Why in news?

Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has strongly objected to the exclusion of the 1817 Paika Rebellion from NCERT’s new Class VIII history textbook, terming it a “huge dishonour” to the valiant Paikas.

The NCERT clarified that the rebellion would be included in the second volume of the textbook, to be released later this year.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• The Paikas: Odisha’s Warrior Farmers
• British Betrayal and the Fall of Khurda
• Growing Resentment and the Road to Revolt
• The Paika Rebellion of 1817
• Paika Rebellion and Contemporary Political Narratives in Odisha

The Paikas: Odisha’s Warrior Farmers

• In 19th-century rural India, widespread discontent often erupted into armed resistance due to longstanding injustices and the disruptive policies of the expanding British East India Company.
• Among those who rose in rebellion were the Paikas of Odisha — a class of traditional foot soldiers.
• Since the 16th century, Odisha’s Gajapati kings had recruited Paikas from various social groups to serve as military retainers.
• In return for their martial services, they were granted hereditary rent-free lands known as nish-kar jagirs, which they cultivated during times of peace.
• The erosion of their privileges under British rule sowed deep resentment, setting the stage for uprisings like the Paika Rebellion of 1817.

British Betrayal and the Fall of Khurda

• In 1803, Colonel Harcourt’s British forces marched from Madras to Puri with little resistance and moved on to capture Cuttack.
• Harcourt struck a deal with Mukunda Deva II of Khurda, promising him compensation of ₹1 lakh and four parganas in exchange for safe passage through his territory. However, the British failed to fully honour the agreement.
• In response, Jayee Rajguru, the king’s custodian, led 2,000 armed Paikas to Cuttack to pressure the British.
• While Harcourt paid ₹40,000, he withheld the promised parganas. Rajguru's subsequent conspiracy against British rule was thwarted, leading to his arrest and execution on December 6, 1806.
• The British then dethroned the king, destroyed Barunei Fort, seized royal lands, and exiled Mukunda Deva II to Puri.

Growing Resentment and the Road to Revolt

• The fall of native rule in Odisha led to a sharp decline in the status and livelihood of the Paikas.
• Stripped of royal patronage and hereditary rent-free land, they were further burdened by the British East India Company’s new land revenue policies.
• These reforms forced many Odia landowners to sell their land cheaply to absentee Bengali landlords.
• Additionally, the switch to a rupee-based taxation system increased economic pressure, especially on tribals, who now had to meet rising demands from landlords paying taxes in silver.
• The British also tightened control over salt trade, extending it to coastal Odisha in 1814, further straining hill communities.
• These combined economic hardships and the loss of traditional privileges ultimately sparked a full-scale rebellion against British rule.

The Paika Rebellion of 1817

• In March 1817, a group of around 400 Kondhs from Ghumusar, armed with traditional weapons, marched towards Khurda.
• They were soon joined by the Paikas, led by Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar, the former commander-in-chief of the Khurda kingdom and ex-holder of the Rodanga estate.
• Together, they launched a fierce revolt against British authority—attacking the Banpur police station, burning government buildings, looting the treasury, and killing officials.
• The uprising spread across several regions with bloody confrontations, but the British eventually suppressed the rebellion.
• Jagabandhu evaded capture for years, hiding in the forests, and finally surrendered in 1825 under negotiated terms.

Paika Rebellion and Contemporary Political Narratives in Odisha

• The legacy of the Paika Rebellion has become a strong symbol of Odia pride and sub-nationalism.
• In 2017, marking 200 years of the uprising, the then State government demanded that it be recognised as India’s “first war of independence,” citing its occurrence decades before the 1857 Revolt.
• Although the Centre did not accept this status, the then Union Culture Minister stated in 2021 that the rebellion would be acknowledged in Class VIII textbooks as one of the early popular uprisings against British rule.
• Prime Minister Modi honoured Paika descendants in 2017, and the then President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation of the Paika Memorial in 2019.