Orissa
'' () (2001 provisional pop. 36,706,920), 60,162 sq mi (155,820 sq km) is a
state situated in the east coast of
India.
Orissa is bounded on the north by
Jharkhand, on the north-east by
West Bengal, on the east by the
Bay of Bengal, on the south by
Andhra Pradesh and on the west by
Chhattisgarh.
The relatively unindented coastline (c.200 mi/320 km long) lacks good ports, except for the deepwater facility at Paradip. The narrow, level coastal strip, including the
Mahanadi River delta, is exceedingly fertile. Rainfall is heavy and regular, and two crops of rice (by far the most important cereal) are grown annually. The state is known for its temples, especially in the cities of
Konark,
Puri, and
Bhubaneswar.
Orissa has several popular tourist destinations. Puri, with the
Jagannatha's temple near the sea, and Konark, with the Sun Temple, are visited by thousands of tourists from the West every year. Along with the Lingaraja Temple of
Bhubaneswar, the Jagannatha Temple and the Sun Temple of
Konark are important in the archaeological history of India.
The dense population, concentrated on the coastal alluvial plain, is inhabited by the non-tribal speakers of the Oriya language. The interior, inhabited largely by the indigenous people known as Adivasis is hilly and mountainous. Orissa is subject to intense
cyclones; in October 1999,
Tropical Cyclone 05B caused severe damage and some 10,000 deaths.
Orissa is a littoral state with a long coastline and a storehouse of mineral wealth. Because of its mineral wealth and strategic location, it has begun to attract massive foreign investment in steel, aluminum, power, refineries, and infrastructure recently. The state has been severely neglected the central government in the past. Orissa is also emerging as a player in the outsourcing
IT (Information Technology) and IT services industry. The total planned investment in the state is to the tune of 90 billion US dollars. However, there is are environmental concerns too, and land acquisition for these projects have been opposed by the local people.
The capital of Orissa is
Bhubaneswar. It is famed for its magnificent temples, numbering around a thousand. The city of
Puri is nearby, at a distance of around sixty kilometers on the coast of the
Bay of Bengal. Puri is a famous holy city and the site of the annual festival of the deity Jagannath and is one of the four Dhams (holy places) of
Hinduism.
The
Chota Nagpur plateau occupy the western and northern portions of the state, while fertile alluvial plains occupy the coastal plain and the valleys of the
Mahanadi,
Brahmani, and
Baitarani rivers, which empty into the Bay of Bengal. These alluvial plains are home to intensive rice cultivation.
Although Orissa's forest cover has been denuded lately, one of the greatest benefits of Orissa is its still vast expanses of unspoilt natural landscape, that offers a protected yet natural habitat to the state's incredible wildlife. There are many wildlife sancturies in Orissa. The Similipal Tiger Reserve is a vast expanse of lush green forest with waterfalls, inhabited by tigers, elephants, and other wildlife. The
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary has been protecting estuarine crocodiles since 1975.
Chilka Lake, a brackish water coastal lake on the
Bay of Bengal, south of the mouth of the
Mahanadi River, is the largest coastal lake in India. It is protected by the Chilka Lake Bird Sanctuary, which harbors over 150 migratory and resident species of birds.
The official language of the state, spoken by the vast majority of the people is
Oriya.
Oriya belongs to the
Indo-Aryan branch of the
Indo-European language family. It is very closely related to
Bengali and
Assamese. A few tribal languages belonging to the
Dravidian and
Munda language families are still spoken by the
Adivasis (original inhabitants) of the state. The state has a very opulent cultural heritage, one of the richest in
India, and the capital city of
Bhubaneswar is known for the exquisite temples that dot its landscape. The famous classical dance form,
Odissi originated from Orissa.
Odissi music is considered to be an offshoot of the
Hindustani classical music of northern India, although some aspects of
Odissi are quite distinct. There are many other popular cultural interests include the well known Jagannatha Temple in Puri, known for its annual Rath Yatra or Chariot Festival, the unique and beautiful applique artwork of Pipili, silver filigree ornamental works from Cuttack, the
Patta chitras (silk paintings) and various tribal influenced cultures.
Contemporary Orissa has a proud cultural heritage that arose due to the intermingling of three great religious traditions -
Hinduism,
Buddhism and
Jainism. The culture of the Adivasis (the original inhabitants of India) is an integral part of modern Orissan heritage.
