DHARMASHASTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

JABALPUR, MADHYA PRADESH

A PROJECT REPORT

ON

PAIKA REBELLION

Submitted by

PARITOSH MISHRA

{1st year student of B.A.LLB(Hons)}

Under the guidelines

Of

Mr. ABHISHEK SINGH & Ms. ASMITA JATARIYA

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to our Vice Chancellor- MR. BALRAJ
SINGH CHAUHAN as well as our Head of the Department – DR. V.S. GIGIMON and my
subject teachers Ms. ASMITA JATARIYA and MR. ABHISHEK SINGH NEGI who gave
me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic PAIKA REBELLION,
which also helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to know about so many things that I
am really thankful to them.

Secondly I would like to thank my parents and friends who kept on motivating me in finalizing
this project within the limited time frame.

Best Regards,

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 ABSTRACT

Paika Rebellion of 1817 which took place in Odisha and sometimes also referred as the first war
of the Independence, has a great importance in our history as it was the foundation stone of the
struggle that we made to achieve our independence. It shook the foundations of British rule in the
eastern part of India, they started their fight against the britishers under the leadership of Baxi
Jagabandhu Bidyadhara. Paika rebellion is also known as the Paika Bidroh or Khurda Revolt. In
this project the main focus is to know the reason behind the Paika Rebellion and also the reason
behind calling it as a first war of Independence, the whole research work will give an impact of
the exact reasons of the war. Recently our Honorable Prime Minister of India declared this as a
First war of Independence so therefor in this project the comparison has been made with the revolt
of 1857 to know the reason behind calling it as a first war of Independence and also its
consequences in the Indian history.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

S.No. PAGE No.

1) INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….05

2) RESEARCH QUESTION…………………………………………………………….05

3) RESEARCH OBJECTIVE……………………………………………………………06

4) RESEARCH MWTHODOLOGY………………………………………………….....06

5) HISTORY OF ODISHA AT THE TURN OF 19TH CENTURY……………………..07

6) THE REBELLION OF 1804…….…………………………………………………....07

7) WHO WERE THE PAIKAS………………………………………………………….08

8) REASON BEHIND THE REVOLT…………………………………………………..09

9) COURSES OF EVENT…………………………………………………………...…...09

10) NATURE OF REBELLION………………………………………………………….10

11) PAIKA REBELLION AS A FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE…………………..11

12) RELATING IT TO CURRENT SCENARIO…………………………………………11

13) CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………..12

14) BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………..13

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 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

Generally whenever the history of Indias independence movement is taught in the school or is
written down the historians give less importance to those movements which took place before 1857
which is known as the First war of Independence. But know in the modern world the more depth
in the field of history is been explored and therefore one of the famous movement that should be
looked before 1857 is the Paika Rebellion.

Paika Rebellion took place in Odisha in 1817 here Paikas were the traditional militant of Odisha
who used to look at maintaining law and order in the region. Paik revolt was the armed revolt by
the traditional soldiers of the Khurda a region in Odisha, Khurda was the main region where the
war took place. This revolt was led by the Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mahapatra more famously
known as the Bakshi Jagabandhu. The story started when in 1803 East India Company conquered
Odisha and dethroned the King of the region which was a very bad experience for the Paikas and
the acts of East India Company was very rebellious for the Paikas as they stopped all the assistance
to the Paikas as they thought that they could turn dangerous for them in future. They also started
collecting various other taxes from the Paikas, these all kinds of pressure on the Paikas forced
them to rebel against the Britishers and it was called as the Paika Rebellion.

The Paikas were a kind of problem in the establishment of the East India Company in Odisha,
therefore the Paikas after dethroning their King they somehow managed to restrict the Paikas,
because they were knowing that Paikas can limit their extension and this game of restriction led to
the Paika rebellion which is also known as Paika Bidroh.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Whether it would be justified calling Paika Rebellion as the First War Of Independence.

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 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study regarding the charbagh railway station is as followed:-

1) To find the background and impact of Paika Rebellion.

2) To know the reason behind naming it as a first war of independence.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Doctrinal Research Methodology: This means collecting the data from other sources that our
second hand information’s available on various governmental websites, journals etc. This a
secondary source of information helpful for the research that has to cover the larger area. With the
help of this research methodology I was able to know the history of charbagh railway station and
its relevance in British era. It helped me in knowing many hidden facts about charbagh railway
station.

