Orissa has a glorious and ancient history spanning a period of over 2000 years. In ancient times, it was the proud kingdom of Kalinga. Kalinga was a major seafaring nation that controlled most of the sea routes in the Bay of Bengal. For several centuries, a substantial part of Southeast Asia, such as Kampuchea (Cambodia), Java, Sumatra, Bali and Thailand were colonies of Orissa. In fact the name of the country "Siam" is derived from Oriya/Sanskrit Shyamadesha. The temple of Angkor Wat is a fine example of Orissan architecture, with some local variations. Bali still retains its Hindu Orissan heritage. A major turning point in world history took place in Orissa. The famous Kalinga war that led emperor Asoka to embrace non-violence and the teachings of Buddha was fought here in 261 BC.

Later on, Asoka was instrumental in spreading Buddhist philosophy all over Asia. In the second century BC, Kalinga flourished as a powerful kingdom under Kharavela. It is he who was 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 united Kalinga, Kosala and Utkala into a single empire. He also built the famous Jagannath temple at Puri. King Narasimha Dev is reputed to have built the magnificent sun temple in Konark. Although now largely in ruins, the temple would easily have rivaled the Taj Mahal in splendor. The ruins of a major ancient university and center of Buddhist learning, Ratnagiri, was recently discovered in Orissa. Scholars from far away lands, such as Greece, Persia and China used to study philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and science at this famed University. Taxila, Nalanda and Ratnagiri are the oldest universities in the world. The ruins of Ratnagiri University have not been fully excavated yet.

During the dark ages of Indian civilization, Orissa was ruled by a succession of Muslim kings. It was later annexed by emperor Akbar and became part of the Mughal empire. After the fall of the Mughals, the Marathas under Shivaji invaded the land and continued to rule until 1803 AD when Orissa fell prey to the barbaric British. Modern Orissa was carved out of Bihar in 1936. Contemporary Orissa has a proud cultural heritage that arose due to the intermingling of three great religious traditions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It has been further enriched by Islam and Christianity.

About Orissa

Its territory formed a part of the ancient Kalinga of Mahabharat fame. Ashok the Mauryan King of Magadh, invaded Kalinga in 261 BC and this event has gone down in history as the Great Kalinga war. Then the people of Kalinga offered a relentless & dauntless resistance, but they lost at last. How desperate was the battle, how bitterly was it fought, and how terrible were the results, are known from Ashok’s own descriptions. This is what he wrote about the Kalinga war in his thirteenth Rock Edict. The country of Kalinga was conquered when King Priyadarshan, beloved of the Gods had been anointed eight years. One hundred and fifty thousand were there from captured, one hundred thousand were there slain, and many times as many died.
But what was the result? The conquered Kalinga conquered her conqueror. This was the last war fought by him after which he became the great champion of Buddhism and upheld the values of peace and non-violence.

The ancient state rose to prominence as a Kingdom under Kharavela , a great conquerer and patron of Jainism, in the second half of the Ist century B.C. Other great rulers belonged to the Keshari dynasty and the Eastern Ganga dynasty who were also great builders.

At one time the vast kingdom spanned from Ganga to Godavari. The flourishing maritime trade with South-East Asian countries i.e. Java, Bornio had brought in a golden era of affluence and opulence.

The Kalinga School of architecture flourished from the 7th to 13th century A.D. The most important monuments of this period can be seen in and around Bhubaneswar and Puri. The Mukteswar Temple is the finest piece of architecture of Kalinga. The Lingaraj Temple of Bhubaneswar, the Jagannath Temple of Puri above all the world renowned world heritage Sun Temple at Konark is the epitome of temple architecture and sculpture. The construction of Konark Temple utilized 12 years of state revenue which can be compared to the mighty Moghul Empire, which also utilized its resources of 12 years for building world famous Taj Mahal.

It has also shown its military strength and prowess during Buxi Jagabandhu, period of the warrior of Khurda Paikas. The glories of Orissa ended in later half of 16th century. Two centuries later the British administered the final blows by dividing the original territory in to several administrative units.