Orissa has a history spanning a period of over 3000 years. In ancient times, it was the proud kingdom of
Kalinga. Kalinga was a major seafaring nation that controlled and traded with most of the sea routes in the Bay of Bengal. For several centuries, a substantial part of South Asia & Southeast Asia was under its cultural influence. The temple at
Angkor Wat is a fine example of Orissan-influenced Indian architecture. Some parts of Southern and South Eastern Asia such as
Sri Lanka,
Cambodia,
Java,
Sumatra,
Bali,
Vietnam and
Thailand were colonized by people from Orissa. In
Malaysia, Indians are still referred as
Klings because of this. Many illustrious Sri Lankan kings such as
Nisanka Malla and
Parakarama Bahu claim Kalinga origin. The King who destroyed the
Sinhalese Buddhist control of Northern Sri Lanka and established a Hindu Kingdom in
Jaffna was known as Kalinga Magha. One theory holds that the name of the country "Siam" for
Thailand is derived from Oriya/Sanskrit Shyamadesha. The
Angkor Wat in
Cambodia is Orissan, with local variations. Bali in Indonesia still retains its Orissan-influenced Hindu heritage.
A major turning point in world history took place in Orissa. The famous Kalinga war that led emperor
Asoka to embrace non-violence and the teachings of
Buddha was fought here in 261 BC. Later on, Asoka was instrumental in spreading Buddhist philosophy all over Asia.
In the second century BC, Kalinga flourished as a powerful kingdom under the
Jaina king, Kharavela. He ruled all the way down south to include parts of the
Tamil country. It is he who was built the superb monastic caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri. Subsequently, the kingdom was ruled under various monarchs, such as Samudragupta and Sasanka. It also was a part of Harsha's empire. In 795 AD, the king Yayati united Kalinga, Kosala and Utkala into a single empire. He also built the famous Jagannath temple at Puri. King Narasimha Dev is reputed to have built the magnificent Sun Temple in Konark. Although now largely in ruins, the temple may have rivaled the
Taj Mahal in splendour.
The dynasties that ruled Orissa beginning since the third century BC included:
*Murundas Dynasty
*Matharas Dynasty
*Nala Dynasty
*The Vigrahas and the Mudgalas
*Sailodbhava Dynasty
*Bhaumakaras Dynasty
*Nandodbhavas Dynasty
*Somavamsis Dynasty
*The Eastern Gangas
*Suryavamsi Dynasty
A
Muslim convert and ruler, Kala Pahada, with the help Suleman Karrani of
Bengal occupied Orissa in 1568 after defeating the last Hindu king Mukundadeva.
The
Moguls conquered Bengal and Orissa in 1576; however, Orissa was subsequently ceded to the
Marathas in 1751.
In 1803, the British under the
British East India Company occupied Orissa after the
Second Anglo-Maratha War. In 1823, Orissa was divided into the three districts of
Cuttack,
Balasore and
Puri, and a number of native tributary states. Orissa was administed as part of the
Bengal Presidency. Following famine and floods in 1866, large scale
irrigation projects were undertaken in the last half of the 19th century. The coastal section was separated from Bengal and made into the
Province of Bihar and Orissa in 1912, in response to local agitation for a separate state for
Oriya-speaking peoples. In 1936,
Bihar and Orissa separated into separate provinces.
Following Indian independence, the area of Orissa was almost doubled and the population was increased by a third by the addition of 24 former
princely states. In 1950, Orissa became a constituent state in the
Union of India.
Macro-economic trend
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Orissa at market prices
estimated by
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year ¦¦ Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|
| 1980 | 37,080 |
| 1985 | 68,230 |
| 1990 | 109,040 |
| 1995 | 271,180 |
| 2000 | 387,280 |
Orissa's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $18 billion in current prices.
Following India's independence, Orissa has not been a focus of investment by the central governments in
New Delhi, causing its infrastructure and educational standards to lag behind the rest of the nation. About 20% of the road network is paved. In rural areas over 65% of the
population have no access to safe drinking water.
Orissa has abundant natural resources and a large coastline. It contains a fifth of India's
coal, a quarter of its
iron ore, a third of its
bauxite reserves and most of the
chromite. It receives unprecedented investments in steel,
aluminium, power, refineries and ports. India's topmost IT consulting firms, including
Satyam Computer Services,
TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) and
Infosys have large branches in Orissa.
