Paika Rebellion, popularly known as ‘Paika Bidroha’ in Odia takes us to 1817 in the Indian history. This rebellion which started in the kingdom of the then Khordha by the Paikas (warriors of King of Khordha) later spread to different parts of the British ruled Odishan geography.
The ‘Sepoy Mutiny’, took place in 1857 is widely discussed as ‘the first war of Indian independence’. However ‘Paika Bidroha’ buzzed 40 years before that.
While 200 years of Paika Bidroha is being observed by both Govt. of Odisha and the Union Government, Prof. Pritish Acharya, renowned historian from Odisha discussed extensively on the subject with reference to Indian Independence struggle of that particular era.
(Digital Media source: OdishaLIVE)
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Thank you Prof. Pritish Acharya for the extensive and insightful talk on history of Paika Bidroha (Paika Rebellion), which occured almost 40 years prior to Sepoy Mutiny. The country is observing 200 years of the same and the programme by Govt. of India was inaugurated by the outgoing President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.
While presenting the story of Paika Rebellion in Odisha, Prof. Acharya has vividly talked on war of Indian independence of that era.
Paika Rebellion, might not be the first but certainly was one among the large scale protests took place against British rule much prior to Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 (which is largely recorded as the first war of Indian independence.
The history is revisited now with a new information and new perspective. How was it ignored? Who will answer? We are so poor in capturing our history!