- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the IIT Bhubaneswar campus, released a commemorative stamp and coin on the Paika Rebellion. The Paika Rebellion (Paika Bidroha) was fought against British rule, in Odisha in 1817.
- The setting up of a Chair on the Paika Rebellion, in Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, was announced.
- On the Paika Rebellion, the Prime Minister announced the setting up of the Bakshi Deenbandhu Chair at the prestigious Utkal University. He said this Chair would research subjects related to all nationalist movements, including the Paika Rebellion.
- Pre-dating what has been popularly regarded as the fist war of independence in 1857, the Paika Bidroha (Paika Rebellion) of 1817 in Odisha briefly shook the foundations of British rule in the eastern part of India.
- Paikas were essentially the peasant militias of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha who rendered military service to the king during times of war while taking up cultivation during times of peace. They unfurled the banner of rebellion against the British under the leadership of Baxi Jagandhu Bidyadhara as early as 1817 to throw off the British yoke.
Lalitgiri Museum
- The Prime Minister inaugurated the Lalitgiri Museum. Lalitgiri in Odisha is a famous Buddhist centre of archaeological importance, comprising Stupa, Viharas (monasteries) and images of Lord Buddha.
- Excavations at Lalitgiri have yielded the remains of four monasteries, showing cultural continuity from the post-Mauryan period till the 13th century CE.
- The centre of attraction is a relic casket containing corporal remains found inside the ‘Mahastupa’.
- This site has yielded more than 40 seals and inscriptions, most of them bearing Buddhist “Dharnimantras” in the eastern variety of Nagri script and in Sanskrit dating between 7th and 11th centuries CE.
- On the Lalitgiri Archaeological Museum, the Prime Minister said that it would help showcase Odisha’s rich spiritual traditions. He said it would be of interest to research scholars, and boost tourism as well.