Only two of the
S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Orissa
viz. National Aluminium (2005 gross income Rs.51,162 million) and Tata Sponge Iron (2005 gross income Rs.2,044 million).
Orissa is notable as one of the first Indian states to have tackled its structural problems during the post 1994 Indian economic reforms. Orissa was the first state in India to begin to privatise its electricity transmission and distribution businesses. Over the period between 1994 and 2000 Orissa's former state electricity board (SEB) was restructured to form Gridco. This corporation was then divided into Transco and a collection of distribution companies. Attempts were then made to sell the distribution companies to the private sector. Like many other states, in 1996 Orissa was losing over 50% of the electricity it was delivered. The scale and importance of these reforms is notable and an important milestone in India's dramatic economic development.
 |
Performance of Indian states in providing basic social services like education, healthcare, etc., in 2001. Darker states have done better. |
Recently 43 companies have lined up to set up mammoth steel plants in the state, including Posco of
South Korea which has agreed to construct a mammoth $12 billion steel plant, which would be the largest investment in India in history. This may be exceeded by another whopping investment by Reliance industries in power generation. Mittal-Arlecor has also announced plans to invest in another mega steel project involving $10 billion. The state is attracting an unprecedented amount of investment in aluminum, coal-based power plants, and petrochemicals. Although
Paradip is Orissa's only large port, the coastal towns of Dhamra and Gopalpur are being developed into major ports as well. The government of India has selected the coastal region of Orissa, stretching from
Paradip in the north to
Gopalpur in the south to be developed as one of the five or six Special Economic Regions (SERs) of the country. The government of India and the state government of Orissa would work together to erect world class infrastructure in this region along the lines of the Rotterdam, Houston, and Pudong regions. This would stimulate further private investment in petrochemicals, steel, and manufacturing. A recent Morgan Stanley report forecasts that Orissa would be flooded with massive investments for manufacturing related activities in the same manner that Bangalore had atttracted software investment in the 1990s. The scale of the investments in Orissa would, however be much higher. As of July 2006, the total planned investment in the state is a whopping $90 billion. This includes some investment in research, education, hospitals, roads, ports, airports, and hotels.
The state also has huge tourism potential. It is blessed with beautiful beaches and pristine forests containing exotic wildlife. The landscape is dotted with temples and ancient monuments.
Orissa has a
population of 32 million. About 87% of the
population live in the
villages and one third of the
rural population does not own any land other than homesteads.
The aborgines or tribes, known as
Adivasis, constitute 24% of the population, belonging to 62 different ethnic communities. Their traditional way of life centers around the
forest ecosystem. Over the years collection of forest produce,
hunting and persuasion of other traditional ways of living have become increasingly difficult, influencing socio-cultural life. Issues with modernisation and industrial activities, such as
mining, construction of
dams, roads,
railways have grown to become a concern affecting their very traditional livelihood and have displaced the Adivasi communities.
*
Buddhism*
Hinduism**
Shaivism**
Vaishnavism**
Shaktism*
Jainism*
Sun worshipPerhaps the most well-known temple in Orissa is the
Konark Temple. This is also known as the Sun Temple and is famous for its exquisite Orissan style of architecture. The Konark temple was built in the 13th century A.D. It includes in its decoration many vignettes of military life. The thousands of elephants marching around the base of the temple are not figments of the imagination. Rather, they demonstrate pride in the superb war elephants for which Orissa was famous.
 |
Stone work at Konark |
Another well known temple in Orissa is the Jagannath Temple, which was built in the 12th Century A.D. It is located in Puri and is associated with the Ratha Jatra (Chariot Festival) celebrated all over northern India. Every year millions of devotees come to Puri during the Ratha Jatra. It is a festival during which the three deities, Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are brought out of the Jagannath temple in chariots to tour the streets, providing a glimpse to the thousands of devotees who throng the street.
The capital city of Bhubaneswar has some magnificent temples, including the Lingaraja temple, and the Mukteswar temple. Maa Charchika's Temple at Banki is one of the Shakta place of worship. It is situated on Ruchika parbat near the Renuka river, in a place called Banki near the two major cities, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The Sunadei temple on the bank of river Mahanadi is an Orissan landmark.
