Narendra Kumar Hota : Holding the baton of the Koshal Movement

Western Odisha is a rough terrain and was cut off from the eastern belt of Odisha until a few decades back. Over here our people were living life as aboriginal. But the irony is that even after 70 years of India getting independence and drafting the Constitution of this great Nation as a Republic our people of western Odisha are deprived of the basic amenities that are needed to live a wholesome life.

As on this day the poor and the downtrodden people are robbed off the benefits that were supposed to be availed. Even our children are not getting quality free education. On the other hand the adults are barred from the employment avenues. Whereas the women and the elderly are deprived of the basic amenities of life i.e. medical and health care.

To raise all these issues to the limelight Shri Narendra Kumar Hota a prominent leader of Western Odisha is carrying the baton of Koshal Movement for the past twenty years. He took the initiative all alone and campaigned in different blocks of ten districts of western Odisha. Shri Hota has travelled tirelessly from one village to another in 55 Panchayats which come under the periphery of three blocks of Barpali, Bijepur and Gaisilate. He made awareness programs highlighting how these ten districts of Western Odisha were forcefully included in Odisha in two phases i.e. 1936 and 1948.

Our Western Odisha or the Koshal Anchal was a treasure trove of forests, mines and minerals. Over the past seven decades all these natural resources were looted rampantly. As a result it caused regional imbalance. We were being robbed of all the basic necessities that are needed to live a tranquil life. Yet we are bagging to the people of eastern Odisha. Our people were kept in the dark for seven long decades. The gloom persists even as on this date. It is high time we should no longer allow this darkness to pervade over our children and the future generations to come.

As the name indicates Narendra is the amalgamation of two words i.e. Nara and Indra. Literally he is the Lord of the Human Beings. And this person possesses all the etiquettes of a leader. Suo motto this budding politician took the responsibilities of the common men. He made the awareness programs by conducting meetings at different towns and villages of Koshal region. Until now for the entire Western Odisha there is only one University i.e. Sambalpur University which is catering to the needs of aspiring students of ten districts all together. On the other hand the coastal region has got as many as two universities. Narendra highlighted the root cause of all social evils is only one thing and that is mass illiteracy. If children could be made literate then there won’t be unemployment, poverty, starvation deaths, labour migration, bonded labourers, selling of children or be it  destroying feline foetus.

That apart he addressed to the need of the farmers as well. The major issues related to it are black marketing of fertilisers, sale of counterfeit pesticides and inadequate rainfalls that causing draught and finally farmers suicide.

The total population of Western Odisha is somewhere one and half crores. And the language that we speak is Sambalpuri. And this regional language has not been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. During February 2017 at New Delhi there was a Conference of International Languages. Devi Prasanna Pattnaik participated in it on behalf of Govt. of Odisha. He did not endorse the Sambalpuri language on the presumption, if Sambalpuri would be given the identity then people of this region would get a ready platform to fight for its independent statehood. Narendra Hota along with common men protested on the streets of Sambalpur, Bargarh and Balangir while raising this issue.

For decades our people have been demanding to set up a bench of the High Court at Sambalpur. Despite there being periodic strikes this issue has not been answered by the Government of Odisha as yet.

On the other hand when you think of performing art or dance it is only Odishi that has been given the status of a classical dance of India, whereas until now Chau Nrutya or be it Sabda Nrutya of Kumbhari village has not been given the due recognition by Sangeet Natak Akademi the apex body of India representing Ministry of Culture.

On 26th August 2013 a strike was called in the entire western Odisha for a separate statehood of Western Odisha. And that one day strike was observed peacefully by one and all let it be public transport, shops and traders, schools and colleges, banks, post offices, courts, Tehsil offices and every other government offices were shut in support of this Koshal movement whereas it was made sure health services should not be hampered because of it. Hospitals, health clinics, chemists shops and ambulances were allowed to operate without any hindrance. The strike was a huge success because the general public participated in it wholeheartedly. Since then consecutively every year 26th August is observed as a strike in Western Odisha. And it will be continued until a separate state is formed as Koshal.

Looking at the untiring efforts that has been put by Narendra Hota during the 2009 Odisha State Assembly elections Koshal Party gave him the ticket to contest as a Member of Legislature(MLA). But the ruling party of India i.e Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) as well as Biju Janata Dal the regional party of Odisha approached him to join their parties. But Narendra preferred BJD over BJP merely looking at the leadership quality of President of Biju Janata Dal who is none other than Naveen Patnaik the longest served Chief Minister of Odisha who is the Undisputed leader the Assembly of Odisha since past 21 years. 

On individual capacity this leader is also worth appraising. His noble deeds are countless. Being himself a Bramhin he had taken the noble job of doing Brata-upanayana or the thread ceremony of several boys of poor Bramhin families who otherwise were unable to bear the high cost of conducting this holy ceremony. He financially aided in conducting the marriage of a couple of girls who hails from poor families. On the other hand he is giving regular monthly financial aid to two old age persons so as they can survive. He has even accomplished doing a mere impossible job. He gathered the courage to rehabilitate the life of a widow, by getting her remarry with someone else. He took the initiative and conducted a couple of blood donation camps in his Bargarh district.

Narendra Hota has set an example for the society, how a person in his individual capacity  can contribute for the welfare of the deprived and the downtrodden people. He has undertaken a couple innovative steps for a greater cause.  Their organisation Yuba Brahma Bharati has set up one fridge at Jay Bharat Hotel(Eswara) which is located at the private bus stand of Barpali. Any person who is visiting that hotel to have lunch or dinner can buy an additional plate of mill and put it in that fridge for the needy person to take it. On the other hand if in any wedding or public feasts there is some surplus food left over that can be donated to this food ATM. And the hungry people on the street can take that food free of cost. 

Likewise he has set an old cloth ATM outside Gangadhar Meher Upper Primary School. Persons who have got unused old clothes may hang them on this board. On the other hand those persons who need clothes may take away from here. Similarly he is operating one old book ATM where students are donating their textbooks on qualifying in their school or college exams and promoting from one class to another class. He is observing the ATM of textbooks belonging to Oriya medium schools are doing well as compared to the English medium school books. He says most of the children of Oriya Medium schools hail from medium or poor families that is why they can't afford to buy new books and prefer to borrow from this books ATM. 

Mostly it is seen our Indian politicians never observe the values and the ethos that they preach. But this burgeoning politician always led life on high values. Though he got a bike but he prefers to ride his  20 years bicycle merely to check the carbon emission.  

On the other hand he has opted a wiser way of disposing of scrap newspapers. Instead of selling the old papers to kabadi he donates them to the poor families and encourage them to prepare paper bags (ଠୁଙ୍ଗା) so as they can make a living by selling those bags to grocery stores. This is how Narendra Hota brought a positive change in the society. 

  

In the past 25 years our leader Narendra Hota has conducted over 2,000 meetings in different villages for Koshal movement. This grooming social activist of Barpali is worth a watch and will be a big challenge for any opposition parties. In life he got enough scope to prosper either in the public life or in the personal field, but he was not someone to sell his dignity for any kind of selfish means.

During pandemic feeding to cows and dogs. Since last 20 years financing poor students for their higher studies. He has donated study books and study materials to poor kids. Every Sunday he is distributing biscuits to poor kids. Supported Dibyang for their uplifting. He is acting as a Family Counselor. For a couple of instances he helped on marrying poor girls. He has contributed money to different social organisations.

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E.Kiran Mohan(The Writer)

C/o.Dr.E.R.Rao (M.D)

Main Road, Near SBI,

At/PO: Barpali-768029

Dist.Bargarh, Odisha, India