Odias have travelled far and wide, eons ago. There was a time when our fraternity fearlessly ventured across the seas with very little idea of far-off places, countries or continents. The sailing ship was an essential transportation technology in both the western and the eastern world until the mid-19th century. They were not mariners but businessmen who were progressive to realise the benefits of reaching out to far-off markets, even at the cost of taking high ocean-bound risks. Those were the days of benign climate changes which helped in sea travel, without grave risks (storms, sun storms, floods, sea level rising, tsunami) that we apprehend today with all the GPRS, radio wave, mapping technologies. Without vaccine, without technology, they could complete a return journey with less danger. I often wonder, in all these centuries, are we going back? Everything has, but nothing has changed. That’s besides the point.
We were business travellers, seafarers but without any intention of colonisation and the imperial wish to gain control over new lands. Thankfully we were never wolf warriors nor are we now. The discovery of new trade routes by sea was the privilege of the Portuguese and the Spanish. They attained expertise. Odia sailors’ focused on the prospects of trade and wealth. But trade and culture are closely interrelated. The spirit of renaissance to learn and understand new things and the passion to seed our culture also spurred an interest in these expeditions. Even much before the Age of Discovery, we were in Sri Lanka and many had settled there.
There is an established and acknowledged common heritage between Odisha (known as Kalinga in ancient times) and Sri Lanka. It is believed the Sinhala race in Sri Lanka has similar ethnicity as the people living in and around Kalinga (modern-day Odisha). Therefore, the people in Odisha consider the Sinhala population in Sri Lanka, of Indian origin. Specifically of Odisha origin. The strong links that existed were torn asunder by Moghul and the British invasion. Prasad Kariyawasam, the former Sri Lanka High Commissioner to India, had taken special initiatives in developing unique ties with individual Indian Odisha state on the basis of its cultural linkages with the island nation. A specific purpose Foundation, The Kalinga-Lanka Foundation was launched at the Sri Lankan High Commission in 2014 when Kariyaswasam was the High Commissioner to underscore the ethnic synergy between Sri Lanka and Odisha. One of the mandates for the foundation could be a historical study engaging researchers from both the countries to unearth, establish and re-ascertain long lost ties between people of both geographies. There could be a unique bilateral arrangement between the eastern Indian state and the island nation. This may also help mine more symbiotic threads in the Buddhism link or route.
Legend describes the Sinhalese as descendants of Vijaya and his people, who would have lived in parts of today’s Odisha. According to the Mahavamsa, an ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka’s kings written in Pali, a king from Kalinga named Vijaya sailed on eight ships to Sri Lanka with 700 of his people in 543 BC and established the kingdom of Sinhala.
In Vijaya’s days, historians believe the people of Kalinga/Bengal (many parts were together) had a reputation for seafaring and, according to legend, the Saraswati river flowed through Singhapur.
Kariyawasam strongly believes in the theory of common ethnicity of the two places and this is based on historical evidence. Buddhism spread in eastern India during the period (third-century BC) of Emperor Ashoka. And that Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka without touching Tamil Nadu. This strongly suggests that people from the eastern coast would have gone to Sri Lanka and their contingent could have carried Buddhism along.
The former High Commissioner opines: “In addition to ethnic links with Kalinga, the Sinhalese speak and write an Indo-Aryan language based on Sanskrit which is linked to Hindi, Odia and Bengali. India must be concerned about the rights of the Sinhalese too and must not allow Sinhala leaders to be isolated in India.” If the old ties help in the current geopolitics of the region, Odisha and Odias should be happy and proud.
Historian P S Dwivedi, former head of the department of history at St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, confirmed the Sinhala language belonged to the Indo-Aryan family. “Going by the language, there is a likelihood that the Sinhalese would have migrated from India – primarily from Odisha is what many ascertain.”
Gaganendranath Dash, former head of linguistics at Berhampur University, Odisha, said there were similarities between the Sinhala and Odia languages. He pointed out that Pali, in which Mahavamsa was written, was prevalent in the eastern parts of ancient India.
Indeed, Ashoka of Magadha, also in eastern India, provides another Lanka-Odisha link. It was his bloody conquest of Kalinga that is believed to have driven him to remorse and to Buddhism, whose message he spread to the island nation. The Cambridge History of India says Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries, including his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra, to convert the Lankans. Some say that Ashoka never regretted the violence, and his conversion was more political than belief.
Many historians believe Magha, an invader from Kalinga, had conquered (1200-1300AD) Lanka and established the Jaffna kingdom. Kalinga Magha, also known as Magha the Tyrant, was an invader who is remembered primarily for his aggressive conquest. He is identified as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom and the first king of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. Kalinga Magha was a prince from the kingdom of Kalinga. But his origins in Odisha are unknown. It is again said his family was connected to the rulers of Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. Kalinga Magha’s relatives in Ramanathapuram administered the famous temple of Rameswaram. There are many theories but all point to the fact that Odias had set foot in Lanka centuries ago and there is a strong DNA bond between the people. This throws open many possibilities of business and cultural exchanges in the present times. Cricket is a common love and OCA could invite Sangakkara or Muralitharan as advisors and our cricketers Shiv Sunder Das or Debashis Mohanty, Olympians and hockey players could coach Lankan talent. By the way, Sangakkara is a personal favourite.
The maritime business could be explored further, basically the port sector. China is funding the Colombo port city development project at a whopping $1.4 billion. Odia cultural ties could help our country build strategic ties with Lanka and soft, deep-rooted power could counter the brazenness of new money and China’s attempt to colonise maritime silk road.
We are the early mariners, the adventurer seafarers.
True to what they say – Old ties die hard. They can never die.
[Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are personal and do not necessarily represent that of the website]