* Perhaps some of the world's
oldest coins were discovered in Sonepur, in western Orissa. These priceless silver punch marked coins could be as old as 1000 BC. They are preserved in the Orissa State Museum.
* Rasgolla, the sweet delicacy enjoyed all over India, originated from Puri, Orissa. It became popular in Kolkata in the nineteenth century and eventually spread across the rest of the country.
* The ancient people of
Kalinga sided with the
Kauravas during the great
Kurukshetra war.
* The city of Sambalpur in western Orissa was one of the world's most prominent centres of diamond production. Travelers from lands as far away as Greece used to visit the city.
* Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose was born and grew up in Cuttack city in Orissa.
* Bhubaneswar, the capital city, was the home of over 600 magnificent temples in medieval times. It is called the "temple city" of India.
*
Puri is one of the
four Dhams – Hindu centers of pilgrimage. Every year, millions throng all over Puri to witness the famous
Rath Yatra.
* The Sinhala (people of Sri Lanka) are named after Raja Jai Sinha, an ancient Oriya king.
* The
Jagannath temple kitchen in Puri is reputed to be the largest kitchen in the world, with 400 cooks working around 200 hearths to feed over 10,000 people each day.
* According to a recent theory, Gautama
Buddha was born in the village of Kapileshwar near Bhubaneswar city.
*
Jayadeva, the poet who wrote the
Gita Govinda hailed from the town of Puri in coastal Orissa.
The state is governed by a chief minister and cabinet responsible to an elected unicameral legislature and by a governor appointed by the president of India.
*
Assembly Election Results of Orissa*
List of political parties in the stateThe ruins of a major ancient university and center of Buddhist learning, Ratnagiri, was recently discovered in Orissa. Scholars from far away lands, such as Greece, Persia and China used to study philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and science at this famed University. Taxila, Nalanda and Ratnagiri are the oldest universities in the world. The ruins of Ratnagiri University have not been fully excavated yet.
Orissa is home to many colleges and universities, deemed and otherwise. Although the federal government in New Delhi has so far denied Orissa any educational institution of national importance, Orissa will be witnessing the rise of several prominent academic institutions, mainly through private participation. India's first and only world class multidisciplinary university,
Vedanta University will be built along the lines of major educational institutions of the world, such as
Stanford and
Harvard at the cost of US $3 billion. It will have 100,000 students and employ 20,000 faculty members, making it on of the largest university in the world. The National Institute of Science (NIS) is another premier educational cum research institution that is being planned. It will be built along the lines of the reputed
IISc, Bangalore. A national level medical school and hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (
AIIMS), as well as an Indian Institute of Information Technology (
IIIT) are also planned in the state capital, Bhubaneswar. Even more recently, Reliance industries has expressed its intention of establishing a new Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (
DA-IICT), as well as in a health city for medical education and research in Bhubaneswar. IIT Kharagpur will also establish a full-fledged 300 acre campus 30 kms away from Bhubaneswar for 5,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Technical & Engineering Institutions
*
National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.
*
University College of Engineering, Burla.
*
College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar.
*
Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT), Sarang (affiliated to Utkal University).
*
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar.
*
SRI JAGANNATH INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY, JAGATSINGHPUR
*
Orissa Computer Application Centre (Technical Directorate, Govt. Of Orissa.), Bhubaneswar.
*
Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar .
*
Orissa Engineering College, Bhubaneswar.
*
National Institute of Science & Technology, Berhampur.
*
Majhighariani Institute Of Technology and Science, Rayagada.
*
Institute Of Technical Education And Research (I.T.E.R), Bhubaneswar.
*
C.V.Raman Engineering College, Bhubaneswar (affiliated to Utkal University).
*
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (Deemed University), Bhubaneswar.
*
Eastern Academy Of Science & Technology, Bhubaneswar.
*
Konark Institute of Science & Technology(KIST), Bhubaneswar.
* Biju Patnaik University of Technology.
*
Bhadrak Institute Of Engineering of Technology, Bhadrak.
Universities
*
Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.
*
Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Rourkela.
* Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar.
* Fakir Mohan University, Byasa Vihar, Balasore.
*
Berhampur University, Bhanja Vihar, Berhampur.
*
Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar.
* Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Sambalpur.
*
Sri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishvavidhyalaya (University), Puri.
