Declare 'Paika Rebellion' as First War of Independence: Odisha

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to declare the state's 'Paika Rebellion' as the First War of Indian Independence, a day after the state cabinet resolved to demand it.
"I request the Government of India to consider this proposal positively so that the people of India appreciate, in correct perspective, the events that led to the Indian freedom struggle and our historic independence from foreign rule," Patnaik wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Patnaik said that the 1817 Paika Rebellion of Odisha qualified to be called as the "First War of Indian Independence" not simply because it took place four decades prior to the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, but due to its very nature and characteristics.

He stated that the rebellion, popularly known as 'Paika Bidroha', was a broad based and well organised struggle against the oppressive rule of the East India Company.
Patnaik said it involved all sections of people and could not be a mere coincidence that the rebellion measured by its form as well as content provided a "marvellous" analogy with the subsequent freedom movement and its outcome.
Since the colonial rule of India had its origin in the East India Company, the genesis of the events that led to the Sepoy Mutiny and its further consequences were needed to be traced back to the earlier instance of organised rebellion against the British, the chief minister said.

"Of such earlier resistances and rebellions, the 'Paika Rebellion' stands out prominently as it is essentially a broad based people's movement. It played the role of a torch bearer and catalyst in shaping a people's movement of resistance, which ultimately led to the Indian Independence Movement," he said.
Patnaik said, "The history of the Indian freedom struggle is unique. One of the most populous countries of the world with diverse cultural and linguistic regions, and social hierarchies, came together in unison to fight against the might of the colonial rule, becoming a free nation and emerging as the largest democracy. This has no parallel in the history of the world.