Where petty criminals disrupt civic life
By Sudhansu R Das
The child prodigy Budhia Singh’s Coach, Biranchi Das was shot dead when he was celebrating Orissa’s new year. Das was in the news for his effort in grooming the child prodigy and the future Olympic prospect. The world did not know the incredible stamina of Budhia Singh before coach Biranchi Das rescued the little three year old boy who was sold by his parents for Rs 800. Biranchi Das has given the clue to Indian sport officials how to look for sports talent even among the poor and ordinary people. The clue to medals lies in finding the right kind of breed which the nation has neglected for decades. Over the years, Budhia Singh has proved that genius does not belong to any class of people. When he was three and half year old he ran 48 km at a stretch. At the age of four, Budhia again ran 65 km without rest in seven hours. When both coach Biranchi Das and Budhia got world wide fame for their unbelievable feats, Orissa’s crab culture suddenly rocked their boat. Human right activists raised the question of child abuse. The activists were not there when Budhia was sold for Rs 800.00. The activists are not there when hundreds and thousands of tribal farmers work in their own field for a daily wage of Rs 40 in Nabrangpur district of Orissa. The activists donot go there where Budhia Singhs are minted from a compelling situation of hunger and starvation. Had there been no Biranchi Das in the scene Budhia would have ended up as a beggar or as a bonded labour. Had Budhia Singh born in USA he would have revolutionised the athletic world.
Orissa’s crab culture of pulling the legs of heroes who strive to give Orissa name and fame is mainly responsible for its underdevelopment status. In spite of its immense natural resources, vibrant natural sectors and a rich cultural back ground the majority of educated Oriyas donot want to be identified with Orissan culture. Their children ridiculously speak mixed Oriya with pride. Unlike Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh politicians, Orissa’s politicians do not converge on one goal of developing Orissa. Look the majority of Orissa’s MPs keep mum and look clueless in the Parliament session. Safety of the common man, quality infrastructure, cautious industrialisation and sustainable development could be the issues for the Orissa politicians. What Budhia Singh has achieved today was possible due to the long and enduring effort of Biranchi Das. The cold blooded murder of an innocent sportsman and coach whose effort was genuine in grooming the future Olympic medal winner for India is perhaps the darkest crime ever committed by a handful of criminals who have taken the civic society in Orissa into ransom.
The state government must show resolve to crack down the gang and their sponsors who killed Biranchi Das within a limited time. The economic loss due to criminal activities in Orissa amounts to hundreds of crores. Unless the state shows necessary political will to limit crime and corruption the state will lose huge productive hours. Orissa has to first curb crimes from its twin cities Cuttack and Bhubaneswar where civic life is disturbed due to criminal activities; from where crimes and corruption spread to other parts of Orissa. The incidents of Murder, extortion, chain snatching and eve teasing continue to disturb the civic life in the cities. Educated people in the historic Cuttack city have no voice and seldom participate in community development as the city is hijacked by the illiterate bustiwalas. The state government must evolve new methods of punishments for petty criminals who belong to influential families in Bhubaneswar. Those boys who escape punishment due to their influence disrupt civic life in the city. The state must keep watch on those migrants who perpetuate crimes. It is high time for the state to groom a proactive police force whose activities should be remotely watched by a more proficient intelligence cell.
Petty politicians cum criminals who are sponsoring crimes should be tackled with iron hand for the safety of the civic society. Though the writer Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Pattnaik has taken various measures to safeguard civic soceity, the criminal activities is deep rooted due to decades long neglect and political exclusion. Country made guns are freely coming from neighbouring states like Bihar and West Bengal. Locals are trained to make country made guns by outside agents. Though there is increasing crimes in some pockets, Orissa is comparatively more peaceful than other states in eastern India. It is high time for the state to take urgent measure so that the criminal activities will not spill over to other parts of the state.
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