In 1936, ultimately an independent state Orissa was constituted as a separate province by carving out certain portions from the provinces of Bihar, Orissa and Madras. As centuries rolled by, Orissa continued to invite heros, Scholars and prophets alike. Famous Kings like Samudra Gupta and Harsha Siladitya came to Orissa on political missions while scholars like Prajna and Hieuen-Tsang came to learn at centers of learning. Hieuen-Tsang, the famous Chinese pilgrim of the 7th century who visited Orissa was surprised to see the University of Puspagiri imparting knowledge to innumerable scholars now lying buried under Buddhist complex at Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri-Udayagiri.

Various prophets visited Orissa, the significant among those visits is the visit of Adi Sankaracharya in 9th century to Puri to make it a center of his mission and a towering citadel of his spiritual ideology & message. He established four monasteries in four corners of Indian Peninsula out of which “ The Gobardhan Pitha” of Puri was one of the most significant. Another Great Saint Ramanujacharya, the propounder of Visista Dwaita philosophy also visited Puri and established the Emar Matha. In the same century Jayadev composed his world famous lilting treatise “Gita Govinda”. Subsequently in 16th century Sri Chaitanya, the exponent of the Bhakti Cult came to Orissa and made Puri his abode for last 18 years of his life. His contemporary Pancha Sakha i.e. Sri Jagannath Das, Sri Achyutananda Das, Sri Balaram Das, Ananta & Yasobanta were spiritual stalwarts and literary luminaries of the time.
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja, Kabi Surya Baladev Ratha, Radhanath Ray, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Pandit Gopabandhu Dash, Pandit Nilakantha Das, Godabaris Mishra, Kalandi Charan Panigrahi, Sachidananda Routray & many others have contributed substantially to the language & literature of Orissa.

Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das was the architect of Modern Orissa and subsequently Sri Nabakrushna Chowdhury, Dr. Harekrishna Mahatab, Sri Bijayananda Patnaik & others engineered their best efforts for catapulting Orissa to himalayan heights of fame & glory.

In fact, Orissa has become a multi dimensional, multi coloured, many splendoured, vibrant & boisterous modern state all set on its journey in the present millenium to make its presence and voice felt in the nooks & crannies of the world through the Universal Cult of brotherhood, its unique cultural heritage, luxuriant forests & wild life, sprawling Chilika Lake, bountiful coastline, wide range of tribes & colourful canvass of art & culture.Orissa has been resurgent again rejuvenating and resuscitating its ancient glory, glamour & greatness.

A new awakening was marked in Orissa after the ‘Na Anka’ famine of 1866 and during the time of the ‘language agitation’. Growth of education, development of communication, increase in the volume of trade and commerce, establishment of printing press and publication of journals and periodicals paved the way for the growth of political consciousness in Orissa. This consciousness made the people aware of administrative disadvantages.

The tales of the woes of the scattered Oriyas under other neighbouring people and their strong desire for union with Orissa crowded the columns of the newspapers and journals. When Lord North Brook, the Governor-General, suggested to break up the Central Provinces and to merge its areas with other provinces, the pioneers of the Oriya movement advocated strongly to merge Sambalpur with Orissa.

The question of amalgamating outlying Oriya-speaking tracts with Orissa was so far confined to newspapers and journals but later steps were taken to submit representations to the Government to that effect. When John Beams was the Commissioner of Orissa, the Oriyas appealed to him for the merger of the Oriya-speaking areas into a distinct linguistic unit. The people of Baleshwar made a similar representation to Richard Temple, the Lieutenant-Governor, who did not pay any heed to that appeal. In 1876, Raja Baikunthanath Dey of Baleshwar and Bichitrananda Das, the Sirastadar of the Commissioner of Orissa, made a representation to the Government for the union of all the Oriya-speaking areas under a single administration.

