Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. (File photo)
BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for renaming Jharsuguda’s Gondwana chhak after revolutionary tribal leader Veer Karunakar Singh Naik.
In a letter to the CM, Pradhan said Odia civilisation is unthinkable without tribals, the indigenous communities who have remained an integral part of the state’s historic, social and cultural aspects since time immemorial. The rulers of Odisha have always placed tribals on a higher pedestal than their own citizens.
Describing Karunakar Singh Naik as a prominent leader of the Gond community in Jharsuguda’s Kolabira area. Pradhan said Gond is one of the largest primitive tribes in the country and the state. The country feels proud of the valiant acts of Ranee Durgabati, Bhagaban Birsa Munda, Saheed Madho Singh and Veer Surendra Sai, he added.
Earlier, Pradhan had prised Akhila Bharatiya Gondwana Gond Mahasabha to request the state government for renaming Gondwana chhak after Veer Karunakar Singh Na