* North Orissa University, Mayurbhanj.
*
Vedanta University (upcoming).
*
Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Bhubaneswar
General Colleges
*
Samanta Chandra Sekhar (S.C.S) College, Puri* DAV College, Titilagarh
* Swami Vivekanand Memorial(SVM) College), Jagatsinghpur
* Banki College, Banki.
* Devi Kandal Nityanand College, Laxmi Nrusingha Nagar,Cuttack
* Alaka Mahavidyalaya, Anakhia, Jagatsinghpur
* Redhua College, Redhua, Jagatsinghpur
* Biju Pattanaik College, Antei, Kendrapara
* Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar (BJB) College, Bhubaneswar
* Capital Law College, Bhubaneswar
* College of basic science and humanities
* Fakir Mohan (FM) College, Balasore
* Kendrapara College,Kendrapara
* Khallikote Autonomous College, Berhampur
* Gokulananda Law College, Laxmisagar, Bhubaneswar
* Narasingh Choudhary (NC)College(Autonomous), Jajpur
* V N College, Jajpur Road
* Sadhu Goureswar College, Kanikapada, East Jajpur
* Nayagarh Collage Nayagarh
* Rama Devi (RD) Women's Collage, Bhubaneswar
*
Ravenshaw College, Cuttack* Stewart Science College, Cuttack.
* Bhadrak College,Bhadrak
* Sayala Vala (SV) Women's College, Cuttack
* Government College, Sundargarh
* Vikram Dev College, Jeypore, Koraput
* Gangadhar Meher College,Sambalpur
* Rayagada College, Rayagada
* Rama Chandra Mardaraj Science College, Khallikote
* Govt. college Bhawanipta, Bhawanipatna
* Kesinga Mahavidyalaya, Kesinga
* Dharani Dhara College, Keonjhar
* Rajdhani College, Bhubaneswar
* Adikavi Saraladas College, Tirtol, Jagatsinghpur
* Kharosrota College, Singhpur (Jajpur)
*
Christ College, CuttackMedical Colleges
* Shri Ramachandra Bhanj Medical College, Cuttack
* Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Dev Medical College, Berhampur
* Veer Surendra Sai Medical College, Burla, Sambalpur
* Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital,Bhubaneswar
Pharmacy colleges
* Roland Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Berhampur
* University College of Pharmacy, Berhampur
Rehabilitative Education
* Institute of Health Sciences, Bhubaneswar
* Training Centre for Teachers of the Visually Handicapped, Bhubaneswar
* Chetna Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (Jewels International), Bhubaneswar
* National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research, Olatpur
* Training Centre for Teachers of the Deaf (A Joint Project of State Govt. & AYJNIHH, Bhubaneswar
* Open Learning System, Bhubaneswar
* Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre, Bhubaneswar
Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Colleges
* Gopabandhu Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, Puri
* Government Ayurveda College, Balangir
* K.A.T.S. Ayurvedic College, Berhampur, Ganjam
* Nrusingh Nath Ayurvedic College, Paikmal, Sambalpur
* Indira Gandhi Ayurvedic College, Bhubaneswar
* Ayurvedic College, Baripada
* Dr. Abhina Chandra Homoeopathic Medical College, Bhubaneswar
* Govt. Homoeopathic Medical College, Berhampur
Orissa is connected to India and to the world through roads, railways, airports, and seaports.
Airports
*
Biju Patnaik AirportSeaports
*
Port of Paradip*
Angul *
Bolangir*
Balasore *
Bargarh*
Boudh*
Bhadrak*
Cuttack*
Deogarh*
Dhenkanal *
Gajapati*
Ganjam*
Jagatsinghpur*
Jajpur*
Jharsuguda*
Kalahandi*
Kendrapara*
Keonjhar*
Khurda*
Koraput*
Malkangiri*
Mayurbhanj*
Nabarangapur*
Nayagarh*
Nuapara*
Kandhamal*
Puri*
Rayagada*
Sambalpur*
Sonepur*
SundargarhBhubaneswar,Puri,Berhampur,Burla,Cuttack,Choudwar,Rourkela,Sambalpur,Jagatsinghpur,Kendrapada,Paradip,Kujang,*
Website of the State Government of Orissa*
Orissa Portal on The Indian Analyst Detailed information, index of News, Analysis, and Opinion from many sources