In creating consciousness for the amalgamation of the Oriya-speaking areas, the district of Ganjam played a leading role. The people of Ganjam for the first-time organized meetings and passed resolutions for the unity of all the Oriya-speaking areas. In September 1870, in the village of Russelkonda (present Bhanjanagar) under Ghumusar Taluk in the Ganjam district, a mass meeting was held. In the meting it was resolved to request the Oriyas of Cuttack to make united efforts for amalgamation. The Ganjam Oriyas formed an association called the ‘Ganjam Utkal Hitabadini Sabha’ with the Raja of Kalinga, Venkates Beu, as its Secretary and carried on the agitation more vigorously.

In the Orissa Division, on the 28 th November, 1874, there was a vast congregation of all the Rajas, Zamindars, and aristocrats in the garden of Bichitrananda Das to discuss the common problems of Orissa. In July 1877 an association called ‘Utkal Sabha’ was formed under the leadership of Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das. On the 16 th August, 1882 the Orissa Association was also formed by Mr.Das. In 1888 the Orissa Association made a representation to Sir Stewart Colvin Bayley, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, to unite all the Oriya-speaking areas. On 15 th December, 1902 Raja Baikunthanath Dey submitted a memorial to Lord Curzon to the same effect. In 1903 the Ganjam Oriyas sent a memorial to Lord Curzon for the amalgamation. They also sent a copy of their memorandum to the people of Orissa Division. In the same year a meeting was held at Rambha in the Ganjam district under the leadership of the Raja of Khallikot and the ‘Ganjam Jatiya Samiti’ was formed. Its first meeting was held at Brahmapur and Shyamasunder Rajguru of Paralakhemundi was its President. Delegates to attend this meeting from Orissa Division included such eminent persons as Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, Biswanath Kar, Nanda Kishore Bal and Gopal Chandra Praharaj. This meeting was regarded as the fist national conference of the Oriya people. This was followed by the formation of the Utkal Union Conference at Cuttack on the 30 th December, 1903 under the leadership of Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das. This conference played the most significant role for the amalgamation of the Oriya-speaking areas.

In 1901 Andrew Fraser, the then Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces proposed to transfer Sambalpur to the Orissa Division. On 3 rd December, 1903 Lord Curzon in a scheme proposed to unite under a single administration the scattered sections of the Oriya-speaking population while considering a proposal for the partition of Bengal. But the proposed scheme was partially carried into effect by the transfer of the Sambalpur district to Orissa Division on the 1 st September, 1905 minus the Chandrapur and the Padmapur estates and the Phuljhar Zamindari. In the same year the two feudatory states of Gangpur and Banei (Bonai) from the Chota Nagpur Division and the other five Oriya feudatory states of Patna, Kalahandi, Sonapur (Sonepur), Bamra and Redhakhol (Rairakhol) were transferred to Orissa Division from the Central Provinces.

The next great agitation for the amalgamation took place in 1911 when Lord Hardinge, the Governor General, created a new province consisting of Bihar and Orissa excluding the Oriya-speaking areas of Midnapore, Ganjam and Vizagapatnam agencies; the states of Sarangagarh, Rayagarh, Bastar, Phulijher, Chandrapur, Padmapur, etc. and the states of Saraikela, Kharsawan and Sundergarh. The Orissa being dissatisfied at this, continued their agitation with double vigour. The claims of the Oriyas were discussed at the Utkal Union Conference which met from year to year. Besides the Utkal Union Conference, the Oriya Peoples’ Association, the Balasore National Conference, the Udit Club of Singhbhum, the Utkal Milan Samaja and the Utkal Hitaisini Samaja of Ganjam also played leading roles for the union of the Oriya-speaking areas. A counter movement called the Ganjam Defence League was organized by the Telugus in Ganjam to oppose the Oriya movement.

In 1917 the Montagu-Cheimsford Commission visited India on the subject of self-Government. As regards Orissa, the Commission in its report recognized the need for an administrative union of the Oriya-speaking people and recommended for a sub-province for the Oriyas. But in the Act of 1919, there was no provision for a separate sub-province and the merger of the Oriya-speaking areas.

