Bhubaneswar, March 31: The proposal to make the patriotic Odia song, Bande Utkal Janani, as the state song has been hanging fire for the past two decades.

This despite various resolutions passed by successive state Assemblies.

The song, composed by Kantakabi Lakshmikant Mohapatra, was first sung in 1912 at the ninth session of the Utkal Sammilani, the organisation that had spearheaded the agitation for a separate province on the basis of language. It was the welcome song at the Balasore session that was attended by, among others, Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das and Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das. His songs had stirred the souls of Odias during the agitation for a separate province.

In 2006, the then Speaker, Maheswar Mohanty, had even constituted a committee under his own chairmanship on the issue. At the behest of the committee, the song was to be recorded by the experts of Utkal University of Culture. The committee had stipulated the duration of the 34-line song to be 98 seconds with only its first, fourth and sixth stanzas to be recited and the mode of singing and tune to be the same as nearer to the original song sung by late eminent singer Balakrushna Dash.

Incidentally, the national anthem - Jana Gana Mana - is played on the first day of a session of the Assembly. Bande Utkal Janani is played on the concluding day.

The campaign to accord the state anthem status to the song that had immortalised the poet got a fillip in November 1994 when the then Assembly Speaker, Yudhisthira Das, constituted an all-party meeting to consider the issue. The committee decided that the song would be sung during the concluding session of each Assembly. For the first time, it was sung in the Assembly on December 22 in 1994.

Following demands of the MLAs in 2000, the then Speaker, Sarat Kar, had delivered a ruling in favour of the song being adopted as the state's song and had advised the government to initiate steps to accord legal status to the song.

The failure of the state government to bring in a legislation that would specify the "occasion, place, manner and other procedure" on the song, had led the issue again rocking the Assembly in 2006 that had led the then Speaker Mohanty to form the committee.

Prabhu Kalyan Mohapatra, the grandson of Kantakabi, told The Telegraph: "I have no idea why despite repeated moves in the Assembly, the government is not taking a firm decision."

People espousing the cause of the song pointed out that at least 11 states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, had their own state songs.

"A high-level committee was formed in last March to suggest on how to confer legal status on the song. The committee has submitted its report to the government and its recommendations are being considered," culture minister Ashok Panda told The Telegraph.

While this issue of state song is pending, the state seems to have forgotten about its past communication with the Centre to bring out a commemorative postage stamp on the poet.

In 2004, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had written to the then Union minister of communication, Arun Shourie. He wrote: "Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra, the composer of state patriotic song Banda Utkal Janani has contributed immensely to the cause of Odia literature and our freedom struggle."

He had urged him to issue a postal stamp on the occasion of the 50th death anniversary of Mohapatra. He had said that issuing a commemorative stamp would be a fitting tribute to the versatile genius.

BJD Rajya Sabha member Baishnab Parida, who is also convener of the Odisha Bhasa Surakshya Samilani, said: "Besides giving the status of state anthem to the song, the government should implement the official language act that says that all official work should be done in the Odia language."