Odia Pride Incomplete Without Its Tribal Languages, Says Majhi

Inaugural session of 13th Odisha Lit Fest discusses culture, language, women empowerment

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar

ODISHA Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday called upon litterateurs to preserve the core values of the state's culture, tradition and literature amid the rapid transformation taking place across the social and cultural fabric of the country. Inaugurating the 13th edition of the Odisha Literary Festival (OLF) in the presence of TNIE editorial director Prabhu Chawla, CEO Lakshmi Menon and resident editor for Odisha Siba Mohanty here, the chief minister also asserted the importance of tribal languages and stated Odia Asmita (Odia pride) is incomplete without them. The state government is thus making every effort to preserve and promote the tribal languages, he said.

Majhi said Odia language has been enriched and influenced by various regional and tribal dialects. He expressed gratitude to The New Indian Express for consistently providing a platform like OLF to writers and literary enthusiasts for exchange of ideas and knowledge on language and literature for the past 13 years.