Odia chair in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi

In a significant development to promote Odia language, Odisha government signed an MoU with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi to set up an Odia chair named Adikabi Sarala Das Chair on Odia Studies.

Odisha government will provide a one-time grant of Rs five crore to the university to set up a corpus fund to sustain the chair. A further amount of Rs 10 lakh will be provided for setting up of office infrastructure.

“The Odia chair will help in promoting Odia language by facilitating research on various aspects of the language, Odisha’s culture, and tradition. The Non-Odias will also come to know about the origins of the language”, said Culture Secretary Manoranjan Panigrahi after the signing of the MoU.

“JNU wants to promote all languages of the country. As an Odia, I feel proud to be present at this momentous occasion. I will try to do whatever is needed to promote our language,” stated Chintamani Mohapatra, Rector JNU, who was also present at the MoU inking ceremony.

The chair will introduce teaching and research programme in the university, will establish linkages with other universities and institutions in Odia languages in order to promote teaching and research in its literary and cultural traditions. The chair will also aimed to expose students of the university to learn Odia language and carry forward research area and also to introduce history, traditions and distinctive features of Odia literature to non-Odia speakers.

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