Bhubaneswar: Union human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday reiterated that the 1817 Paika rebellion or ‘Paika Bidroha’ of Odisha would find a place in history books as the First War of Indian Independence.
“Odisha’s Paika rebellion is indeed the first organised revolt against the British rule. It would find a place as the First War of Independence in the 2018 history books and include details of the rebellion against the then British raj. The country should learn factual history,” the minister told reporters here.
On Sunday, the Union minister had said the revolt would be recorded as the First War of Independence.
The Centre has allocated Rs 200 crore for the rebellion’s commemoration across the country.
The 1817 Paika rebellion took place four decades prior to the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.
As the British began to tinker with the revenue system at the start of the 17th century, the farming community of Odisha rose up in rebellion.
Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar, military chief of the then King of Khurda, led a motley army of Paikas and forced the British East India Company’s forces to retreat. The rebellion came to be known as the Paika ‘Bidroha’.