The question of amalgamation of the Oriya-speaking people was discussed from time to time in the Central and the Provincial legislations. On the 20 th February, 1920 Satchidananda Sinha moved a resolution in the imperial Council for the amalgamation of the Oriya-speaking tracts. A similar resolution of A.B. Latthe supported by Brajasundar Das was moved in the Indian Legislative Assembly on the 2 nd September, 1921. In reply Sir William Vincent, the Home Member, expressed his inability to take any step to change the provincial boundaries. On the 25 th November, 1921, Viswanath Kar, an Oriya member in the Bihar and Orissa Legislative Council moved a resolution for the union of the Oriya-speaking tracts. In the same year Sasibhusan Rath moved a similar resolution in the Madras Legislative Council. All these resolutions were disallowed by the Government.

At last India Government appointed C.L. Philip and A.C. Duff to make enquiry regarding the attitude of the Oriya inhabitants of the Madras Presidency towards this merger with Orissa. The Commission in their report made the following concluding remarks “Our enquiry has shown that there is a genuine long-standing and deep seated desire on the part of the educated Oriya classes of the Oriya-speaking tracts of Madras for amalgamation of these tracts with Orissa under the administration”. Before any step was taken on the recommendations of the Commission, the Government appointment a statutory commission in 1928 under the Chairmanship of the Sir John Simon to report on the working on the reforms in India. The Commission in its report stated, “Bihar and Orissa is a glaring example of the artificial connections of areas which are not naturally related.” The Commission, therefore, appointed a sub-committee for Orissa with Major Attlee as Chairman. The sub-committee recommended the creation of a separate Orissa province.

The report of the Simon Commission led to the summoning of the Round Table Conference. Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Dev, the Maharaja of Paralakhemundi represented Orissa in the Conference. The Maharaja circulated the pamphlet, “the Oriyas, their needs, and reasons for a separate province.” His efforts bore fruits : before the Third Round Table Conference ended, the Orissa Boundary Commission was appointed to review the boundary lines of the proposed Orissa province.
According to the suggestion of the Simon Commission the Orissa Boundary Commission was appointed with D’Donnell as the Chairman. The Committee examined the claims of the Oriyas and finally recommended for inclusion in Orissa of the plains and the agency areas, excluding Paralakhemundi, in the Ganjam district; and Kharial and Padmapur, excluding Phuljhar in the Central Provinces. But the Commission opposed the inclusion in Orissa of the Oriya-speaking areas in Bihar and Bengal. The report of the Committee was vehemently opposed by the Oriyas.

The “white paper” was published on the 17 th March, 1933, containing the draft proposals for the reform of the Indian Constitution. It proposed to create two new provinces, viz., Sind and Orissa. But the proposal regarding the boundary of Orissa was far from satisfactory. It excluded the Vizagpatam Agency and Paralakhemundi estate and the Jalantar Maliah in the Ganjam agency from the proposed Orissa province. When the “white paper” was under review of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, an Oriya delegation consisting of seven members met the Secretary of State under the leadership of the Maharaja of Paralakhemundi on the 3 rd July, 1933 and submitted a representation.

In the meantime, the Utkal Union Conference Committee met and authorized the Maharaja of Paralakhemundi to represent before the British Parliament for the inclusion of the Oriya-speaking areas of the Ganjam district. The Maharaja by his powerful arguments convinced the Parliamentary Committee for the transfer of Jaypur (Jeypore) agency and a portion of Paralakhemundi to Orissa. The Commission after careful consideration made the following recommendations.

A separate province of Orissa would, however, be perhaps, the most homogenous province in the whole of British India both racially and linguistically. They recommended that a new province of Orissa be constituted. They also recommended that there should be added to the Orissa Province, a portion of the Jaypur (Jeypore) estate which the O’Donnell Committee proposed to transfer to Orissa, the Paralakhemundi and Jalantar Maliahs and a small portion of the Paralakhemundi estate including Parlakhemundi town.But no step was taken for the transfer of Oriya-speaking areas from Bengal and Bihar. By this recommendation the total area was raised from 55,799 to 84,677 sq. km. (21,545 to 32,695 sq. miles). In the lines of the recommendations of the Committee, the Government of India Bill 1935 was passed by the Parliament and the new province of Orissa as an administrative unit came into being on the 1 st April, 1936 with the following areas as per the Government of India (Constitution of Orissa ) Order,1936.