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 HISTORY

HISTORY OF ODISHA AT THE TURN OF 19th CENTURY

In Odisha in 15th and 16th Century there was a dynasty called Gajapati dynasty which was the very
powerful dynasty, but later on due to the clash with the Vijaynagar empire and the Afghans from
the north they declined. One of the fidutaries of Gajaptai dynasty who are the people the zamindars
of Khurda came to power and it led to the establishment of the Bhoi dynasty in 16th century.
Around 16th century only Bhoi dynasty took all the control of the Khurda and the Puri region and
since then that dynasty has been ruling in the particular area. Bhoi dynasty had the actual control
over the regions of Odisha the reason behind this was that due to the topographical and dense forest
area, these areas were very hard to be captured by any of the other part or king and one of them
was also the East India Company. These regions had the local kings and they used to collect and
give some particular amount to the Mughals or the Nawab of Bengal and later on the Marathas, as
these regions were given to the Marathas by Aliwardi Khan and after 1751 there was a firm control
on these regions by the Marathas.

In the second Anglo-Maratha war the Marathas were defeated by the hands of the British and East
India Company was exploring in other important regions of the country. Now the King of that time
was King Mukund DevaII who ruled from 1795 to1817 and he was very young due to which most
of the important affairs of the region was looked by Jayakrushna Mahapatra also called as the Jayi
Rajguru, he was the diwan (chief advisor of the King) of the region during the rule of King Mukund
Deva II. Another important person who was working under this ruler was Jagabandhu Bidyadhar
Mahapatra Bhramarbar Rai also known as the Bakshi Jagabandhu he was the chief of the army the
reason behind calling him Bakshi was because in Khurda there was a tradition in which the chief
of the army was called as Bakshi it was basically a title gven to the army chief.

THE REBELLION OF 1804

During the second Anglo Maratha war the Britishers went to the King Mukund Deva II to seek for
the help so that they can send their troops in few regions of Odisha and to help them in fighting
against the Marathas , but the advisors of the King asked king not to help them as they can turn to

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be cruel against them in future, but here the king thought that by helping them in fighting against
the Marathas I can have a full control on the Odisha and therefore he allows Britishers to send their
troops in their region by going against to his advisors. The King wanted to take full control over
the Puri because in Puri there was a temple of Lord Jagannath and any king who was ruling their
was treated to be the highest of all the Kings, the Gajapati rulers and the Bhoi dynasty saved Puri
from the attacks of many rulers. The King was also promised to get a hefty amount by the Britishers
for his help. So they all fought together aginst the Marathas and they won everywhere but the
promises made by the Britishers to the king was not fulfilled as the amount thatthey promised to
give was not given and they captured those regions from where they have dethroned the Marathas,
This made the Rajguru or the advisors of the king very angry and therefore they made the plans to
attack the East India Company and take away all the control of the Puri and as well as some other
surroundings from them. for this he brought the paika militias together these paikas were the
traditional soldiers of the Khurda region they attacked the enemies and they were very strong as
they fought very well against their enemies though they had suffered a lot as the retaliation from
the Britishers was ruthless as a result of which the king and the Rajguru of the Khurda region was
arrested and his actual power and authority was taken away he was just the king of name as the
main functioning was done by the Britishers. While Jayi Rajguru was brutally executed in public
the reason behind this was that the Britishers wanted to bring some fear among the people of
Odisha but the result was that it made people angry and the level of hatred against them was
increased. So,it can besaid that this revolt of 1804 was the base for the Paika Rebellion of 1817.

WHO WERE THE PAIKAS?

The Paikas were the traditional soldiers of the Kingdom of Khurda and other neighboring states.
Paikas are the foot soldiers, they are not only the soldiers but also the land holding farmers, they
supported the local zamindars and local authorities whenever the help was required they used to
unite with their members and help these localities. In lieu of these services they were granted rent
free land. Therefore they are the unique form as they are farmers as well as the soldiers too they
were respected in the society and they also maintained law and order on the society.

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 REASON BEHIND THE REVOLT

They revolted in 1804 and 1817 because the Britishers started capturing their land and property
and they made huge changes in their policies by bringing several reforms as they took away all the
traditional land holdings of the Paikas and also increased all kinds of taxes. The local economy
was ruined, they were very harsh when the crops were failed so to get their income they used to
collect taxes. There was a sunset law which means that if the tax is not paid before the sunset of
the particular day the lands were taken away. Overall it can be said that the entire socio economic
life of the people living in Odisha was destroyed.

Another reason was the hanging of Jayi Rajguru in the public which made all the people angry and
it invoked the public to fight and dethrone the Britishers out of the country as the manner and the
method of his execution was very ruthless. The other reason was that the people of Odisha
respected their Kings but after knowing that in 1804 their king is arrested they became more angry.
Even the British people deprived the zamindars and local people living in the coastal areas from
producing salt.

So these were the reasons where not only the Paikas but all the strata’s of the society joined or
united to fought against the Britishers which led to the Paika Rebellion.

