Dharmendra Pradhan Gets Kalinga Ratna & Bijaya Nayak Get Sarala Samman

Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, was honoured with Kalinga Ratna, and the noted Odiya short story writer, Bijaya Nayak, was honoured with ‘Sarala Samman’ by President Droupadi Murmu in a function in Cuttack, Odisha.

President Droupadi Murmu, who belongs to Odisha, was on an official visit to Odisha on 15 July 2025, where she attended the birth anniversary celebrations of Adikabi Sarala Das and the convocation ceremony of Ravenshaw University in Cuttack.

About the Kalinga Ratna Award

The Kalinga Ratna Award was instituted by the Sarala Sahitya Sansad in 2007.

The award is given to an eminent person of Odisha who has made an outstanding contribution at the national or international level.

Dharmendra Pradhan joins former Chief Justice of India, Justice Sri Ranganath Mishra, former Speaker, Lok Sabha, S Rabi Ray, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Sri Arijit Pasayat, former President, Sahitya Akademi and eminent writer Dr. Sitakanta Mohapatra as a recipient of the prestigious Award. 

About the Sarala Samman 

Sarala Sahitya Sansad instituted the Sarala Samman to honour literateurs of the Odia language. 

Initially, the award was not given to literateurs who had received national awards, such as the Jnanpith, Saraswati, Murti Devi, and Central Sahitya Akademi Awards.

Later, it was changed, and now all literateurs of the Odia language are being considered for the conferment of the award. 

This award includes a citation, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs. 1,05,000.

About the Sarala Sahitya Sansad

The Sarala Sahitya Sansad was founded in May 1982 in Cuttack, Odisha.

The organisation was founded in the name of Sarala Das, who is considered to be the first Odia poet and also the father of Odia literature.

The primary objective of the Sarala Sahitya Sansad is to preserve the works of Sarala Das and to promote Odia literature.

About Odia Language 

The Odia language is the native language of Odisha.

It was earlier known as the Oriya language, but by the 96th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011, the name has been changed to Odia.

Odia language has been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution (It contains 22 Indian languages.)

Odia was granted Classical Language status by the central government on 1st March 2014. At present, 11 languages - Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali - have been granted classical language status by the central government.