Orissa Division of Bihar and Orissa

Areas from Madras;-
the Ganjam agency tracts :
Non-agency portion of Ganjam district such as the Taluks of Ghumusur, Chatrapur, Asika, Sorada, Kodala and a portion of the Taluks of Ichhapur and Brahmapur as laid to the north and west of the line described in Part-II of the Schedule.
So much of the Paralakhemundi estate as laid to the north and east of the said line.
From Vizagapatnam district-the Jaypur (Jeypore) estate and so much of Patangi Taluk as was not included in that estate.

Areas from Central Provinces
The Kharial Zamindari in Raipur district
The Padmapur tract consisting of the 54 villages of the Chandrapur-Padmapur estate,
Seven villages, namely-Kuakunda, Badima, Soda, Brahmapur, Palosoda, Jagni and Thakurpali.

Since then throughout the pre-independence days Orissa has suffered a lot as it was not possible to put together all the Oriya-speaking areas under a single administration. There were only six districts, viz., Cuttack, Puri, Baleshwar, Sambalpur, Ganjam and Koraput. The old district of Anugul was split up into two statutory districts, viz. Anugul and the Khondmals under the Angul Laws Regulations, 1936 and the Khondamals Laws Regulations, 1936 respectively. But for administrative purposes Angul was tagged to Cuttack district and Khondamals to Ganjam district. The Collectors of Cuttack and Ganjam became respectively the ex-officio Deputy Commissioners of those two areas. The rest of the province constituted 26 princely states, governed by the Rajas and Maharajas who had the last word of law within the jurisdiction of their respective princely states. They were loosely knit and administered under Political Agent of the British Government who was mostly satisfied after the collection of a predetermined part of the total revenue collection known as tribute or Nazarana from the rulers of those states. The process continued till 1947 when the country got independence.

Ancient Orissa

261 BC
Orissa hazy past focuses with the fwar of Kalinga in which the people of Kalinga come into head on consion with Ashoka, the powerful mouryan emperor from Magadha. A hundred thousand were killed, another hundred and fifty thousand are taken captives while an equal number die as an a ftermath of the war. The bloody carnage leave Ashoka with such a better teste in his mouth that he turns his back on violence forever and embrace the Budhism faith of peace and compassion. Budhism spreads under his patronage and becomes the state religion.

232 BC
Ashoka dies. The Mauryan empire lasts upto 185 BC.

1st Century BC
Kalinga drifts out of the Mauryan rules under the first Chedi King Mahameghavahan in the early port of the 1st Century BC .

49 BC
The third Chedi king Kharavela comes to power, and conducts extensive military campaigns. The greatness of his power is felt from the eastern coast to western coast of India and from Mathura in the North to the Pandya kingdom in the south. Jainism flourishes under him.

2nd Century AD
Early in the 2nd Century AD Kalinga is occupied by the Sata bahana King Goutamiputra Satakami from the west (Nasik), and continues to remain under the Satabahanas probablu upto the rule of Yajansri Satakami, (AD 174-202).

3rd century AD
After the death of .Yajansri Satakami (202 AD), the history of Kalinga sinks into obsecurity. Some minor dynasties like the Kusanas of North India. The foreign Indo- scythian Murundas, and thereafter the Nagas are believed to have ruled in the land until the time of SamudraGuptas south India campaign.

350 AD
Samudragupta of Magadha sets out on his campaign of the south and conquers parts of Kalinga. The claims of Samudragupta regarding his South Indian conquests are subject to doubt.Brahminism starts reasserting itself.

350-498 AD
Soon after the invasion of Samudragupta to new ruling power called Marathas raises its hand (from modern Parlakhemundi) and continues to rule over Kalinga till 498 AD. Kalinga under the Marathas enjoys a prosperous economic life because of her flourishing trade and commerce. Brahminism consolidates.

