Paika Rebellion 

Syllabus: GS1/History 

In News

• Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik criticized the exclusion of the 1817 Paika Rebellion from NCERT’s new Class VIII history textbook, calling it a “huge dishonour” to the Paikas.
  • However, NCERT clarified that the rebellion will be included in the textbook’s second volume to be released later.

Who were Paikas?

• The Paikas (pronounced “paiko”, literally “foot soldiers”) were a class of military retainers who had been recruited from various social groups by the Gajapati rulers of Odisha since the 16th century. 
• They would render martial services to the king in return for hereditary rent-free land (nish-kar jagirs) which they would cultivate during peacetime.
• Paika Rebellion was an armed uprising in Odisha against British rule, led by Bakshi Jagabandhu, a military chief of King Mukund Dev II.

Triggering Factors for Rebellion

• In 1803, the British annexed Odisha after Colonel Harcourt’s largely uncontested march from Madras to Puri, making an agreement with King Mukunda Deva II for compensation and land that was only partly honored. 
• British policies, including new land revenue systems, currency changes, and control over salt, caused widespread economic hardship, particularly for the Paikas who lost their hereditary rent-free lands. 
• This mounting discontent culminated in the 1817 Paika Rebellion, led by Bakshi Jagabandhu and joined by Kondh tribals, involving attacks on British officials and government property. 

Suppression and Legacy 

• Though initially fierce, the revolt was eventually crushed, and Jagabandhu surrendered in 1825. 
• The rebellion was part of broader 19th-century rural uprisings against British disruption of traditional social and economic structures.
  • Despite its failure, the rebellion inspired future resistance movements and remains a symbol of Odia pride.

Recognition

• In 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated more than 200 descendants of Paika warriors in Bhubaneswar.
• In 2019, then President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone of the Paika Memorial at Barunei foothills.
• Last year, Odisha’s Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced that the Paika Academy and Paika Memorial would be established expeditiously at Barunei near Khurda.

Source: IE