New Delhi: Paying rich tributes to Fakir Mohan Senapati, whom many credit with creating a distinct identity for Oriyas, Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Jena today said it was due to Senapati that the Oriya language got its due.
"If I am a proud Indian, I am also a proud Oriya. And I am a proud Oriya because of Faqir Mohan Senapati," Jena said at a function here to mark the launch of the Fakir Mohan Foundation.
"He not only proved that Oriya is a language but a rich language. Oriya language is the only language in India which is gender neutral. Any other language which you speak is gender centric," Jena said. He also recounted the way Senapati started his printing press in Balasore, bringing the necessary equipment with great difficulty from Midnapore and susequently from Kolkata in a bullock cart and launching the first magazine in Oriya.
Describing him as a very able administrator, Jena said Senapati had played a key role in the creation of Orissa. "He was a versatile personality and every Oriya is proud of Fakir Mohan Senapati," Jena added. Fakirmohan Senapati is regarded as the father of Oriya nationalism and the modern Oriya literature.
PTI