COURSES OF EVENT

The Khurda revolt began in March 1817 when the people from different-different regions jointly
raided Banapur district and attacked everything which signified the establishment of the British
company. After this the all the establishments which were done by the Britishers were plundered
and all the police stations and treasuries were destroyed. The British commandoes and soldiers
were killed the Lieutenant Faris was killed which hurted the British a lot.

After destroying these regions the rebel force reached Puri on April 1817 and caused the
considerable destruction to official property, and drove out the government troops and officers.
This kind of spirit and success of the people inspired confidence in the discontented elements at
other places in Odisha. The anger was soo much in the public of Odisha so that they were even not

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letting them free who were coming under the suspicion that he is working under the British
direction.

But the Britishers too took the rebellious military measures to reconquer the lost places and restore
order. This revolt ended by the end of October 1817. So this shook the British administration and
once after re-establishing it they were not able to catch hold those leaders who took the initiative
to fight or rebel against the Britishers.

These leaders went into the jungle and the order was issued that these leaders should be catched
either dead or alive. They practiced the technique of Guirrella war for eight to nine years.

But later on Buxi Jagabandhu finally convinced to surrender in 1925, he was confined in Cuttack
where he died in1829.

NATURE OF REBELLION

It was not a purely military revolt based on any demolished soldiers it was something related to
civil uprising as the various land owners and manufacturers who were deprived of their service
also took part in the battle for their right. Hence this proves that rather than being purely based on
military forces or trained army forces it was the battle of every individual for their rights.

The participation of the public at large shows their deep sense of pride and respect for the locality,
religion, social customs and traditions that played a pivotal role in the participation in the revolts.

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 PAIKA REBELLION AS A FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

It is very strange for us that there are majority of the people who are in dilemma few think that the
first war of independence is the revolt of 1857 and few think that Paika rebellion is the first war of
Independence. In school we all know that we give more emphasis in the revolts that took place
after 1857 as taking the base that revolt of 1857 was the first war of Independence, So here the
point which is given more emphasis is that why do we call the Paika Rebellion as the first war of
Independence there are reasons and the reasons are discussed above.

The revolt of 1817 was based on the freedom and independence from the British because they had
ruined the socio-economic life of the region and people so people revolted against the British
policies and destroyed all the establishments of the East India Company, the same reason was also
there in behind the revolt of 1857.

Therefore, the logic behind calling it as a first war of Independence is that it showed the light of
hope that if there is a unity then Britishers can also be defeated one day. It was the Paikas and the
people of Odisha who took the initiative to fight and dethrone East India Company from their
region, so that there can be a proper law and order maintained in the region. This was the same
need during 1857, so logically looking it can be established that it Paika Rebellion kept the base
at a short platform and showed the way for the larger platform as it is only connected to the Odisha
region but it showed that if there is unity then we can also rebel against the invaders in any part of
the country.

RELATING IT TO THE CURRENT SCENARIO

The Paika Rebellion gives a very important message that if there is a unity then no battle is tough,
as in this battle as stated above it was not totally based on the military or army battles but the
common people those who were deprived from their lands or producing salts from the coastal areas
also took the part in the battle. The whole society realized that there is a need of action as there
socio-economic life is destroyed. So, even if in todays scenario if we stand united against any evil
we can handle this, instead of criticizing ech other there should be appreciation for each other
which would bring unity and success.

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 CONCLUSION

Paika Rebellion is the battle that one should never forget, looking at its causes and the way they
fought for their rights and liberty shows that it can be clearly called as the First war of
Independence. The great leaders like Baxi Jagabandhu, Jayi Rajguru etc showed the glimpse of
the path tat needs to be covered in order to achieve Independence. The British administration which
had full faith on its power and functioning was showed that they are nothing in front of those who
have unity and are fighting for their rights and liberty. Paika Rebellion shook the East India
Company which had a firm control in other parts of the Indian territory.

The reasons of the revolt was very genuine and it was the same condition whichother regions of
the country was facing, but none of them was courageous enough to fight therefore it took so long
years in dethroning the Britishers and their tyrannical policies. Paika Rebellion is the topic which
should be known to everyone as it was the war of independence at a small platform against the
same rivals that are of the larger platform. So, is very important for the modern generation to
remember about these wars as later on these small-small attempts turns into the bigger one ad the
result can be seen perfectly and Paika Rebellion is one example of that .

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

For completing this project I have taken the help from various sites, articles and books. Few
of which are mentioned below:-

1) mhrd.gov.in
2) www.thehindu.com
3) gktoday.in
4) A sketch of the History of Orissa:From1803 to 1828 by A.G Toynbee

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