Orissa, located in the eastern coast of India, is the ninth largest state of the country by area and the 11th largest by population. It was also called Kalinga. It gained its statehood on April 1, 1936. Orissa, surrounded by the Bay of Bengal on the east, Chhattisgarh in the west, Jharkhand and West Bengal in the north and Andhra Pradesh in the south, has a coastline of about 450 km.
The mountainous portions of Orissa cover about three-fourth of the entire state. Mahanadi and its tributaries cross through this region and create a large delta, which is very fertile.
Demography
According to the 2001 census of India, the total population of Orissa is 36,706,920, of which 18,612,340 (50.89%) are males and 18,094,580 (49.11%) are females, or 972 females per 1000 males. About 85 percent of the people live in rural areas and 14.99 percent live in urban areas.
In terms of religion, 34,726,129 of the population are Hindus, 897,861 are Christians, 761,985 are Muslims, 17,492 are Sikhs, 9,863 are Buddhists, and the remainder belong to other religions.
Scheduled Castes and Tribes together constitute 38.66 percent of the state’s population; 16.53 percent and 22.13 percent respectively. Some of the important tribes are Santhal, Bonda, Munda, Oraon, Kora and Mahali. Oriya people are the dominant ethnic group in the state comprising about 75 percent of the total population.
Oriya, the official as well as the principal language of the state, is spoken by about 90 percent of the people. Bengali, Hindi and Telugu are the other languages spoken here, besides the other dialects spoken by tribes and preachers of other religions.
The literacy rate is 63.61 percent with 75.95 percent of males and 50.97 percent of females being literate.
History:
We find several references of the state in the history as Utkal, Kalinga, Odra Desa etc. The state had a very strong political position, and the state of Kalinga had a territory ranging from Ganga in the north to Godavari in the south, somewhere between the 11th to the 16th century.
A major turning point in history took place here in 260 BC, when emperor Ashoka fought the Kalinga War, which is considered as one of the bloodiest wars in Indian history.
After this battle, Ashoka embraced the path of non-violence, and played an instrumental role in spreading Buddhism across Asia and other parts of the world.
In third century BC, Kalinga flourished under the powerful Jaina king, Kharavela, whose vast kingdom even included parts of the Tamil country. His territory ranged from Ganga in the north to Godavari in the south. He built the superb monastic caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri. Later the region came under the rule of Samudragupta and Sasanka, and also formed part of Harsha`s empire.
The Mughals, who brought Orissa under their rule in 1576, divided it into two parts, Garjat and Mughalbandi. While the coastal plain of Orissa from Medinipur to Rajahmundry came under Mughalbandi rule, the areas between Rajahmundry and Srikakulam came under the Nizam of Hyderabad. After the Carnatic war in 1750, the state was incorporated into the Madras Presidency. In 1803, Orissa, which was then a part of the Maratha empire, fell into British hands after the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
The present Orissa was finally carved on April 1, 1936 after sustained agitation by the Oriya speaking people, by incorporating Oriya speaking regions of Bihar, Madras and Bengal provinces.
Culture
Orissa, the home of cultural heritages of three great religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainsm, is known for its ancient temples that are striking for their art and rich history.
The state is the home of famous classical dance form Odissi, which is mentioned in the Natyashastra of Bharatamuni, that dates back to 200 BC. Besides, Sambalpuri dance from western Orissa, Bandha Nurtya of Gotipua, and Chhau are also famous.
It is also famous for the unique Berhumpuri and Sambalpuri weaving.
Economy
Though Orissa is rich in natural resources and has a large coastline, industrialization came late here, even though it has a fifth of India`s coal, a quarter of its iron ore, a third of its bauxite reserves and most of the chromite.
In recent times, the state has witnessed the arrival of various projects. Notable among them is the Rs 50,000 crore POSCO project –the largest FDI ever in India. Projects of Vedanta Alumina and Tata Steel are also pending – though they are mired in various controversies.
Various IT firms, including Satyam Computer Services, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), MindTree Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Infosys have established their branches in Orissa. IBM, Syntel, Bosch and Wipro are also setting up development centers in the state.
Post-1990 of India’s economic reforms, Orissa is one of the first Indian states to begin the privatization of its electricity transmission and distribution businesses.
Agriculture is a major contributor to the state`s economy. About 76 percent of the total working population is engaged with agriculture and related industries. About 80 percent of the total area shown is under rice cultivation and the state is one of the largest producers of rice in India producing almost one tenth of the total rice production.
Tourism
Orissa has a vast coastline and has lot of potential for promoting tourism. It has famous beaches like Puri, Gopalpur, Balesore – to name a few. Adorned with old temples of spiritual and historical importance to the biologically sensitive eco spots make the state one of the must visited places for tourists.
Once considered as the hub of cultural activities, the state also boasts various architectural geniuses. Bhubaneshwar, the state capital, is known as the temple city.
Puri Jagantah temple, Konark sun temple (a World Heritage Site), and the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar are the oldest temples in the country. The Khandgiri and Udaygiri are highly important centers of Buddhism and Jainism. Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Konark - known as the Golden Triangle, are important tourist destinations of India.
The state, which has a famous breeding ground for Olive Ridley tortoise, also boasts of various sensitive ecological places. The Barabati Fort of Cuttack forms an important place in the archaeological history of India.
Polity:
With 30 districts, the state has 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies. The prominent political parties right now are the Indian National Congress, Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Left parties and other players like JMM, BSP, NCP, Janata Dal are others who are expected to play a crucial role in this election.
In the first Assembly elections of 1951, the Indian National Congress rose to power with 67 seats out of 140. Harekrushna Mahtab of Congress became the first Chief Minister, and the party retained its dominance in the next two Assembly polls of 1957 and 61, and Biju Patnaik dethroned Mahtab in 1961, and became the new Congress CM. In 1967 election, Mahtab left Congress and launched the Jana Congress and came back to power again.
In the 1977 Assembly election, the Janata Party won an astounding 110 seats out of 147 –riding high on its huge countrywide popularity. But, in the succeeding Assembly elections of 1980, the Congress Party rejuvenated by a comeback trail of Indira Gandhi at the Centre, went on to win 118 seats out of 147 with a vote share of 47 percent. Janaki Ballav Patnaik became the Chief Minister then. Congress again won the 1985 election.
However, under Biju Patnaik’s leadership the Janata Dal scripted a huge victory in 1990 with 123 seats (53% of vote share). Congress again came back in 1995, but after that the state has been led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who won in the last two consecutive assembly polls of 2000-04, 04-09.
The BJD also won the majority seats in the last three Lok Sabha elections. It had won 11 seats (out of 21) in 2004.
But the million dollar question that still remains is will Naveen Patnaik-led BJD make a hat-trick in 2009?
Compiled by: Anil Kumar Satapathy
