Orissa Day

Held on : 1st April

Orissa is an Indian State located on the east coast along the Bay of Bengal. It's Capital is Bhubaneshwar or Bhubaneswar. Though it's original name was Orissa, it was renamed as Odisha and Oriya language was renamed as Odia on November 9, 2010 by Parliament of India. The name Orissa or Odisha is derived from the modified form of ancient words Ora (Ura) or Odra Desa or Sumera or Odra bisaya. Odia is the official and most widely spoken language with 93.33% of the population speaking Odia as per a Linguistic survey. The total area covered by Orissa is 155,820 km2 (60,162.4 sq mi). Orissa is famous for Jagannath Temple at Puri, the Konark Sun Temple, the Lingaraj Temple, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Dhauligiri , Ashoka's famous Rock Edict at Jaugada near Berhampur city and the Barabati Fort of Cuttack. To commemorate the formation of Orissa as a state, Odisha Divas is widely celebrated throughout the state.

History

During the pre-historic times tribes like Saora in the hills and Sabar in the plains inhabited Orissa. Later on it became a part of the ancient Kingdom - Kalinga. Ashok, the Mauryan King of Magadh, invaded Kalinga in 261 BC., in order to expand the Mauryan Kingdom. The war between Kalinga and Magadh is known all over India as 'Great Kalinga War'. Ashoka did win the battle but the bloodbmath shook his soul and he became a follower of Buddhism. The ancient state rose to prominence as a Kingdom under Kharavela, a great conqueror and patron of Jainism, in the second half of the Ist century B.C. By 1576 Odisha was conquered by Mughals who defeated, the last Hindu Emperor of Odisha, Gajapati Mukunda Deva. But it was only a matter of time before the British East India Company took over the reins of Orissa in 1803. They divided the original territory in to several administrative units. The northern and western districts of Odisha were incorporated into Bengal Presidency. In 1912 the coastal section was separated from Bengal and made into the Province of Bihar and Odisha.

Finally on 1st April 1936 after a long struggle of around 350 years, the new province of Odisha came into being. The district of Ganjam was transferred from Madras Presidency to the new province of Odisha. The modern state of Odisha was established at Kanika Palace, Cuttack. The efforts of Oriya leaders in uniting the politically separated populace bore fruit. It was a dream come true for the Odia people and their leaders like Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, Maharaja Krushna Chnadra Gajapati, Pandit Nilakantha Das, Bhubanananda Das and many others. The emergence of Orissa was based on the demand of the Oriya speaking people under the British rule with Sir Jhon Austin Hubbak as the first Governor. Thus, 1st April started to be celeberated as Orissa Day in joy and remembrance of the glorious day. After the independence of India, the area of Orissa was almost doubled. In 1950, Odisha became a constituent state in the Union of India.

Events and Activities

• Various events of Orissa including dance and music are hosted at various venues depicting the history of the state.

• Odissi dance performances are given by famous dance artistes.

• Prime Minister and other important dignitaries express their wishes for the people of Orissa on this day.

Alternate Names - Odisha Day, Utkal Divas, Utkala Dibasa, Orissa Foundation Day, Vishuva Milan.

Holiday Status - It is a Restricted Holiday.