PAIKA REBELLION
of Orissa to whom the English conquest had brought little but
ruin and oppression. Brave and undaunted as the Paiks were
in comparison with the British Sepoys, the nature of the
country and their intimate knowledge of it gave them an
advantage which rendered the contest very severe. Sterling
has written about the Paiks who combine with "the blindest
devotion to thewill of their chiefs, a ferocity and
unquietness of disposition which have ever rendered them an
important and formidable class of the population of the
Province". They were paid by service lands which they
cultivated with their own hands in time of peace subject to
the performance of certain military and police duties
whenever called upon by their chiefs. People from all
classes, Chasa, Pana, Kandara, Bauri, Mohammedans,Telgu,
Kaisthas, etc. could become Paiks. In fact, they
constituted the second line of defence like the Territorial
Army of today.
The
Paiks of Orissa were divided into
three ranks,
distinguished by names taken from their occupation, or
the
weapons which they chiefly used, viz., (1) The Paharis, who
carry a large shief made of wood covered
with hide and
strengthened by knobs and cirlces of iron, and
the long
straight national sword of Orissa, called the Khanda.
They
are stationed chiefly as guards. (2) The
Banuas, wo now
principally use the matchlock (in lieu of their old missile
weapons), but have besides a small shield and sword. It was
their duty to take the field principally and to go on distant
expeditions. (3) The Dhenkiyas, who are armed with bows and
arrows and a sword, and perform all sorts of duties. The war
dress of the Paiks consists, or did consist, of a cap
and
vest made of the skin of the tiger, or leopard, a
sort of
chain armour for the body and thighs, and a girdle formed of
the tail of some wild animal. Their ferocious dress combined
with their irrestible courage in the battle ground terrorised
their foes. They knew fighting well, both in the open field
and in the jungles. They fought a good many bloody
battle
with the Mughals and did not prove inferior to any infantry
which the Marathas ever brought into the field during their
government of the Province.
A body of local landed militia of this kind might have been a
tower of strength to the British Government, had liberal and
conciliatory measures been adopted from the first. But by a
fatal and shortsighted policy, Major Fletcher had been
allowed to resume their service lands shortly after the
confiscation of the Khurda estate. Nor was this all.
Deprived of the lands which they had enjoyed from time
immemorial, they were subjected to the grossest extortion and
oppression at the hands of the Sarbarakars and other
underlings to whom the Government entrusted the collection of
the revenue, and also to the tyrannies of a corrupt and venal
police. A leader was all that was required to fan the
lurking embers of rebellion into open flame.
The opportunity produced the leader in the person of
Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra Bhramarbar Rai, an officer who
had inherited from his ancestors the post of Bakshi or
Commander of the forces of the Raja of Khurda, being second
only to the Raja himself in rank. Besides Jagirs or grants
of land and other perquisites, the family of Jagabandhu had
held for several generations the valuable estate of Killa
Rorang at a low quit-rent. This estate was in Jagabandhu's
possession at the time of the British conquest, but
eventually he was dispossessed when in June 1814 the
Government passed orders that no settlement should be made
with him, until he should have established at little to the
property in the regular course of law. Jagabandhu was
reduced to beggary and for nearly two years derived his
maintenance from the voluntary contributions made by the
people of Khurda for his support. He was constantly attended
by a ragged tribe of followers bearing the insignia of state
pertaining to his former condition. When advised to
institute a suit for the recovery of his estate he evinced
the greatest reluctance to do so, pleading his want of means,
the degradation of suing as a pauper, and the uselessness of
any reference to the courts established by a foreign
Government.
This was the position of Jagabandhu in March, 1817 when a
body of Kandhas, four hundred strong, from the State of
Ghumsur crossed over into the Khurda territory and openly
unfurled the banner of revolt. The Paiks rose as one men and
joined them under the their former leader, Jagabandhu. They
proceeded to attack the police station and other government
buildings at Banpur where they killed upwards of a hundred
men in the employ of the foreign government and carried off
some fifteen thousand rupees worth of treasure. The rebels
then marched on Khurda itself, increasing in numbers as the
proceeded. Their success at Banpur had set the whole country
in arms against the British and seeing the hopelessness of
resistance the whole of the government officers stationed in
Khurda sought safety in flight. All the civil buildings were
burnt to the ground by the rebels and the treasury sacked.
Another body of the rebels advanced into Paragana Lembai and
murdered one of the native officials who had rendered himself
obnoxious. On the intelligence of these events reaching
Cuttack, the British Government at once despatched such a
force as they thought would be sufficient to quell the
disturbance and restore order. One detachment marched direct
to Khurda and another proceeded to Pipli to protect Paragana
Lembai.
