New Delhi, 24/3/2011: From now onwards Orissa will be called as ’Odisha’ and the Oriya language will be known as ‘Odia’ as Parliament has approved the amendment and have also passed the related bill.
Rajya Sabha today passed the Orissa (the Alteration of Name) Bill and adopted the Constitution (113th) Amendment Bill after a brief debate with members from all parties hailing the move as “historic” for people of the state.
Next to Bhopal (now Bhojpal) Orissa is the second state to change its name. The bill was supported by all parties, including the Biju Janta Dal and was adopted by all 169 members present and voting.
Such a bill requires support of at least two-third of members present and voting. Besides, the majority of the strength of the House should be present for voting. The Upper House has a strength of 245 members. Lok Sabha has already adopted these measures after the Centre received the resolution passed by the state Assembly.
Pyarimohan Mohapatra (BJD) said it was a “great moment” for people of the state and added that with the change of name, they are getting back their pride.
On a relative note there have been many cities and states that have been renamed after independence. These include Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Pune (Poona), Kochi (Cochin) and Bangaluru (Banglore).
