Prem Ram Dubey
Prem Ram Dubey (23rd october,1933 to 17th September,2012) is better known as the Founding Father of the Kosal State Movement (or the Separate Kosal Movement). He spearheaded the movement against oppression and exploitation of people of rich and fertile golden bowl of Western Odisha by the coastal Eastern Odisha. His movement was based on taking a corrective action towards the historical mistake perpetrated by linguistic carving and organisation of the states of independent India. Shri PR Dubey toured intensively in parts of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh (present day Chhattisgarh), researched and studied deeply in several historical texts and accounts to discover that Western Orissa was historically known as "Kosal". Kosal or the Western Odisha is the Golden Bowl of Odisha interspersed with hills and fertile plains of alluvial deposited by evergreen rivers criss-crossing the region. It is rich in coal and mineral wealth, has large deposits of mica, mangnese, graphite, bauxite, iron ore etc. It boasts of being home to the world's longest earthen dam on the great life giving river Mahanadi. Kosal had a greater cultural and political affinity to areas which were in erstwhile Madhya Pradesh and now form parts of Chhattisgarh and at some point of time part of the Chhota Nagpur province, the script of the language spoken in Kosal or Western Odisha, i.e. Sambalpuri is common with the script of the Oriya language. It is on this basis that western or mainland Odisha was thrown together with the coastal Odisha to form the state of Odisha. As a result, there is considerable cultural difference between the people of two halves of Odisha and as the seat of power is in Eastern or coastal Odisha, the comparatively rich and fertile west served only as a colony to be exploited, burdened and its resources harnessed to feed and develop Western Odisha. Shri PR Dubey was a great mass leader who collected evidence to make the people of Western Odisha realize the naked plunder of their wealth and resources by Eastern Odisha. He worked in close connection with erstwhile Prime Ministers of India, Shri VP Singh of Jana Morcha and Shri Chandrashekhar towards freeing the people of the Western Odisha from the clutches of exploitative coastal Odisha is note worthy. Initially, to spearhead the movement for a separate Kosal state he constituted a party named Western Orissa Peoples' Forum, it was later when as a result of his studies and research that he came accross the historical identity of the people of Western Odisha that he name the party Kosal Party. For the first time a map of the proposed Kosal state was published by him.
PREM RAM DUBEY
Prem Ram Dubey(1933-2012)
Education
Political Activities
Contributions
Graduation Banaras Hindu University
Specializations M.A.LLb (Gold Medalist),Music and Fine Arts
B.H.U Students President,B.H.U.
Political Inclination Socialist
Political Party Kosal Party
Publication Kosal Khabar
Map First map of kosal
Books Ame Kosli,Hamar Bhasa Kosli,Political History of Kosal state(U/P)
Kosal Jagaran Yatra Invigorated spirit of Kosal
CHILDHOOD
Prem Ram Dubey was the eldest of four sons born to Malik Ram Dubey, the Gauntia (chief village head) family of Anterdol dandpat (collection of 18 villages) presently Budhianchal, submerged in the Hirakud. He remembered to the last the days spent playing with his younger brother in the jungles of the Guja mountains (peak of which is now seen in the middle of the Hirakud Dam reservoir). Racing horses, feeding on sweet tasting Char fruits and underwater hide and seek were some his last fond memories from the days at Anterdol.EARLY EDUCATION
Shri PR Dubey had his education at Guhalpada for initial three years at Anterdol. Due to lack of education in his village he had to travel daily 1.5 miles to Balanda village to Kedar Baba's home for completing his education till he was 7 years old. Shri Goparanjan Dubey (Retired Judge, Sambalpur) also studied with him at Balanda School. He was sent to Sambalpur to join 4th Class at Zilla School. During this period he stayed at his uncle Shri Bodhram Dubey’s (First State Minister from Sambalpur) House at Nandapada. He continued his education till Matriculation at the Zilla School. At this time, around the year 1956, the Hirakud Dam was proposed to be constructed, Shri Bodhram Dubey was cheated by Harekrushna Mahatab, the first Chief Minister of Odisha. Shri Mahatab lured Shri Bodhram Dubey that if he allows Hirakud Dam to be constructed and the Anterdol Dandpat and several other villages to be submerged completely, he would be elevated as the Judge of the High Court of Odisha. Though Shro Bodhram didnot budge an inch by this lurement of personal advancement, circumstances and pressure from Government made Shri Bodhram Dubey to absent from Sambalpur, taking advantage of his absence the Government officials captured the lands of Antardol Dandpat and several other villages. Young Prem Ram's perceptive mind was a witness to the deceit and chicanery perpetrated by the Government to construct the Hirakud by depriving several thousand people of their land and field. Meanwhile, Prem Ram and Goparanjan Dubey had to shift to East Hostel, Ravenshaw College for B.A,Hons. His performance at Ravenshaw College gave him the reference of his Philosophy Professor, Dr. Rajendra Ratha from Patna and he was admitted to Banaras Hindu University, Banaras. He simultaneously appeared for Law, M.A(Philosophy), Music and Fine Arts. He secured First position in M.A. and won University Gold Medal.Shri PR Dubay could never collect the University Gold Medal as he was called out to Antardol as construction of the Hirakud Dam had started and Government had issued orders for evacuation of Antardol Dandapat with some meagre compensation.Shri Malik Ram Dubey decided to settle in Jharsuguda at Behramal. These happenings and injustice meted out to the people of Antardol Dandapat and other villages which were submerged in the Hirakud had a great impact on the young mind of young Prem Ram and sowed the seeds of revolution.In 1955, he was married to Shashikala, the daughter of eminent Freedom Fighter and close associate of Gandhiji, Late Dr Jwala Prasad Mishra and Smt Vedvati Mishra.