The Magistrate thinking that his presence would help to
restore order, set out on the first of April, accompanied by
a detachment sixty sepoys with the intention of joining the
force which had proceeded to Khurda. On the evening of the
following day he arrived at Gangapada, a village only about
two miles (3.2 kilometres) away from Khurda. A barricade had
been erected here, which was defended by a considerable body
of rebels. The British troops were fired upon, and as it was
growing dark, it was resolved to halt for the night and
attempt to force the stockade early in the next morning. A
letter was sent off to the officer who had proceeded to
Khurda begging him to march out with his force from Khurda so
as to place the enemy between two fires. Early next morning
the messenger returned with the intelligence that the village
of Khurda had been totally destroyed, and that the troops
were nowhere in the neighbourhood. There was nothing for it
under the circumstances but to beat a speedy retreat. No
provisions had been brought from Cuttack and none were to be
procured on the spot. The sepoys were worn out with hunger
and fatigue and the number of the rebels gradually swelled to
about three thousand men. As soon as the retreat was
commenced the Paiks opened a brisk fire. The English troops
kept as much as possible to the open, the Paiks on the other
hand, kept well under cover of the jungle, from which they
suddenly emerged now and again to fire, or to secure whatever
baggage had been dropped or abandoned in the confusion.
The situation was a critical one, but no loss of life was
sustained, and after marching without a halt from 5.30 a.m.
until 3.30 p.m., the troops safely reached Balakati on the
Puri road, and there halted. While preparing to resume their
march at 9.30 p.m. they were again attacked under cover of
the darkness by a large body of insurgents; but a
well-directed volley soon scattered the rebels, and the
troops continued their retreat without further molestation.
They reached Cuttack on the 4th of April, having lost tents,
elephants, and every article of heavy baggage which they had
taken with them. The Magistrate wrote to Government as
follows :
"This instant returned; after a most fatiguing march of a
day and night, from Khurda; I can only write for the
information of His Lordship in Council, that my retreat was
forced, and that the whole of the Khurda territory is in a
complete state insurrection. The insurgents call upon the
Raja of Khurda, and Jagabandhu issues orders in his name.
Their avowed intention is to proceed to Puri and reconduct
him in triumph to his territory".
The detachments of sepoys which had proceeded to Khurda and
Pipli were not more fortunate than the Magistrate's party.
The officer in command of the Pipli detachment, in attempting
to force the rebel position at Gangapada and effect a
junction with the Khurda force, was killed at the head of his
men. Both detachments were compelled to retreat, with the
loss of all the baggage, to Cuttack via Pipli. The latter
place fell into the hands of the Paiks, who sacked it and
burnt the police station. On the other hand, an officer who
had been despatched with a force for the protection of Puri,
reached that town on the second of April and found all quiet
there. His progress had not been molested in any way, and he
wrote to recommend that a force should be detached for the
special duty of falling upon the rebels and bringing on a
decisive action with them. Accordingly on the ninth of
April, an officer with five hundred and fifty men and few
guns, marched on Khurda, and on the twelfth of April martial
law was proclaimed in the Khurda territory.
On the morning of the same day a large body of the isurgents
assembled at Sukal, a small village near Puri. In the
evening they entered the town by the Loknath Ghat, and burnt
the Government court-house and several other public and
private buildings. The houses of the European residents were
situated then on the sea-shore about half a mile (0.8046 km)
from the town. In these the Indian officers of the
Government took refuge. The troops were located in the
bungalow of the Salt Agent. On the morning of the thirteenth
of April, the rebels emerged from the jungle which skirted
the town on the east and opened a desultory fire. The sepoys
returned it, and the contest was continued for about two
hours, but at length the sepoys charged the enemy and drove
them back into the town.
The success was, however, only temporary. The insurgents
returned in greater numbers, having been reinforced by others
of their own party and joined by many of the rebels belonging
to the temple and to the Raja's private establishment. Some
of the inhabitants of the town also joined the rebels, and
the priests of the temple openly proclaimed the fall of the
English rule and the restoration of the authority of the
ancient line of sacred kings. Being thus hemmed in on the
three sides by the insurgents and the sea, the British deemed
it advisable to beat a speedy retreat to Cuttack by the only
road till left open. Provisions were beginning to run short,
and it was found impossible to procure a fresh supply. It
was important, too, to prevent the Government treasure from
falling into the hands of the rebels. Puri was, therefore,
abandoned ; and the fugitives, among whom were the Salt
Agent and the Collector of the Pilgrim Tax, reached Cuttack
on the eighteenth.
