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History
of Orissa
Orissa's History
Orissa has a history spanning a period
of over 3000 years. The history of Orissa is in many ways atypical
from that of the northern plains and many of the common
generalizations that are made about Indian history do not seem to
apply to the Oriya region. The word Oriya is an anglicised version
of Odia which itself is a modern name for the Odra 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 Kalingas appears in the writings
of Vedic chroniclers. In the 6th C. BC, Vedic Sutrakara Baudhayana
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.
In ancient times, it was the proud kingdom of Kalinga. Kalinga was a
major seafaring nation that controlled and traded with most of the
sea routes in the Bay of Bengal. For several centuries, a
substantial part of South Asia & Southeast Asia was under its
cultural influence. The temple at Angkor Wat is a fine example of
Oriya-influenced Indian architecture. Some parts of Southern and
South Eastern Asia such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, Bali,
Vietnam and Thailand were colonized by people from Orissa. In
Malaysia, Indians are still referred as Kalings because of this.
Many illustrious Sri Lankan kings such as Nisanka Malla and
Parakarama Bahu claim Kalinga origin. The king who destroyed the
Sinhalese Buddhist control of Northern Sri Lanka and established a
Hindu Kingdom in Jaffna was known as Kalinga Magha. One theory holds
that the name of the country "Siam" for Thailand is derived from
Oriya/Sanskrit Shyamadesha. The Angkor Wat in Cambodia has Oriya
influence, with local variations. Bali in Indonesia still retains
its Oriya-influenced Hindu heritage. These sea faring adventures are
still celebrated during Kartik Purnima.
A major turning point in world history took place in Orissa. The
famous Kalinga war that led emperor Ashoka to embrace non-violence
and the teachings of Buddha was fought here in 261 BC. Ashoka's
military campaign against Kalinga was 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. Later on,
Asoka was instrumental in spreading Buddhist philosophy all over
Asia.
In the third century BC, Kalinga flourished as a powerful kingdom
under the Jaina king, Kharavela. He ruled all the way down south to
include parts of the Tamil country. He built the superb monastic
caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri. Subsequently, the kingdom was
ruled under various monarchs, such as Samudragupta and Sasanka. It
also was a part of Harsha's empire. In 795 AD, the king Yayati
Kesari I of Kesari or Soma dynasty united Kalinga, Kosala and Utkala
into a single empire. He is also supposed to have built the first
Jagarnnath Temple at Puri although the current structure of the
temple is entirely different and was built by Kings Choda Gangadeva
and Ananga Bhimadeva of the Ganga Dynasty in the 12th century. The
famous Lingaraja temple in Bhubaneshwar was started by Keshari
dynasty king Yayati Keshari III and completed by his son Lalatendu
Keshari in the 10th century. King Narasimha Dev is reputed to have
built the magnificent Sun Temple at Konark. Although now largely in
ruins, the temple may have rivaled the Taj Mahal in splendour.
The Moguls conquered Bengal and Orissa in 1576.The Mughals divided
Orissa into two parts i.e. Garjat and Mughalbandi.The coastal plain
of Orissa from Medinipur to Vishakhapatnam came under Mughalbandi
rule which was broadly divided into three parts as Jaleshwar
Sarkar,Cuttack Sarkar and Chicacole (Srikakulam) Sarkar.The Garjat
areas of Orissa's Central, Northern, Western & Southern hilly areas
were ruled independently by the Hindu kings.These Hindu kings were
paying their tribute to the Mughal Subahdar of Orissa who was
residing at Cuttack. Orissa was subsequently ceded to the Marathas
in 1751.
In 1803, the British under the British East India Company occupied
Orissa after the Second Anglo-Maratha War. In 1823, Orissa was
divided into the three districts of Cuttack, Balasore and Puri, and
a number of native tributary states. Orissa was administered as part
of the Bengal Presidency. Following famine and floods in 1866, large
scale irrigation projects were undertaken in the last half of the
19th century. The coastal section was separated from Bengal and made
into the Province of Bihar and Orissa in 1912, in response to local
agitation for a separate state for Oriya-speaking peoples. In 1936,
Bihar and Orissa were split into separate provinces.
Following Indian independence, the area of Orissa was almost doubled
and the population was increased by a third by the addition of 30
former princely states.But unfortunately the Oriya speaking princly
states of Saraikela and Kharsawan( now in the state of Jharkhand ) &
Oriya speaking regions of Singhbhum of Jharkhand ,Medinipur of West
Bengal, Raigarh,Sarangarh,Bindhranawagarh & parts of Bastar district
of Chhattisgarh & Srikakulam & parts of Vizianagarm & Vishakhapatnam
districts of Andhra Pradesh remained outside the territory of the
State of Orissa. In 1950, Orissa became a constituent state in the
Union of India.
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