Paika Revolution

The Centre through a written reply in the Rajya Sabha Thursday said the Paika rebellion cannot be called the first War of Independence.
Since 2017, Odisha has demanded that the rebellion of Odisha be declared as the first war of Independence.
At present, the Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 is called the first war of Independence against British Rule.

It took place in 1817 nearly 40 years before the first sepoy mutiny.
Paikas were mobilised under the leadership of Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar
The Paikas were peasant militias of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha who offered military services to the king in return for rent-free land (nish-kar jagirs) and titles
The British established themselves in Odisha when the East India company dethroned the King of Khurda, Raja Mukunda Deva in 1803.
The king planned a rebellion against the British in 1804 and roped in the Paikas for the same.
But the plan was discovered by the British who confiscated his entire territory.

The Paikas lost their estates when the new colonial establishments and land revenue settlements of the British came into force.
The continuous interference in the economy and revenue systems led to exploitation and oppression of the peasants and farmers eventually triggering a rebellion against the British.
Over the next few months, the revolt continued but was eventually overpowered by the British army.

Initially the East India Company struggled to respond; but they managed to put down the rebellion by May 1817.
Many of the Paik leaders were hanged or deported.
Jagabandhu surrendered in 1825 and died in jail four years later

To declare the Paika rebellion as the first war of Independence
According to the state cabinet’s proposal, the rebellion was described as a mass agitation and the first struggle for freedom in the country against the foreign rule in which the people of Odisha had actively participated.

The Centre had considered the proposal and examined the matter in consultation with the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) under the Ministry of Education.
The Union Government has declared that the Paika Rebellion cannot be called the first War of Independence as per the ICHR recommendations
However it have considered that the rebellion which started in 1817 continued till 1825 “is one of the beginnings of popular uprisings against the British in India”