Odisha’s struggle with language and religion

As Odisha prepares to celebrate the 90th anniversary of its birth as India’s first linguistic province, and the Muslim League’s formation approaches its 120th year, a fascinating and often overlooked historical intersection emerges.

- NISHANT KUMAR HOTA

While the "Odia Movement" and the "Pakistan Movement" might appear to be parallel tracks of history, they were deeply intertwined in a complex struggle over identity, language, and territorial belonging. The journey from 1905 to 1947 in Odisha was not just a quest for a linguistic homeland, but also a crucible where a distinct Muslim communal consciousness evolved, transitioning from elite administrative petitions to the radical separatist fervour that defined the 1946 elections in the state.

At the turn of the 20th century, the political landscape of the Odisha region, then a division of the vast Bengal Presidency, was shaped by a growing linguistic nationalism among the Odia-speaking Hindu population. However, for the Muslim minority, which constituted approximately 2 per cent of the population, the "Odia Movement" for a separate province was viewed with profound scepticism. The elite Muslim leadership of the time, consolidated under the Orissa Mohammedan Association (OMA), perceived the drive for a linguistically unified Odisha as a move toward "Hindu Raj."

This early communal consciousness was not initially separatist in a territorial sense but was deeply protective of cultural markers. Central to this was the linguistic divide; while the Hindu leadership sought to establish Odia as the sole official and educational medium, the OMA and its prominent members, such as the Zamindars of Cuttack, adamantly vouched for Urdu. They argued that Urdu was the indispensable carrier of Islamic heritage, and any imposition of Odia was an attempt at cultural assimilation.