EDITORIAL 2: Paikas and the uprising against British
Context
Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concern over the “omission” of the Paika Rebellion from the latest Class VIII history textbook of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), calling it a “huge dishonour” to the brave Paikas.
Paikas of Odisha
- In 19th-century rural India, growing discontent led to armed resistance like the Paika Rebellion, triggered by the British East India Company’s military expansion and its disruption of traditional social structures.
- 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.
British annex Odisha
- In 1803, Colonel Harcourt marched virtually unchallenged from Madras to Puri, and faced only feeble Maratha opposition onward to Cuttack.
- Harcourt had made an agreement with Mukunda Deva II, for free passage through Khurda in return for compensation of Rs 1 lakh and four parganas — Lembai, Rahanga, Surai and Chabiskud — which had been under Maratha control since 1760.
- When the Company did not fulfil these conditions, Jayee Rajguru, the custodian of the king marched to Cuttack with around 2,000 armed Paikas in order to pressurise the British.
- Although Harcourt paid a sum of Rs 40,000, he refused to give Khurda the four parganas. Rajguru subsequently conspired to overthrow the British, but was caught before the revolt could materialise.
- The Company subsequently took away the king’s lands, dethroned him, razed the fort at Barunei, and arrested Rajguru, who was convicted for waging war against the British government and executed on December 6, 1806. The king was banished to Puri.
Rising discontent
- The end of native rule in Odisha marked the beginning of the decline of the Paikas’ power and prestige.
- Apart from losing political patronage, the Paikas, who previously enjoyed rent-free land, suffered due to new land revenue settlements introduced by the Company which drove Odia proprietors to ruin.
- Many were forced to transfer land to Bengali absentee landlords, often for a pittance.
- The British also changed the currency system, demanding revenue payments in rupees, which increased pressure on dispossessed, marginal tribals.
- These sections had to cope with greater demands from landlords, who now had to pay taxes in silver.
- The British control over salt — which had pre-1803-4 origins, but was extended to coastal Odisha in 1814 — also led to rising hardship for the people in the hills. There is evidence of raids on boats of salt agents near Puri during this period.
- Their hereditary rent-free land being taken away, along with a host of other economic difficulties, eventually led to a full-scale revolt against British rule.
The rebellion
- In March 1817, some 400 Kondhs equipped with traditional arms marched from Ghumusar towards Khurda.
- They were joined by an army of Paikas led by Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mahapatra Bhramarabar Ray, the former commander-in-chief of the king of Khurda and the erstwhile holder of the lucrative Rodanga estate.
- The rebels attacked the police station of Banpur, burnt government quarters, killed policemen, looted the government treasury, and proceeded towards Khurda.
- The Paikas fought bloody battles at several places over the next few months, and killed several British officials.
- The Company army gradually crushed the revolt. Bakshi Jagabandhu escaped to the jungles, and remained on the run till 1825, when he finally surrendered to the British under negotiated terms.
Conclusion
200 years on, why Odisha’s Paika Rebellion continues to inspire and agitate. However, NCERT has already clarified that “regional resistances” like the Paika Rebellion will be handled in the second volume of the textbook, expected to be released in September-October.