The word Oriya is an anglicised version of Odia which itself is a modern name for theOdra or Udra tribes that inhabited the central belt of modern Orissa. Orissa has also been the home of the Kalinga and Utkal tribes that played a particularly prominent role in the region's history, and one of the earliest references to the ancient Kalingasappears in the writings of Vedic chroniclers. In the 6th C. BC, Vedic SutrakaraBaudhayana mentions Kalinga as being beyond the Vedic fold, indicating that Brahminical influences had not yet touched the land. Unlike some other parts of India, tribal customs and traditions played a significant role in shaping political structures and cultural practices right up to the 15th C. when Brahminical influences triumphed over competing traditions and caste differentiation began to inhibit social mobility and erode what had survived of the ancient republican tradition.
Kalinga
Very early in Kalingan history, the Kalingas acquired a reputation for being a fiercely independant people. Ashoka's military campaign against Kalingawas one of the bloodiest in Mauryan history on account of the fearless and heroic resistance offered by the Kalingas to the mighty armies of the expanding Mauryan empire. Perhaps on account of their unexpected bravery, emperor Ashoka was compelled to issue two edicts specifically calling for a just and benign administration in Kalinga.
Mahameghavahana Kharavela
Unsurprisingly, Mauryan rule over Kalinga did not last long. By the 1st C. BC, Kalinga's Jain identified ruler Kharavela had become the pre-eminent monarch of much of the sub-continent and Mauryan Magadha had become a province of the Kalingan empire. The earliest surviving monuments of Orissa (in Udaigiri near Bhubaneshwar) date from his reign, and surviving inscriptions mention that Prince Kharavela was trained not only in the military arts, but also in literature, mathematics, and the social sciences. He was also reputed to be a great patron of the arts and was credited with encouraging dance and theater in his capital. It is known from this record that Kharavela on the premature death of his father took up the administration first as a Yuvaraja and then on completion of 24 years of age ascended to the throne as Maharaja. The Mahameghavahana dynasty continued to rule over Kalinga and Mahishaka up to the 1 st century A.D. as known from some recently discovered inscriptions of Guntupalli and Velpuru in Andhra Pradesh. The Velpuru inscription reveals the rule of one Airamaharaja Haritiputra Manasada who belonged to Mahameghavahana dynasty.
The Imperial Gangas
The Eastern Gangas who started their rule in Kalinga about the end of the 5 th century A.D. continued as a petty power till the time of Vajrahasta V who came to the throne in 1038 A.D. As mentioned above he was the son of Kamarnava II by his queen Vinaya Mahadevi. He made Kalinga independent by defeating the Somavamsis and declared himself Maharajadhiraja. He also received the title of Trikalingadhipati. He made matrimonial alliance with the Kalachuris of Kosala and also with the ruling family of Ceylone. This helped him in consolidating the political power of his family. He was succeeded in 1070 A.D. by his son Rajrajdev I born of his queen Anangadevi. Rajarajdev was faced with his enemies, the Somavamsis of Utkal in the north and the Chalukya of Vengi in the south. By 1075 A.D. his Commander Vanapati of Vengi obtained victory over the kings of Chola, Utkal, Khemundi, Kosala, Gidvisingi and Vengi. The Somavamsi king Janamejaya II was defeated but succeeded in protecting his kingdom. By that time Kulattunga was the ruler of the Chola kingdom. By that time Kulattunga was the ruler of the Choloa kingdom.
Rajrajdev had a premature death in 1077 A.D. He left two young sons, the elder Chola Gangadeva being of two years in age. This young boy was crowned at Kalinganagar in February, 1078 A.D. Vira Choda, the third son of Kulattunga, was the Viceroy of Vengi till 1093 A.D. He was supporting the Gangas of Kalinga and in 1093 A.D., Chodagangadeva married Chodadevi, the daughter of Vira Choda. As a result of that Vira Choda was removed from power and expelled from Vengi by his father Kulattunga. Vira Choda was of great help to Chodagangadeva in his wars against Vengi and Utkal.
He established his supremacy over the entire territory from the Ganga to the Godavarari by 1135 A.D. Chodagangadeva like his ancestors was a great devotee of Siva. He was, however, found inclined towards Vaishnavism at times. Long before the conquest of Utkal by Chodaganga, Puri (Shrikshetra) was a place of worship of Purusottama and Chodaganga constructed the gigantic temple for the Lord to respect the religious sentiment of the people of the newly conquered territory rather than to obey the dictates of the Vaishnava Acharya Ramanuja.