500 AD
The reign of first group of the eastern Gangas begins.

6-7 Century BC
A new dynasty called Sailodbhava raises its hand in the coastal region of Orissa extedning from Mahanadi in t he North to the Mahedragiri in the South.It is during the region of the Saillodhavas that Kalingas overseas trade floarishes largly with the rulers bunching their colonial adventure in the Suvarnadweepa i,e, modern myanmar.

621 AD
Harshavardhana of Thaneswar (Modern Haryana)invades Utkal and occupies till Chilika Lake. Budhism gets a remewal.

630 AD
Huen tsang vists Orissa.


647 AD
The last Hindu emperor of India Harshavardhana dies.

736 AD
Bhuama era begins with the region Unmattasimha alias sivakardeva who occupies the Saillodhava kingdom. The Bhuamas give patronage to Budhism. The dynasty is marked by a few illustrious women rulers like Tribhubana Mahadevi and Dandi Mahadevi, side side with the ruler Bhaumalaras some semi independent principalities known as the Mandalas develop in between the kingdoms of the Bhauma rulers.

Medieval 1:

931 AD
The reign of somavamsis begins. Somavamsis continue to raid till 1110 AD. Temple building activities reach a considerable degree of perfection during the reign of the Somavamsls with Bhubaneswar as the chief Center . Somavamsi king Mahasivagupta Yayat II comes to the thron, and with him begins the most briliant epoch in the history of Orissa. Yayat II unites Kalinga, Kangoda, Utkal and Koshala in the imperial tradition of Kharavela. He is believed to have constructed a 38 temple for Lord Jagannath at Puri. He is also known to have laid the foundations of the famous Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar.

1038 AD
The eastern Ganga lying low since the end of 5th century AD come into prominence again with the rise of Vajrahasta V who defeated Soma Vamsi ruler Kama Deva and establishes the Ganga Supremacy over Kalinga.

1050 AD
The construction of Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar is finished by Lalatendu Keshari of the Soma dynasty.

1078 AD
Chodaganga Dev of Ganga dynasty comes to the throne.

1112 AD
Chodaganga Dev invades Utkal and brings it under his rule. A great champion of Vaishnavism, he is believed to have built the monument of Jagannath Temple at Puri. It is the during of Chodaganga Dev that the facous mediaval saint Ramanujacharya is known to have visited Orissa.

1147 AD
Chodoganga Dev dies. About 15 kings rule the Ganga empire at him.

1211 AD
Anangabhima Dev III ascends to the throne. He is believed to have finished the construction work of Jagannath Temple at Puri. Anangabhima DEv establishes a new city called Avinaba Baranasi Katak ( Modern Cuttack) at the bifurcation of the river Kathajodi and Mahanadi.

1238 AD
Anangabhima Dev dies in 1238 AD. His son Narshimha Dev comes to throne. He is reputed to built the Temple of the Sun God at Konark.

1244 AD
Narsimha Dev invades Bengal.

1361 AD
Sultan Firjuz Shah Tugluq invades the Ganga Kingdom and occupies Varanasi Katak.


Medieval 2:

1567
Suleiman Karrani, the sultan of Bangal invades Orissa.

1568
Ramachandra Bhanja, the feudatory of saranga Garh rises in rebilion and proclaims himself as the king, Mukunda Dev dies in a battel with Ramachandra Bhanj, Soon thereafter Ramachandra Bhanja also meets his defeat and death in the hands Bayazid , the son of Suleiman Karrani. He succeeds in conquering Orissa there beginning Afgan rule in Orissa.

1590-1595
Orissa becomes an arena for the battels between the Mughals and the Afghans when the already AFghans refuse to acknowledge the suzeraintly of the Mughals ruling over Delhi. The operation continues from 1590 to 1595 resulting in the complete defeat of Afghans.

