‘Bande Utkala Janani’ Gets Included In School Curriculum

‘Bande Utkala Janani’ Gets Included In School Curriculum

Officially accorded as the state anthem this year, ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ now gets its place in the school syllabus. As per the order passed by the Odisha government, ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ will be taught and sung in schools across Odisha.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has passed an order on the same regard. Further, a tweet by the Information and Public Relation (I&PR) Department confirms that ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ will be included in the courses for classes 9th and 10th in schools.

The patriotic song was penned in 1912 by late Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra in Sanskrit. It was the opening song of ‘Utkala Sammilani’ during the struggle for the formation of a separate Odia province. The present family members of the late Kantakabi Laxmikant Mohapatra have conveyed their pleasure and gratitude.

His grandson Prabhukalyan Mohapatra expressed, “Personally I am happy with the decision as the late Kantakabi Laxmikant Mohapatra is my grandfather. He was not only a member of my family but every Odia household. The school students should know and learn their State anthem. The step taken by the State government is historical.”

There was a long standing demand from various sections to make it the State anthem ever since the Odisha Assembly resolved to sing the song at the culmination of every session. Earlier this year, people across the state had sung the song collectively to encourage the front-line workers fighting Covid-19 on a call by the Chief Minister. The State Cabinet had accorded the poem the State anthem status in June this year.