Madhusudan_Das

210 Madhusudan Das:
were forced to recognize Oriya as distinct language. His plea to save
Orissa from the domination of absentee Bengali Zamindars prevailed
and won for her the status of division in the province of Bihar and
Orissa putting together some Oriya speaking areas. He framed a bill to
give expression to the distinction Orissa's land tenure had from Bengalis
and steered it through the legislature as The Orissa Tenancy Act 1913.
He organised the people to demand for a separate High Court for Orissa
and the British Government conceded a Circuit Bench comprising
Judges of the Patna High Court to sit at Cuttack for the benefit of Orissa's
litigants. The Ravenshaw College was upgraded to become a premier
institution with facilities for education in law. Each district had to
establish at least one Government School to impart Secondary
Education. Under his inspiration and active co-operation an institution
for female education was started at Kaligali which later on developed
to be a fullfledged High English School - the present Ravenshaw Girl's
School. A host of poets and writers rose under his inspiration to enrich
Oriya language and literature, drawing on her ancient cultural heritage.
He housed a theatre at his residence to promote the growth of Orissa's
dramatic art. He set his pen to compose some patriotic poems that even
now stir the soul and inspire people. He fathered Gopabandu, Subas
Bose and a legion of other youngmen that had the spark of patriotism
and public service in them. Orissa's economic life was in shambles.
Her industries had been ruined and abandoned, her artisans neglected
disorganised and were going without employment. To boost Orissa's
industrial growth he found no other way than to set up with his meagre
resources factories for filigree works and leather works that won instant
admiration for industrial skill of Orissa's artisans. A patriot and a
nationalist to the marrow, he was an ardent supporter of the Congress
in its moves for home rule and independence but came out of the
organisation when its leaders showed cold shoulder to the struggle of
the Oriya's against repression of their economy, culture and language
by people of other regions. Much like Shivaji appealing to Aurengzeb,
Utkal Sammelan presented a memorial to Simon Commission to relieve
the Oriyas of exploitation by people of the sister provinces by
constituting the Oriya speaking tracts into a separate province. The
Commission was impressed and recommended for the formation of the