Chodagangadeva died in 1147 A.D. and was succeeded by his eldest son Kamarnavadeva. The Ganga-Kalachuri war was continuing by that time and Kamarnava was defeated by the Kalachuri king Prithideva II, son and successor of Ratnadeva II. After the death of Kamarnava, the second son of Chodaganga named Raghava became the king in 1158 A.D. During his time poet Jayadeva is known to have composed his famous work Gitagovinda. Raghava died in 1170 A.D. and was succeeded by Rajraj II, the third son of Chodagangadeva. Next ruler wasAnangnagabhimadeva II, the fourth and last son of Chodagangadeva. He was the only son of Chodaganga to have a son Rajraj III, who succeeded him after his death in 1198 A.D.
Rajraj III died in 1211 A.D. and was succeeded by his sonAnangabhimadeva III. During his time Ghiyathu’d-din Iawz, ruler of Bengal, invaded Orissa. Taking advantage of this invasion the Kalachuri king of Tommana also declared war and the age long Ganga-Kalachuri war continued. At this critical time Vishnu,.the General of Angnagabhimadeva III, not only repulsed the invasion of the Muslim but also decisively defeated the Kalachuris on the bank of the Bhima river and near the Vindhya hills. After his victory the Gangas occupied the Sonapur region. Anangabhimadeva III gave his daughter Chandrika in marriage to the Kalachuri prince Paramardideva. By that he could win the friendship of the Kalachuris who were of great strength to the Gangas in their war against the Muslims. Anangabhimadeva was also successful in his work in the south and his empire extended up to the mouth of the Krishna river. Anangabhimadeva established a new city at the bifurcation of the Mahanadi and the Kathajodi which was called Abhinava Varanasi Kataka. By 1230 A.D. he transferred the headquarters to this new city where he constructed a big temple of Lord Purushottama. | |||||
Anangabhimadeva III died in 1238 A.D. and was succeeded by his sonNarasimhadeva I. By that time Izzu’d-din Tughril Tughan Khan was the Governor of Bengal and had semi-independent status. Narasimhadeva, apprehending danger from him, mobilized his forces against his territory. Izzu’d-din Tughril probably anticipated this attack and in the war that took place he obtained initial victory but subsequently the Muslims were completely defeated with heavy loss. Izzud’d-din himself fled away from the battle to save his life. On his request the Sultan of Delhi sent Qamaru’d-din Tamur Khan, the Governor of Oudh to help the army of Bengal but before the arrival of Oudh army the War at Bengal hnd already ended. The next year (1244 A.D.) Narasimhadeva invaded Bengal for the second time and the Orissan army attacked Lakhnor, the headquarters of Radha, and killed the Muslim commander and a large number of his troops. Narasimhadeva I was successful in his campaigns against the Muslims and humbled the pride of his enemy. Like his father he was a devotee of Lord Purushottama. He is remembered in history as the builder of the world famous temple at Konarka.
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While the freedom struggle took its full course in the British administered Orissa, under the leadership of National Congress, spontaneous popular movements became a distinctive feature of the Garhjat areas where the people rose both against feudal tyranny of the princely rulers and their overlord, the British. The leaders of such uprisings came from the ranks of the down trodden and the oppressed, but they showed their revolutionary determination in the most practical manner. The people’s movements in the Orissa Garhjats were without a parallel in the rest of the princely India, though sufficient light has not yet been thrown on the subject.
