V. SPEECH COMMUNITY

Oriya Diaspora

The etymological meaning of ‘diaspora’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘dia’ which means ‘through’, and ‘speiro’ means ‘scatter’. Though the concept has assumed different meanings and interpretations since its early usages, it is currently employed to imply a wide variety of contexts, from dispersion diaspora to trade diaspora and worker/migrant diaspora. These terminologies are increasingly used in the present day transnational studies.

The diasporic Oriyas constitute sizeable number in several countries around the world. They are significant in number of countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra and Bali and in the European countries such as United States, Canada, Australia and England. Presently Oriyas are found in almost all countries of the globe. They maintain close contact with the kith and kin around the world.

The ethnic consciousness of being an ‘Oriya’ has made them one of the most successful Indian diasporic communities around the globe. Of course, they are regarded as one of the small Indian diasporic groups living abroad, but they stand next to Sikh, Gujarati, Tamil, and Telugu communities. Their strength and presence in the host society can be discernible through the ethnic associations they have formed in the countries of their residence. Through associations they retain their familial and socio-economic networks with the homeland and other Oriyas around the world. These networks among the Oriyas further become easier as a result of the revolution in the field of information and communication technology, which has tremendously altered the world in this 21st century. Now Oriyas are regarded as one of the ‘Transnational Ethnic Indian Groups’.

The Oriyas, settled abroad, are migrated from the state of Orissa, which is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, West Bengal and Bihar in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the west and Andhra Pradesh in the south. The language spoken by Oriyas is called ‘Oriya’ and it is an anglicized version of ‘Odia’. The word Odia is a modern name for the Odra or Udra tribes who inhabit in the central part of modern Orissa. In India, over 30 million people speak the language, and globally over 45 million speak Oriya. It is one of the official languages of India and the major language of Orissa. Oriya language has even spread to the other parts of the globe like Myanmar, Malaysia, Fiji, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, the USA, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and UAE.

History of Oriya Migration

Migration from Orissa has a long history. The Oriya merchants had trade links with other parts of the country during the Ancient and Middle Ages. Being a coastal region [Orissa], maritime trade played an important role in the development of Oriya civilization, where cultural, commercial and political contacts with Southeast Asia, particularly southern Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia were extensive.

Archaeological evidence from Sisupalgarh in Orissa suggests that the trade contact between ancient Orissa and Rome dates back to the first and second century AD. The trade contacts between eastern India and Thailand date back to the 3rd and 4th century BC. Himanshu Ray’s The Winds of Change-Buddhism and the Maritime Links of Early South Asia mentions that at least eight Oceanic routes linked the eastern coast of India with the Malaya country. Around the 7th century A.D. Kongoda Dynasty from central Orissa migrated to Malaysia and Indonesia. Tome Pires says that, Oriya and the Portuguese merchant traders were active at the ports of Southeast Asia during ancient time.

The chronicles of Huen Tsang refers to Orissa’s overseas contacts in the 7th century. By the 10th century Orissa’s trade with the east began to proliferate (Rath, ibid.) During the Sailodbhava dynasty, merchants from Orissa reached distant destinations in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Java, Bali, Sumatra, Borneo, Malaya and Cambodia through ports. Historians point out that the links between the Sailodbhavas of Orissa and Sailendras of South East Asia dates back to antiquity. The rituals of Balijatra and Khuduru Kuni Osa in Orissa today are the best example of the great maritime past of Orissa.

During the colonial period, when British ruled Orissa, a significant change took place in the region. The first British factories were established at Hariharpur in Orissa. Subsequently other factories were established in Balasore on the river Burabalanga and Pipili on the river Subarnarekha. These two Orissa harbors formed the bases for maritime trade. In fact, at the same time, the British rule has had a severe impact on the social and economic life of the Oriya people. Numerous categories of craft workers, especially weavers and dyers became bankrupt and were reduced to abject poverty.

The shrinking of the cottage industry, which created large number of unemployed workers along with the abject poverty and severe draughts and famines pushed the Oriyas to the far away lands in search of a better future. Oriyas during these days migrated to East African countries as indentured labor to work on the plantations. They also migrated to Malaya, Burma and Indonesia and Caribbean countries as unskilled laborers. As Sheila Ramprasad (1998) in her article Jahaji Behen says “…the migration to the Caribbean took place mainly from northern India, where 90 percent of the people migrate from the Gangetic Plane, the former United Provinces, Central Provinces and Oudh, Orissa and Bihar”.

Migration of the Oriyas to the industrially developed countries is a recent phenomenon. During the 1960s and 1970s, a number of technical and engineering colleges and institutions came up in major cities of Orissa like Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Talcher, Berhampur, Cuttack, and Baripada. These institutions produced large number of engineers and professionals. But due to the lack of employments in India many Oriyas migrated to the United States, Canada and Australia for a brighter future.

This period, which was often called as the ‘Brain Drain’, pushed large number of engineers, doctors, scientists, and teachers from India to the developed countries. Further the developments in the field of transport and communication led to unprecedented migration of Oriyas since the late seventies. Presently Oriyas are found in many parts of the world. Oriyas abroad are now proud of their mercantile tradition. They are not only in business but also are highly educated, having gained professional qualifications in fields of science, technology, medicine, economies, business management etc. On the threshold of the 21st century, the Oriya community seems to be at the crossroads in every sphere of life. On the one hand, it has become transnational, and on the other hand, it is struggling to retain its culture.

Transnational Networks

When one speaks of transnationalizm or transnational social network, he/she generally refer to the sustained ties of persons, networks and organizations across the borders of the multiple nation-states, ranging from weak to strong institutionalized forms (Faist 1999). The most significant relation here is not within the country of settlement but rather with the deterritorialized social relation with the country of origin, which is maintained through transnational contacts.

