Orissa

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Orissa Template:Audio (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଶା), is a state situated on the east coast of India.

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. Orissa is home to the Hirakud Dam, one of the longest dams in the world. Rainfall is heavy and regular, and two crops of rice (by far the most important cereal) are grown annually.

Orissa is a littoral state with a long coastline and a storehouse of mineral wealth. Because of its mineral wealth and strategic location it attracts foreign investment in steel, aluminum, power, refineries, and infrastructure. 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 projected to be 90 billion U.S. dollars. However, there are environmental concerns and land acquisitions for some of these projects have been opposed by the local people.

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 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.

Improtant Links for Orissa

Geography

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 occupies 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 attractions 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 sanctuaries 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 highest mountain peak in the state is Deomali (1672 m), it is situated in Koraput district. It is also the tallest peak of the Eastern Ghats. It is part of the Chandragiri-Pottangi mountain system. Location : 18°40'3"N 82°58'59"E (Deomali on Wikimapia).

[More Info on Orissa]

Culture

The official language of the state, spoken by the majority of the people is Oriya. Oriya belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family, and is 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. The capital city of Bhubaneswar is known for the exquisite temples that dot its landscape. The famous classical dance form, Odissi originated in Orissa. Contemporary Orissa has a proud cultural heritage that arose due to the intermingling of three great religious traditions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Orissa is also known as Odisha. The culture of the Adivasis (the original inhabitants of India) is an integral part of modern Orissan heritage.

Odissi or Orissi music is usually classified as a kind of Hindustani classical music of northern India, although some aspects of Odissi are quite distinct. Odissi has a long, unbroken tradition of 2,000 years, and finds mention in the Natyashastra of Bharatamuni, possibly written circa 200 BC. However, the dance form nearly went extinct during the British period, only to be revived after India's independence by a few proponents, such as Guru Deba Prasad Das, Guru Mayadhar Raut, Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Mahadev Rout, Guru Raghu Dutta, and Guru Kelu Charan Mahapatra. Odissi classical dance is about the divine love of Krishna and his consort Radha, mostly drawn from compositions by the notable Oriya poet Jayadeva, who lived in the twelfth century AD.

Other cultural attractions include the Jagannatha Temple in Puri, known for its annual Rath Yatra or Car Festival, the unique and beautiful applique artwork of Pipili, silver filigree ornamental works from Cuttack, the Patta chitras (silk paintings), famous stone utensils of Nilgiri (Balasore) and various tribal influenced cultures. The Sun temple at Konark is famous for its architectural splendor.

History

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Orissa has a history spanning a period of over 2000 years. The history of Orissa is in many ways atypical from that of the northern plains and many of the common generalizations that are made about Indian history do not seem to apply to the Oriya region. The word Oriya is an anglicised version of Odia which itself is a modern name for the Odra or Udra tribes that inhabited the central belt of modern Orissa. Orissa has also been the home of the Kalinga and Utkal tribes that played a particularly prominent role in the region's history, and one of the earliest references to the ancient Kalingas appears in the writings of Vedic chroniclers. In the 6th C. BC, Vedic Sutrakara Baudhayana mentions Kalinga as being beyond the Vedic fold, indicating that Brahminical influences had not yet touched the land. Unlike some other parts of India, tribal customs and traditions played a significant role in shaping political structures and cultural practices right up to the 15th C. when Brahminical influences triumphed over competing traditions and caste differentiation began to inhibit social mobility and erode what had survived of the ancient republican tradition.

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 Oriya-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 Kalings 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 Ashoka to embrace non-violence and the teachings of Buddha was fought here in 261 BC. Ashoka's military campaign against Kalinga was one of the bloodiest in Mauryan history on account of the fearless and heroic resistance offered by the Kalingas to the mighty armies of the expanding Mauryan empire. Perhaps on account of their unexpected bravery, emperor Ashoka was compelled to issue two edicts specifically calling for a just and benign administration in Kalinga. Later on, Asoka was instrumental in spreading Buddhist philosophy all over Asia.

In the third 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. He 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 Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar.King Choda Gangadeva build the famous Lord Jagarnnath 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 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 administered 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 were split 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 30 former princely states. In 1950, Orissa became a constituent state in the Union of India.

Economy

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 government, causing its infrastructure and educational standards to lag behind the rest of the nation. For instance, only about 20% of the road network is paved. In rural areas over 65% of the population have no access to safe drinking water. This has led to widespread belief among the local population that Orissa is a neglected state.

Industrial growth

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. Rourkela Steel Plant<ref> Rourkela Steel Plant </ref> was the first integrated steel plant in the Public Sector in India. 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), MindTree Consulting, Hexaware Technologies, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Infosys have large branches in Orissa. IBM, Syntel, Bosch and Wipro are setting up development centers in Orissa. So far, 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.

Image:Human Development Index for Indian states in 2001.png

Performance of Indian states in providing basic social services like education, healthcare, etc., in 2001. Darker states have done better.