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The anti-feudal and the anti-British uprisings became frequent in the second and the third decade of the 20 th century for economic and political reasons. There were five such risings in Bamra, (Bamanda) three in Talcher, one in Mayurbhanj, one in Dhenkanal, and one in Nilagiri, besides a dangerous rising of the Kondha in Dashapalla during the period above mentioned. It is with much brutality, that the respective authorities could manage to restore order in their areas. | |
In course of time, popular democratic movement of the type as had developed in British Orissa took shape in the Garhjat areas. In 1931 the Orissa state’s People’s Conference was organized at Cuttack and by 1936-37 this organization proceeded to enquire into the people’s grievances in the states. The ruling chiefs vehemently opposed such moves and in some of the states, they restored to repressive measures in order to strike terror in the minds of the people, so that they should not speak anything against the establishment. These anti-people measures in turn paved path for organized popular movements, such as the non-violent Satyagraha of the Nilagiri Prajamandal to secure civil liberty for the people, resulting in large scale arrests of the Satyagrahis, lathi charges and firings. In Dhenkanal, in September 1938, the movement took such serious turn that a gathering of forty thousand people, agitating with demands, had to be dispersed with severe police action. | |
It was a people’s uprising all over the state, but suppressed by repressive actions leading to several deaths including the death of a brave young boy named Baji Rout whose courage and sacrifice became almost a legend in Orissa.The relentless action of the armed forces forced thousands of people to escape from their homes while countless houses were destroyed. The movement was continued with a great determination to escape the tyranny of an arbitrary regime, backed by an imperial power. The help of the revolutionaries of Dhenkanal that came to satyagrahis from outside and it became obvious that such popular movements were destined for ultimate success.The most heroic role in the Dhenkanal uprising was played by Sri Baishnav Charan Patnaik, a born revolutionary coming from the most common ranks of the oppressed subjects who was subjected to untoled sufferings but fearlessly and carelessly he carried on his radical revolution showing rare courage against formidable forces. He carried the revolution to its logical end and made the Dhenkanal struggle an interesting episode in people’s mind. The movement spread to Talcher where the feudal systems like bethi or forced labour roused the suffering peasantry into action. The authorities resorted to harsh methods of torture, beating, imprisonment and looting of people’s property, while the people were resorting to peaceful Satyagraha of the Gandhian type. Shri Pabitra Mohan Pradhan, a firm believer in Gandhian principles of non-violence was in the forefront of this movement. Nearly thirty thousand people fled from the ex-state to save their life and honour. In other ex-states like Athagarh, Tigiria, Baramba (Badamba), Narasinghapur and Nayagarh, the Prajamandals launched civil resistance movements and offered Satyagraha to press for the liberation of the people from antiquated feudal systems. A remarkable feature of all these Prajamandal movements was that side by side with their political aspects, the people were moved to action for economic and agrarian reasons. It was the peasantry everywhere which spearheaded the movements. The movement in the small ex-state of Ranpur was met with so much of brutality from the authorities that an otherwise peace loving people were forced into violent agitation which culminated in the murder of the British Political Agent, Major Bazelgette in January 1939. It was followed by extreme police and military action and a virtual reign of terror forcing thousands of people to escape for life.
The serious nature of the Orissa State People’s agitation drew the attention of the Indian leaders, and eminent persons like Rajendra Prasad, C.F. Andrews, Agatha Harrison, N.G. Ranga and Hare Krushna Mehtab set themselves to bring about a conciliation between the ruling chiefs and their agitating people. Mahatma Gandhi took up the matter himself. He advised the people to suspend the Satyagraha and advised the authorities to find out ways and means for a constitutional settlement.
In the meantime, since the formation of the separate province of Orissa in 1936, the political events in India were heading towards the final phase of the freedom struggle. General elections were held in the British Indian Provinces in 1937 to form Provincial Legislatures in accordance with the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935. In Orissa, in the said election, the Congress won 36 seats out of 60, and in July 1937, the first Congress Minstry was formed under the leadership of Biswanath Das with two other ministers, Nityananda Kanungo and Bodhram Dube.
This ministry began its work for the implementation of several pronounced policies of the Indian National Congress. Constructive programmes were taken up for the welfare of the common people in spite of obstacles created by the British controlled bureaucracy and for lack of adequate financial resources. Yet, the ministry worked out plans for the uplift of the Harijans, for introduction of basic education, for enforcement of prohibition, etc. But the ministry proved short-lived because of external events. The outbreak of the Second World War created in India a political crisis of great magnitude. At the call of the Congress High Command, all the Congress ministers tendered resignation in November, 1939.
The political crisis deepened rapidly. The Congress renewed its demand in July 1940 for complete independence and launched individual Satyagraha campaign soon thereafter. In Orissa, the campaign was carried on with considerable enthusiasm. The Congress ex-Ministers, legislators and several top-ranking leaders were arrested. Numerous other Congressmen spread over the land to carry the hope of independence far and wide. As the war progressed, national struggle in India also developed to its logical height.
