Odisha's state anthem now included in textbooks of Class 9 and 10

‘Bande Utkala Janani’, written by famous Odia poet Laxmikant Mohapatra and notified as state anthem last year, will be taught to Class IX and X students from the current academic session.

Published on: Jun 24, 2021, 08:10:25 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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‘Bande Utkala Janani’, written by famous Odia poet Laxmikant Mohapatra and notified as state anthem last year, will be taught to Class IX and X students from the current academic session.

Odisha's state anthem now included in textbooks of Class 9 and 10

In a notification, the Board of Secondary Education said ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ will be included in the First Language Odia (FLO) syllabus for both Class IX and X.

The poem envisages Utkala, one of the former names of present-day Odisha, who maintains her self-respect and dignity from a position of confidence and strength rather than insecurity and fear. The poem inspires every Odia to move ahead in life.

The song was first sung at the Utkal Sammilani’s conference at Balasore in 1912, a few months after Rabindra Nath Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana, now the national anthem, was sung.

Last year, the state government had adopted Bande Utklala Janani or Glory to mother Utkala as the anthem of Odisha. Since then, the anthem is being played or sung in schools, colleges, meetings, cultural events. Whenever the anthem is sung or played, everyone will have to stand in attention except senior citizens, patients, infants, disabled and pregnant women.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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