first hand’, do they? And this author is the last person to believe that the PM decided on the Rs 500 crore ‘preliminary assistance’ he announced for the state (Rs 1, 000 crores in the case of West Bengal) before leaving on the basis of what he ‘saw’ during the aerial survey. As anyone with even a cursory knowledge of such matters knows, such things are never decided on the spot. The amount of Rs 1, 000 crores for West Bengal Rs 500 crores for Odisha must have been decided even before the PM left Delhi – based on his government’s assessment of the damage.
For that matter, even the ‘review meeting’ with state government officials that followed the aerial survey, in this author’s view, is a pointless exercise. After all, there is no need to physically sit down with state officials when the PM – and the union cabinet secretary - have been regularly holding such ‘review meetings’ on Corona and even on Amphan through video conferencing. Review meetings in person is a sheer waste of time at the best of times and a particularly avoidable exercise in times of Corona. If the state government had to submit a memorandum asking for an initial grant, email would have been a much better – and of course easier – way of doing it than hand delivering a hard copy.
But it seems these are uncomfortable questions that are best not asked. We have come to accept such things as a ritual – like, say, the Republic Day parade – that must be gone through after every natural disaster, without stopping once to wonder if it serves any purpose. After all, an aerial survey costs the national exchequer a tidy sum, doesn’t it? I think it was the late Indira Gandhi, who started this ritual, which all subsequent Prime Ministers – and later Chief Ministers - have followed with great enthusiasm. It may have served a purpose during Indira’s time when satellite and other technology was not so developed. But there is absolutely no justification for such costly – and pointless – exercise in this age and time.
But try telling that to our politicians and you are sure to get a mouthful. Because they know it does serve a purpose – in fact, two. First, it provides a wonderful ‘photo op’ to our leaders, which is the fuel that keeps Indian politicians going. It is just perfect for a tweet or the opening visual of a TV report on the visit.
Second, it is a wonderful tool to deliver a political message. Cut to May last year. PM Modi was on his first visit to Odisha just days after a bitterly fought election during which both he and Chief Minister used the choicest epithets against each other – with Modi even saying “Naveen Babu, Aap Jaa Rahe Ho” during an election rally in the state. For those who had seen the temperature rise steadily between the two sides during the campaign, the bonhomie between Modi and Naveen seen during that trip must have come as a surprise – even a shock. But it set the tone for what has followed in the days and months since then. Naveen has emerged as the most trusted non-NDA ally of the NDA government. Aerial visits also deliver another kind of political message – this time to the people. What better way is there to show concern for those ruined by the cyclone than visuals of an anxious looking Prime Minister – or Chief Minister – peeping through the window at the devastation down below?
If naysayers (like this columnist) have a problem with that, so be it!
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
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