1592 - 1751
Mughal rule in orissa begins with sthe arrival of Raja Manasingh, Akbars Raajput General , who destroys the Afghans resistants. On the instruiction of the Akbar Orissa is divided into five sarkars : Jaleswar (including madinipur), Bhadrak , Cuttack, Chika Khol, and Raja Mahendry Dandpat. Orissa is thus acquired for Mughal empire and ;is governed as a part of the bengal Subah for sometime. It is during the Mugha lrule that the marchants carry on their brisk overseas trade & commerce and attract the attention of Europe traders. The Portugees, the Dotch, The English and The FRench discover Orissas economic potential for markets outside.

1607
During the rule of Akbars son & successor,Jahangir, Orissa is constitute into a separate provinces, with Cuttakc as capital and is placed inder a subahdar.

1670
Kavi Samrat Upendranath Bhanj is believed to have been bom around 1670.

1728
The Nizam of Hydrabad occupies the whole of Ganjam & Chikakol (Srikakulam) & declares them as the North sarkar.

1751 - 1803
Maratha Administration of Orissa begins with Raghuji Bhonsla-I as the new chief ofthe territory - Marathas continue to rule till 1803 the year in which Orissa possess on the hands of the British Marathas administration is said to have proven fatal to the welfare and prosperity of the land and presents a picture of misrule, anarchy and weakness, repacity and violence. Marathas rulers however patronise religion and religious institutions, thus making Orissa center of attration, Oriya literature also makes rapid progress.

1633
East India company set up trade Hariharpur and Balasore.

1757 - 1764
After the battel of plassey in 1757 & Buxar in 1764 the British empire builders look for acquiring more Indian territories. Orissa being the neighbouring state of Bengal naturally comes to be include in their design.

Orissa

1803
British army under Col.Harcourt begins its March from Ganjam in the South, and occupies the mugalbandi districts of Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, thereby completing the conquesting of Orissa.

1807
The first book to be printed in Oriya "New Testament" published by the serampore Baptist Mission Press.

1817
Under the leadership of Bakshi Jagabandhu Biddyadhar, the paikas of khurda rises up against the British in what is known as the famous pikas revolt of 1817. It is primarily an agrarian revolt against thef wrong policies of land settlement and revenew administration adpoted by the British.

1822
Missionaries arrive in Orissa.

1837
Missionaries esgtablish Cuttack Mission Press.

1839
Oriya is adopted as the language of the court replacing persian.

1843
Fakir Mohan Senapati is born.

1848
Kulabrudha Madhusudan Das is born.

1849
Missionaries bring out the first Oriya Magazine -"JNANARUNA"

1853
Bhaktakabi Madhusudan Rao is born.

1855
Appearance of saint poet Bhima Bhoi.
Surendra of Sambalpur, Chaki Khuntia of Puri, and ARjun Singh of Podahat join hands with sepoys in what is known as the country-wide "sepoy Mutiny:.

1862
Poet Gangadhar Mehar is born.

1866
A failure of reign in 1865 resulted in the loss of usual crops and brought about a catastropic famine in 1966-67 whioch laid to the death of about one million people in Orissa. Gross negligence, indifferent administration, lack of communication and in adequate attention caused atleast one man every three in Orissa die in famine. Cuttack printing press, the second in the state is established by the initiative of the people of the province. The first news paper Utkal Deipika is brought out by the Cuttack printing company.

1866-1900
It was during this late 19th century that a new conciousness began to take shape. The growth of modern education rise of a middle class inteligetia advent of the printing press publication of the journals and periodicals nationalistic literary activities of writers like Fakir Mohan Senapati and Radhanath Ray, rise of numerous socio religious and cultural socities formation of the Indian National Congress all these took the shape of a political movement to untile all the Oriya-speaking areas under one administration.


Modern Orissa

1950
With the coming of independence, the princely states in and around Orissa surrender their sovereignty to the Government of India. By the states merger (Governers provinces) order, the princely states of Orissa are completely merged with the Orissa on 19th August 1949, and the new orissa becomes nearly twice its size by the addition of more people to its population.

1950-56
Formation of the second (post independence) ministry under the leadership of Nabakrushna Choudhury.