The Oriyas are not only successful in maintaining close contacts with the families and relatives back home but also are very much successful in maintaining the transnational networks with their kith and kin around the globe. Thanks to the modern means of cheaper transportation and faster means of communication technology, which has made possible closer networks among the family and community members around the world. The Oriyas continue to keep in touch with their relatives and old friend in Orissa and in other countries. Their personal linkages are maintained through telephone, letters, Internet, E-mail and through personal home visits where as the socio-economic linkages are manifested through the form of marriage arrangements, kinship networks, remittances and religious ceremonies. They have succeeded in reviving some of the old ideas and values. Further due to the development of Internet it has now become possible to create an Oriya ‘Virtual Community’ where the people of Oriya community all over the world can participate in a community.

Orissa Cyclone: An Instance of Transnational Networks

The super cyclone of Orissa, 1999 that made millions of people homeless and over 20,000 dead was the worst in the history of Orissa as well as India. To rebuild Orissa again, the Oriya NRIs and NGOs have played an important role by raising funds from all over the world. In this regard the Oriya associations of America through fund raising and co-ordination of relief and through proper planning of rehabilitation with site visits have played significant role.

At present marriages among the Oriyas are performed transnationally. The matrimonial advertisements, which are now available on the Internet, facilitate further in searching brides/grooms, often based on caste preferences. There are certain web sites exclusively made for Oriyas, which include Oriya magazines, newspapers, and matrimonial advertisements. Among such websites one reads as follows:

WWW.thesambit.com: The first transnational Oriya magazine on the web. It locates the Oriya speaking people, friends and relatives worldwide. This site also provides an opportunity to the Oriya speaking community of the world in finding suitable marriage alliances. It displays matrimonial ads for Oriyas who are looking for the marriage alliances either for themselves or for their kith and kin. On the web site, one can find matrimonial ads of Oriya speaking community belonging to all castes from all over the world. Apart from the matrimonial site, it also helps Oriyas to search Oriya people around the world to create the ‘Virtual Community’.

Oriya Diaspora in the United States

The overseas Oriyas have made their mark in diverse professions all over the world. They spread far from the deserts of Arabia to the darkest corners of Africa. They are successful in such fields as hi-tech industries and services, experts and tourism. Oriyas in America have particularly distinguished themselves in a wide range of industries and services like electronics, telecommunication and computers, power production and banking. They have progressively improved in the United States. Their number is now more than 8000 and is increasing day by day. They are concentrated in most of the important places like California, San Francisco, New York, and New Jersey.

The first thing Oriyas did when they migrated overseas was to form the ethnic associations with the co-operation of other Oriyas. Through these associations they tried to retain the invaluable culture of Orissa. Presently there are two active Oriya associations found in the United States. They extend their boundaries to all the Oriyas of the world. These two associations are Oriya Association of America in Boston and the Oriya Association of Washington DC.

Oriya Culture in the USA

The Oriya immigrants in the United States have remained attached to their invaluable culture, which finds expression in the traditional festivals and ceremonies. They perform the festivals such as Ratha Jatra, Holi, Diwali and New Year in which large number of Oriyas participate. The traditional dance and theatre forms of Orissa like Odisi dance and Chhau dance, drama, stage shows of the story of Ramayana and Mahabharata etc. are also performed in the diaspora. Today specialized dance troupes are invited from Orissa to perform in several special occasions. While watching these performances, the Oriyas, feel a sense of nostalgia of being a member of the great civilization.

The Oriya Society of the Americas

The cultural association of Oriyas in the United States is called Orissa Society of America (OSA). It was founded in 1969 at Boston. It is a non-political, non-profit and voluntary association in the United States. The association has fourteen regional centers, which operate as a social umbrella for different regions in the United States and Canada. These centers arrange religious festivals, social get together, cultural events and participate in the cultural life of the local community as representatives of Oriya culture.

The main aims of the society are,

To promote activities for a better understanding of Oriya culture and exchange of information between Orissa and the United States and Canada;
To bring all Oriyas together from all over the world;
To bring the people of Oriya origin from different parts of the United States, Canada and Orissa through annual conventions to share the experiences of ethnic living; and
To rebuild the motherland.

OSA continues to strive to be a focal point of all Oriyas in nurturing and promoting the Oriya heritage and culture. Through conferences and meetings, OSA tries to maintain the culture of Orissa. For example, a small group of young Oriya professional had organized a business symposium. They brought together senior administrators from Orissa, including the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary, officials from Banks and private companies in Orissa. The main purpose of that symposium was to provide incentive to the businessmen and entrepreneurs from the United States and around the world with interest in investing in Orissa.

Odisi, an ancient dance form of Orissa, has received worldwide recognition with its beautiful footwork and theatrics. The associated Odisi music is also unique in its composition and lyrical style. OSA supports cultural artists on tour to USA and helps in organizing workshops and events in association with other sponsoring organizations. Through festivals, OSA participates in ethnic celebrations in various communities in the USA and Canada. The OSA through its newsletter and various educational programmes is trying to improve the communication and interaction between Oriya women in Orissa and in North America.

Conclusion

The Non-resident Oriyas (NROs) now are playing an important role in shaping the future of Orissa. Their knowledge of the new frontiers of science and technology and their exposure to international trade and commerce will be of inestimable value. Orissa has rich natural resources. It has minerals like, iron, ore, manganese, bauxite and chrome, which are in great demand all over the world. Tourism is the other major area in which Orissa’s potential has been exploited only marginally. In 1993 the global tourism market consisted of 500 million tourists of which only 1.8 million visited India. Only a small fraction of this came to Orissa. Tourism can now become a major income generator for Orissa.

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