In the power vacuum after the resignation of the Congress ministry, situations in Orissa developed rather in a delicate manner with the Congress preparing for a final onslaught against the British, while some of the leaders trying to form a Government to serve and advance the interest of Orissa. Out of the later mjove, a Coalition ministry was formed in November, 1941 with the Maharaja Paralakhemundi as Premier and Pandit Godavaris Mishra and Maulvi Abdus Sobhan Khan as ministers. This ministry functioned for a little over two and a half years. Its most noteworthy achievement was the establishment of a university in Orissa, famous as the Utkal University.
When the Quit India Movement began in August 1942, as the final attempt of the National Congress to end the British Raj, Orissa played its full part in the revolution, with widespread popular risings in remote rural areas. At many such places, the British administration almost vanished for sometime. With almost all Congressmen in prison, it was more or less like a leaderless revolution by the people, carried on fearlessly as long as possible. And, in this regard, Orissa earned the historic fame for the massacre of Eram in the district of Baleshwar where the largest number of people died in a single police action as compared to any such action in whole of India. Eram also proved how the revolution in Orissa was an affair of the poor and common people in far-away villages who required no leadership to rise, but possessed a spontaneous will to take part in revolution.
Another significant aspect of the Quit India Movement in Orissa was the underground revolutionary activities carried on by a group of determined patriots under Surendra Nath Dwivedy which came to be known as the Orissa Conspiracy. The organization was ultimately broken up and the leaders were tried in a special court and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.
Events moved faster after the Quit India revolution. With the end of the World War in 1945, the days of the British Indian Empire became numbered. The Labour Government in Britain which replaced Winston Churchill’s Government realized the hard realities of the Indian situation and came to the conclusion that it was impossible to retain India any longer. General elections were held to Indian Legslatures in 1946 and in Orissa, the Congress Party won 47 seats out of 60 and formed its ministry under the leadership of Harekrushna Mahtab. The other ministers of the Mahtab Cabinet were Nabakrushna Choudhury, Pandit Lingaraj Misra, Nityananda Kanungo and Radhakrushna Biswasroy. The independence of India was already in sight. Time called for ardous constructive works from the new Government. Side by side the amalgamation of the Orissa states became the most crucial issue of the hour.
Post-Independence Era | |
With the coming of the independence in August 1947 the issue of the merger of the states was taken up immediately for which the grounds had long been prepared by the Praja Mandal Movements. In spite of the determination of the ruling chiefs not to give up their hereditary rights and their attempts to counteract the people’s demands, their time was running out with the emergence of a new independent India. People everywhere became restless and the omen of a mass upsurge loomed large on the horizon.The leaders of Orissa and of India could not have allowed the princely chiefs to continue to rule as before. H. Mahtab, therefore, took the initiative for the merger of the states without any further delay. The unrest in the ex-state of Nilagiri forced him for intervention and the ex-state was merged with Orissa in November 1947.This alarmed the other rules while it encouraged the people to stand up boldly for their political emancipation. The developing crisis made the central intervention imperative, and Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel came to Orissa in December 1947. | |
His statesmanship and strength bore result when all the princely states, except Mayurbhanj, signed the agreement handing over the administration of their states to the Government of India in perpetuity, who on their part delegated the administrative power to the Government of Orissa to work out the merger to the states. The princely states, thus, except Mayurbhanj, were amalgamated with Orissa with effect from 1 st January, 1948. Mayurbhanj, too, was merged with Orissa a year later. It was, however, unfortunate that under some extraordinary circumstances and political miscalculations the two Oriya-speaking ex-states of Seraikela and Kharsawan were placed under Bihar in spite of strong resentment from the entire Oriya-speaking population.
With the merger of the states, the new Orissa became nearly twice as big in size, and with the addition of 50 per cent more people to its existing population, it became one of the major territorial units of the Indian Union. With potential economic resources in form of unlimited minerals, extensive forests, fertile lands, many river valleys, and numerous waterways, Orissa’s future appears brigher in the days to come.
The bravery and richness of the Kalingas became legendary, and finds mention in all most all religious scriptures, stories and history of incredible India In this respects, Oriya history resembles more the history of the nations of South East Asia, and may have been one of the features of Oriya society.
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