1956-59
The third(post - independence) ministry headed by Dr.H.K.Mahatab assumes offices.

1956
Orissa Board of Secondary Education is formed.

1957
Orissa Sahitya Academy is Founded. Complition of Hirakud Dam.

1958
Establishment of Rourkela STeel Plant.

1959-61
The fourth(post - independence) ministry formed under the leadership of Dr.H.K.Mahatab

1960
Introduction of the Orissa land Reforms Act of 1960. Seeking comperhensive reform in the land revenew and tenancy laws in the state, it imposes a celling on land to possess by a land owner and also provides for the distribution of the celling surplus land by the state.

1961
Orissa STate Electricity Board (OSEB) is set up.

1961-63
Congress froms the fifth (post-independence) ministry under the leadership of Biju Pattnaik. Shri Pattnaik initiates several industrial projects for rapid industrialisation of Orissa. Most important and ambitious of the projects are Paradeep Port and the express Highway connecting the port with the mining areas. Bali Mela and Talchera projects, MIG Factory at Sunabeda.

1963-65
Congress froms the sixth (post-independence) ministry under the leadership of Biren Mitra of Congress.

1965-67
Congress froms the seventh(post-independence) ministry under the leadership of Sadasive Tripathy assumes office.

1962
The Orissa University of AGriculture and Technology is founded at Bhubaneswar. Orissa Indistrial Development corporation and the Orissa Small scale industries corporation are set up.

1966
Complition of the Paradeep Port.

1967
Establishment of two new univesities at Berhampur and Sambalpur. A new part called Jena Congress is formed under the leadership of Harekrushna Mahatab.

1971-72
As the result of an indecisive verdict in the mid term poll held in the March, 1971, the Swatantra Party, the Jharkhand party and the utkal Congress party form a collition Govt. (ninth post-independence ministry under the leadership of Biswanath Das.

1972-73
Mrs. Nandini Satpathy takes over as the chief of the tenth ministry formed after large scale defections from the ruling coalision.

1973
Imposition of presidents rule on 3rd March, 1973.

1974-76
Mrs Nandini Satpathy forms eleventh ministry.

1977
Mr.Binayak Acharya is sworn in as the chief minister of the twelth minister. The ministry remains in office only 123 days. In a mid term poll the Janta Party laid by Shri Biju Pattnaik secures 110 seats out of 147 seats. Mr.Nilamani Routray is made the chief minister. The minisgtry remain office till 1980.

1981
Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University is established at Puri.

1981-85
Congress party wins a resounding victory to form of the fourteenth minstry in the state. Mr. Janaki Ballav Pattnaik becomes the chief minister.

1984
Dooradarshan television transmission center is established at Cuttack.

1985-89
Congress party wins an imposing victory in the electronics to the 9th Orissa Legislative Assembly Mr. Janaki Ballab Pattnaik becomes the chief of the fifteeenth ministry.

1989-90
Mr. Hemananda Biswal becomes the Sixteenth Chief minister after the registration of Shri Janaki Ballav Pattnaik.

1990-95
Under the dynamic leadership of Shri Biju Pattnaik the Janta DAl wins an astounding victory in the elections to the tenth Orissa Legislative Assembly.

About orissa

FINE ARTSPainting, Etching

PERFORMING ARTSOdissi Music, Odissi Dance, Animal Mask, Baunsa Rani, Chaiti Ghoda, Changu Nata, Chhau, Dalkhai, Danda Nata, Dasakathia, Dhanu Jatra, Ghanta Patua, Ghoomra, Jhoomar, Karma, Kathinacha, Kedu, Kela Keluni, Krishna Leela, Medha Nacha, Naga Dance, Paika Nrutya, Pala, Patua Jatra, Puppet Dance, Rama Leela, Ranappa, Samprada

HANDICRAFTS & HANDLOOMSApplique Work, Brass & Bell Metal, Horn Work, Lacquer, Papier Mache, Silver Filigree, Stone Carving, Tribal Combs, Wood Carving, Odissi Handlooms, Tribal Handlooms