PROFESSIONAL LIFE"FARMER, TEACHER, LEADER, LAWYER, SCHOLAR
" Shri PR Dubey initially was forced by his father to follow the family occupation of cultivating rice and he got a copious harvest in his very first try. But an ambitious law student like him could never spend his life growing rice, his destiny was to become the flag bearer of greatest movement of the people of Western Odisha for their rights.In 1967 he joined Sambalpur Law College as a part time Lecturer for an initial salary of 300/-. Because of intra-college politics, he resigned from the post of Lecturer but then returned to the academic life having been elected as the Senior Senate Member and Syndicate of the sambalpur University. After a short tenure in this position, he became the Dean of Law at Sambalpur University. He also accepted the position of Principal of Sambalpur Law College, the very same college from where he had to resign following college politics Such was the fighter spirit of the great Shri Prem Ram Dubey.
[1] The thirst of politics made him to join Congress Party. Shri PR Dubey's main source of inspiration for this was Late Shri Bodhram Dubey, who was the regional President of Congress then. With Shri Bodhram Dubey, he got an opportunity to attend the Simla National Summit of Congress. At Simla, he met with former Prime Minister Shri Chandrashekhar and believed that his love for politics grew more after meeting Shri Chandrashekhar. But his tenure with Congress also revealed to him that he had been sadly disillusioned about Congress and that most of the Congress workers were just jokers of Administration. They were not dedicated towards the upliftment of the masses or the people of Western Odisha but were just interested in only filling their pockets. This made him to launch a separate Party of his own in 1988, Western Orissa Peoples front and finally the Kosal Party in 1992.[2]
Whatever time remained from his larger goals in life was devoted to the practice and study of Law. Shri PR Dubey fought some very historic cases of Sambalpur. The Siddheswar Berna (Mandir) case related to the capture of Temple's land by some Muslims, with aid of the able advice and loquacious arguments of Shri PR Dubey, the case was adjudicated in favour of Shri PR Dubey and this victory had excited the masses to such an extent that as an honour to Shri PR Dubey, he was made to sit on an elephant's back and the procession was taken around the town.
An avid scholar of History, Shri Dubey's historical resarches find mention in several historical books and treatises like “Dakshin Kosal Ka Prachin Itihas”PREVIEW by Dr. P.L.Diwan. His article “The politics of Language” traces the history of the Oriya language that Oriya was planted as spoken language of Sambalpur and Kalahandi districts in the Records of British Government.Subsequently, Sambalpuri speaking regions were claimed as Oriya speaking regions.This sounded the death knell for the centuries old Kosal state being eclipsed and ruled by the Oriya speaking people.
LATER POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
He had also published the first newspaper for the Kosal state 'Kosal Khabar'. He also constituted the 'Kosal Sena'. He authored a book "Hame Kosli Hamar Bhasa Kosli".[3] and "Why Kosal State" His work for the upliftment of hundreds of bidi workers in the Kosal region is noteworthy. This was a part of work done by Shri PR Dubey's Kosal Party for civil welfare. All bidi workers were given separate identity cards at the cost of the Kosal Party and a meeting was held on each Saturday for solving and addressing their grievances.LAST BREATH
"Death comes to all. But great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold"Prem Ram Dubey left for his heavenly abode on 17 September,2012 after prolonged illness. Courts in Sambalpur were suspended for a day in his honour and condolence meetings were held at the Sambalpur Bar Association and at many places of Shri Prem Ram Dubey used to frequent. He is survived by his wife Smt Shahshikala Dubey, his son Shri HK Dubey and daughter Smt Sangeeta Pandey and four grand children namely Ankita Pandey, Sameer Dubey, Shirish Pandey and Anil Dubey.