Recently the number of companies who have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to set up steel plants in the state has gone up to 50, including Posco of South Korea which has agreed to construct a mammoth $12 billion steel plant near Paradip port. It would be the largest single investment in India's history. Arcelor-Mittal has also announced plans to invest in another mega steel project amounting to $10 billion. Russian major Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Company (MMK) plans to set up a 10 MT steel plant in Orissa too. The state is attracting an unprecedented amount of investment in aluminum, coal-based power plants, petrochemicals, and information technology as well. In power generation, Reliance Industries (Anil Ambani Group) is putting up the world's largest power plant with an investment of US $13 billion at Hirma in Jharsuguda district. Vedanta Resources’ 1.4 million tonne alumina project in Kalahandi district is the largest investment in aluminium. Vedanta has also announced a $ 3.2 billion dollar huge private University project on the lines of the Ivy League Universities, which is unprecedented in the history of education in India.

The Central Government has agreed to accord SEZ (Special Economic Zone) status to eight sites in Orissa among which are Infocity at Bhubaneswar and Paradip.

Infrastructure development

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 attracted 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. There are many multi-state irrigation projects in development, including Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects.

Hotels & tourism

The state is rich in flora and fauna and historical sites dating back to the Stone Age. Sites like Bhitarkanika, Chilika, Nandankanan, Gopalpur and Simlipal are areas of great biological diversity. Passes and permits must be procured from the concerned authorities before entering these areas. It is also advisable to recruit a trained guide since these areas are peopled by tribals whose dialects vary widely and are very sensitive to foreign intrusion.

Historical sites such as Khandagiri, Lingaraj Temple, Cave sites in Boudh, Malkangiri and elsewhere have been developed. Many Five Star hotels have come up in Bhubaneswar and Government rest houses, circuit houses and Dak Bungalows dot the interior of the state.

Demographics

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. 25% of Orissa's Population is Tribal.

Religion

Orissa is an hindu majority state with hindus forming 94.35% of the population (2001 Indian Census, [1]). This places Orissa as the 3rd most Hindu majority state (in terms of percentage) in India. Christian, Muslim and Sikh minorities have their presence all across the state.

The religion of ancient Kalinga was Jainism. Rishabhnath and Parshvanath the first among the Jaina tirthankars preached and were revered in this land. Kalinga is also well mentioned and its history documented in Jain texts. Kalinga's Jain traditions were a major cause for inciting the attacks first by Mahapadma Nanda and later by Ashoka who were egged on by Brahministic courtiers and advisers. The Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves are among the only stone monuments dedicated to the Jain religion which still survive. They were constructed by Emperor Kharavela and his courtiers.

Perhaps 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 demonstrate pride in the superb war elephants for which Orissa was famous.

Image:Stone work at Konark Orissa India.jpg

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, Jagannatha, 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. Not surprisingly, it is called the Temple City of India.

Politics

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.

Education

The ruins of a major ancient university and center of Buddhist learning, Ratnagiri, were 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 amongst the oldest universities in the world. The ruins of Ratnagiri University have not been fully excavated yet.

Entry to various institutes of higher education is through a centralised Joint Entrance Examination, conducted by the Biju Patnaik University and more recently through the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by Orissa Private Engineering College Association (OPECA) & Orissa Private Medical College Association (OPMCA), where seats are provided according to order of merit.

One of the two Indian Institute of Mass Communication [IIMC] situated in in [(Dhenkanal)]. This is a premier institute for mass communication & journalism.

The Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) is a premier business school of national and international significance located in the state capital. The National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar (NISER) is another premier educational cum research institution that is being set up. It will be built along the lines of the reputed IISc, Bangalore. The idea of building 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) in the state capital, Bhubaneswar have also been mooted. Meanwhile Vedanta University Project, a not-for-profit initiative by the Anil Agarwal Foundation, is an epoch-making dream to have a world class centre for lerning and research on the picturesque Puri-Konark marine drive in Orissa. It will have about 1,00,000 students with an international mix of students pursuing around 95 diverse streams of learning in a sprawling campus of around 56 million sq.ft built up area supported by state of the art, IT & Communications systems. 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 a health city for medical education and research in Bhubaneswar. The Indian Ministry of Human Resources Development had also announced its intention of creating two IITs in Orissa, one of which possibly was planned to have been accomplished by upgrading the prestigious University College of Engineering, Burla, under the 11th five year plan. Unfortunately, the ministry shifted the IIT to Andhra Pradesh. As of now, Orissa receives the lowest per capita investment of all 28 states from the central government towards human resource development. This has led to widespread protest throughout Orissa.

See Also List of Colleges and Universities in Orissa, India

See Also List of Institutes of national importance in Orissa

See Also Orissa IIT Controversy

Transportation

Orissa is connected to India and to the world through roads, railways, airports, and seaports.

Airports

Operational

Defence

Charibatia Airbase

Non-operational

Seaports

Port of Paradip
Port of Dhamara (Work has been started.)
Port of Gopalpur (Commenced Operation From January 2007 As Seasonal Port)

Districts

Towns and Cities

References

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External links

Template:Commons

Retrieved from "http://orissawiki.fullorissa.com/index.php/Orissa"

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