The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Paika Rebellion of Odisha on July 20, 2017 in New Delhi.
The Paik Rebellion also called the Paika Bidroha was an armed rebellion against the British East India Company’s rule in Odisha in 1817.
The Paiks rose in rebellion under their leader Bakshi Jagabandhu and, projecting Lord Jagannath as the symbol of Odia unity, the rebellion quickly spread across most of Odisha before being ruthlessly put down by the company’s forces.