Move on Kosali Hailed

The belated move of the State Government in writing to the Union Government to include Kosali language besides tribal language Ho in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution has been hailed by all sections of the society.

Though it will take time for the Centre to accept the recommendation as it has to be ratified by the Parliament which is likely to be convened only after the general election, demands are being made to accord the State’s second language status to Kosali.

Besides, it is also demanded that the language should be used in imparting education upto Class VII and a Sahitya Akademi Chapter opened in the region to work for the development of the language. Since the demands are in the ambit of the State Government, those can be approved with a notification.The demand to include Kosali in the 8th Schedule is more than five decades old. Although it remained confined to the region, it has been raised time and again in the Parliament by former MPs Sriballav Panigrahi and Prasanna Acharya.

Balangir: The Chief Minister’s initiative was welcomed by the people of the district also. “This is a good initiative of the Government but a lot needs to be done on the issue,” said Kosal Kranti Dal (KKD) advisor Pramod Mishra. He demanded that the State Government should adopt Kosali as second language of the State and the decision should be taken by the State Cabinet.