A lot of water has flown down the Mahanadi since 1920 when Mahatma Gandhi had written about most people being unaware about Orissa, except perhaps its geographical existence. After all, today Orissa has arrived at the international level, touching even the hearts of filmmakers of Hollywood (like the maker of the film Avatar) or people with humanistic concerns in different parts of the world. The reasons, of course, are indeed unfortunate. Thus, these are connected to the displacement of the Dongria Kandhas, the struggle for mere survival of small peasants, share-croppers and the tribals, or the miseries of those who have been at the receiving end of the fascist “Parivar” in the recent past.

Can Orissa move forward in a manner so that its rich natural resources, the bulk of its people and nature coexist harmoniously? Of course it is possible if land reforms — that Orissa has never seen — are taken up. This can only develop with plans that simultaneously ensure livelihood resources for the marginal sections. It might sound profound, but simple features like cottage industries that had emerged out of the throes of the anti-imperialist struggle and lie abandoned are seriously revived. In fact, the Oriya ruling class’ obsession with big industries can most certainly co-exist if these are based on ideas that are genuinely inclusive and are not envisaged with the idea of, literally replacing human beings with aluminium, iron and steel factories. Needless to say, industrial planning with a human face can take both the process of industrialisation and the human beings involved with it on board.

Naturally these “visions” cannot change anything unless the mindset of people dominated by ideas of “purity” and “pollution”, or discriminating people on the basis of caste and religion get transformed. The power of “brahminical Hinduism”, and especially caste, is indeed awesome in Orissa. Utterances like “chora-chandala” or “chamar” even in polite conversations among decent people - reflect on the magnitude of the problem. And it is not a mere coincidence that the fascist “Parivar” worked rather effectively on these, to target the Christians/Panas in Kandhamal in the recent past. In fact, the upper caste, urban, middle class is the most serious legitimiser of brahminical “purity”. Again it is not impossible to dream of a future that is liberated from these perversions.

Orissa’s track record of violence against women is rather well known. Use of English words like “demand” related to dowry as a normal part of Oriya vocabulary, along with a top cop in the past arguing that “rape is not crime” are metaphors that illustrate how gender discrimination/violence are sustained. An offshoot of brahminical patriarchy and caste, this is another area that seems to have died out. Nevertheless, this phenomenon lies camouflaged, thanks to the resistance since the 1990s, and is in fact “alive and kicking”. Is it that difficult to imagine of a “future” Orissa, where there is gender equality?

In a free country, one can certainly dream and at least imagine a better future. Moreover, any change is impossible if we are unable to even dream about it. As a historian, I would not like to conjure myths about a non-existent/unhistorical glorious past, but rather prefer to dream about a golden future where the forests, fields and the factories remain in harmony, along with the men and women who live or work in them, and where there is no discrimination based on one’s caste, religion or gender.