In the time of Ashoka the great this particular land of India, which is at present the 9th largest and 11th most populous state was a very powerful Kingdom called Kalinga.It was then an independent state and one of the most powerful and unconquered states of deccan…..
With time the rulers at Delhi changed and so did the royals in Kalinga changed,but something that had not changed was its Independency.The Land was ruled by very powerful Gajapati’s(who are now just the honorary head of Puri Temple)and the land was smiling with wealth and happiness.
Then came the Britishers who like the other rulers tried to annex Kalinga but were not successful for a long time because of great fighters like Buxi Jagabandhu,Chakhi Khuntia,Tate Khan,Surendra Sai,etc…but finally around 1900 A.D. the britishers were able to annex Kalinga..After that as per their policy of “Divide and Rule” the British divided the vast territory of Kalinga which once extended from the Banks of Ganga in the north to the Banks of Godavari in the south between the provinces of Bihar,Madras and Bengal….
It was then that after a long struggle of greats like Madhusudan Das, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati,Fakir Mohan Senapati Gopabandhu Das,Godavaris Ray,HareKrushna Mahatab,Madhusudhan Rao,Saheed Lakman Nayak,Rama Devi,Gangadhar Meher,Radhanath Ray and many more that Kalinga became an independent province by the name of Utkal(meaning-land of top-class architecture,culture and resource).
89years ago exactly on this day i.e.1st April 1936 Utkal became the first Language based independent province of India.It was,it is,and it will always remain a proud day for anyone who is an Odia.Since then the state has undergone many changes starting from the change of name from Utkal to Orissa to now Odisha.
Utkal Diwas though is the independent day of Odisha but it’s a day of brotherhood for all of us as we Odia’s unlike others don’t play politics over region,this land accepts everyone with the same love as it does to its own children.This indiscrimination makes Odisha a lovable place for all my lovable non-odia brothers and sisters….
So this what for me is the significance of this day.
Jay Jagannath,Bande Matam,Bande Utkal Janani
Scribbled Inks... 