Paika Rebellion facts for kids
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The Paika Rebellion, also known as the Paika Bidroha, was an early armed uprising against the East India Company in India. It happened in 1817. The Paikas were led by Bakshi Jagabandhu. They used Lord Jagannath as a symbol to unite the Odia people. The rebellion quickly spread across most of Odisha before the Company's army stopped it.
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Who Were the Paikas?
The Paikas were a group of peasant soldiers from the Gajapati rulers of Odisha. They served as soldiers for the kings during wartime. When there was no war, they worked as farmers.
The Paikas had three main groups, based on their jobs and weapons:
- Paharis: These soldiers carried shields and a special sword called a khanda.
- Banuas: They went on long trips and used matchlock guns.
- Dhenkiyas: These were archers who also did other important jobs in the army.
After the East India Company took over Odisha in 1803, they removed the Raja (king) of Khurda. This caused the Paikas to lose their power and respect. The Company saw the Paikas as a danger. They wanted to treat them like regular farmers, make them pay taxes, and take away their special land. An official named Walter Ewer said that the Company needed to "break their poisonous teeth" to keep them under control.
Why Did the Rebellion Happen?
The Paika Rebellion started for many reasons, including social, economic, and political problems.
Economic Problems
- Closed Ports: Odisha had four important trading ports. The East India Company closed these ports to protect its own trade. This made many local traders very angry.
- Land and Taxes: The Company took over the special tax-free lands that the Paikas had inherited. They also forced the Paikas and farmers to pay very high taxes.
- Salt Prices: The price of salt went up a lot because the Company added high taxes to it. Salt was a very important item for everyone.
- Currency Change: The Company stopped using the traditional cowrie shells as money. They demanded that all taxes be paid in silver. This made life very hard for common people.
In 1804, the Raja of Khurda tried to plan a rebellion with the Paikas. But the Company found out, and the Raja's land was taken away.
Leaders of the Rebellion
The Paika Rebellion was led by Bakshi Jagabandhu. He used to be the bakshi (commander) of the Khurda king's army. In 1814, the East India Company took over Jagabandhu's family estate, leaving him very poor. When the rebellion began in March 1817, the Paikas gathered under his leadership.
Raja Mukunda Deva, the last King of Khurda, also became a leader of the Paika rebels. The rebellion had wide support from many people in Odisha. Feudal chiefs, local landlords (zamindars), and common people all joined in. Landlords from places like Karipur, Mrichpur, and Balarampur supported the Paikas. The rebellion started in Banapur and Khurda. It quickly spread to other areas like Puri, Pipili, and Cuttack.
How the Rebellion Unfolded
People in Odisha were already unhappy with the Company's rules. In March 1817, about 400 Kandha people from Ghumsur openly rebelled against the Company. The Paikas, led by Jagabandhu, joined them. They attacked and burned the police station and post office in Banpur. Then, the rebels marched to Khurda. The Company soldiers left Khurda, and the rebels took over the government buildings and the treasury there. Another group of rebels captured Paragana Lembai and killed Company officials.
The Company government, led by E. Impey, sent soldiers to stop the rebellion. Lieutenant Prideaure went to Khurda, and Lieutenant Faris went to Pipli. But the Paikas attacked them fiercely. The Company forces had to retreat to Cuttack, losing many soldiers. Faris himself was killed.
Another Company force went to Puri and faced less resistance. On April 9, 550 more soldiers were sent to Khurda. Three days later, they took Khurda and declared "martial law." This meant the military took control of the area.
Even though the Company took back Khurda, Puri fell to the rebels led by Bakshi Jagabandhu. By April 18, the Company forces had to retreat to Cuttack. Cuttack was cut off from the rebel-held areas in southern Odisha. The Company didn't know what happened to their soldiers in Khurda.
However, the Company officer, Captain Le Fevere, managed to chase the rebels from Khurda into Puri. His soldiers defeated a large group of Paikas who were not well-equipped. They retook Puri and captured the Raja before he could escape.
The uprising spread quickly across Odisha. There were many fights between Company troops and Paika forces. By May 1817, the East India Company had mostly regained control. But it took a long time for peace to fully return to the region.
What Happened After the Rebellion?
In May 1817, the East India Company sent judges to Khurda to punish the captured rebels. Some rebels were executed, some were sent away to prison, and others were put in jail. Between 1818 and 1826, Company soldiers searched the jungles of Khurda to find or kill rebels who had escaped.
Bakshi Jagabandhu, the leader of the remaining rebels, surrendered to the East India Company in 1825. He was kept as a prisoner in Cuttack until he died in 1829.
When Jagabandhu captured Puri, he offered to make Raja Mukunda Deva king of Khurda again. The Company had removed the Raja from power in 1804. But the Raja refused Jagabandhu's offer and asked the Company for help. However, when Company soldiers recaptured Puri, they arrested the Raja. He died as a prisoner in Cuttack in November 1817.
The East India Company also set up a group to find out why the rebellion happened. They tried to change their administration to prevent future uprisings. However, these changes were not always fully carried out. The Company mostly saw Odisha as a useful land route between their other territories.
Even after the Paika Rebellion, there were other uprisings against the Company in Odisha. These included rebellions in Tapanga (1827) and Banapur (1835), as well as uprisings by the Kandha, Kol, and Gond people. The Company's tax policies, which caused much anger, mostly stayed the same.
In 2017, the Odisha government asked the national government to recognize the Paika Rebellion as the first Indian war of independence. They wanted it to replace the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In 2021, the Union Culture Minister said the Paika rebellion could not be called the First War of Independence. However, he announced that it would be included in the Class VIII history textbook. This is because it was one of the first major uprisings against the British in India and lasted for a long time, from 1817 to 1825.
Paika Rebellion Memorial
A memorial for the Paika Rebellion will be built by the Union Ministry of Culture. It will be located on ten acres of land near Barunei Hills. The President, Ramnath Kovind, laid its foundation stone on December 7, 2019.
See also
- Paika akhada
