President Murmu Confers Kalinga Ratna Award 2024 on Dharmendra Pradhan at Cuttack.
Awards
During the birth anniversary ceremony of 15th-century Odia poet Adikabi Sarala Das on 15 July 2025, President Draupadi Murmu presented the prestigious Kalinga Ratna Award 2024 to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, celebrating contributions to literature and language.
- The event, organized by Sarala Sahitya Sansad, marked the 600th anniversary of Adikabi Sarala Das, author of an Odia rendition of the Mahabharata. During her address, President Murmu highlighted India's cultural richness and linguistic unity, noting that despite national diversity, the country's unity remains strong—a sentiment expressed as, “Our diversity is like a rainbow.”
- While conferring the award, President Murmu emphasized the importance of mother-tongue education as advocated in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, stating that learning in one’s native language deepens cultural roots and supports the acquisition of additional languages.
- Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who received the Kalinga Ratna Award, paid tribute to Odia language and literature. He stated it was an honour “not just for me but for every Odia,” and called for leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital platforms to enhance and globalize the Odia language.
Main Point :- (i) President Murmu also congratulated awardee Bijaya Nayak, recipient of the Sarala Samman, for her outstanding work in Odia short stories. She praised both honourees for enriching Odia literature through their creative contributions.
(ii) The award ceremony coincided with significant heritage celebrations, reaffirming the role of Odisha in preserving India’s literary traditions. President Murmu’s presence underscored the government’s commitment—through the Ministry of Education—to promote regional languages in alignment with NEP 2020 and broader cultural policies.
(iii) The Kalinga Ratna Award 2024 ceremony follows closely after President Murmu’s participation in the 13th convocation of Ravenshaw University on the same day, where she also called for innovation-driven education, emphasizing “job provider” mindsets among graduates.
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