All communication between Cuttack and the southern portion of
the Province was now completely cut off; consequently,
nothing had been heard of the force despatched to Khurda on
the ninth of April, and the greatest apprehensions were
entertained for its safety. The detachment, however, reached
Khurda without encountering any opposition; and the officer
in coomand, on hearing that the insurgents had gone in great
force in the direction of Puri, proceeded against them by
forced marches. On the second day after leaving Khurda he
came upon the rebels, about a thousand strong drawn up behind
a line of embankments.
The Paiks, as they were small in number and ill equipped,
could not successfully encounter this large body of
disciplined and better armed troops and had to retreat into
jungle. The British force resumed its march on Puri, entered
the town, and captured the Raja who could not be successful
in his escape.
Several other encounters took place between the British
troops and the insurgent Paiks, and the rising spread to
Cuttack, where it was stamped out without much difficulty.
British authority soon re-established itself everywhere,
although the country did not at once recover its accustomed
tranquility and security. Bands of Paiks continued to infest
the jungles of Khurda for sometime after the pacification of
the rest of the country, and disturbed the Britishers in
their administration. In May, 1817, two English Judges were
posted at Khurda to award punishments of death,
transportation and long term imprisonment to the imprisoned
rebels. In the early part of the year 1818, the British
Government had also to take recourse to military operation in
the jungles of Khurda which lasted till the year 1826. In
this operation bands of Paiks, including Bakshi Jagabandhu,
were hunted down and many were brutally murdered. The
British Government appointed a Commission to investigate into
the causes of this outbreak. The Commissioners reported that
the Government itself was to a large extent to blame and that
the peasantry had many real grievances to complain of. The
resumption of large tract of service land, the currency
regulation which compelled the people to pay their land tax
in silver instead of in cowries as before, the heavy salt
duty, the extortions and chicanery of subordinate officials,
were all bitter grounds of discontent. These grounds can
very well show that the Paik Rebellion of 1817 was a common
man's agitation, it was not initiated by any aristocratic
blood. In fact, the Raja of Khurda and Bakshi Jagabandhu
joined the rebellion were accepted as leaders by virtue of
their past postions.
Raja Mukunda Deva died a captive in November, 1817. He was
the last king of Khurda and after him his successor came to
be known as the Raja of Puri, the title of 'Raja' being only
nominal, and he depended on a political pension. The
management of the Puri temple, however, remained in his
hands.
Ramachandra Deva III(1817-56), the son of Mukunda Deva, built
a new palace on the Car Road at Puri and amassed much wealth
by his thrifty habits. He was succeeded by Birakishore Deva
II (1856-62) and the latter by Dibyasingh Deva II (1862-77)
who was transported for life on a charge of murder. His
successor Mukunda Deva III died in 1926 and was succeeded by
his adopted son, Ramachandra Deva IV, who was the
Superintendent of the Jagannath temple till 1960 when the
management of the temple was taken over by the Government of
Orissa. The present king of Puri (Gajapati) is Sri Dibyasingh
Deva III who is son of Sri Ramachandra Deva IV.
THE TAPANG REBELLION OF 1827 A.D. :
In 1827, the people of Tapang Garh under sthe leadership of
Samanta Madhaba Chandra Routray, their Dalabehera, revolted
against the oppressive alien rule of the British. Since the
Paik Rebellion of Khurea (1817-18), the people of this area
did not pay rent to the British Government as a consequence
of which on the 23rd May 1827, one British Officer with some
sepoys was sent from Khurda to collect arrear rent from
Tapang.
At the instigation of Madhaba Chandra, the people refused to
pay rent to the British. One Govardhan Bairiganjan shot two
Englishmen to death. Some British sepoys were seriously
wounded in the scuffle. The British authorities took a
strong view of the situation and Lieutenant-Colonel Harcourt
sent an ultimatum to the Dalabehera to Tapang to clear the
arrear rent immediately and surrender himself in the court at
Khurda. But Dalabehera Madhaba Chandra paid little heed to
ultimatum and prepared himself for a confrontation with the
British. Col. Harcourt marched to Tapang with a contingent
of British force in June, 1927, and met the rebels in the
battle field of Kandagoda near Tapang. After a protracted
fight the rebels were repelled and the revolt was finally
subdued. Dalabehera Madhaba Chandra subsequently surrendered
to the British and was pardoned for his nobility and bravery.
Source : Orissa District Gazetteers (PURI), 1977