| Orissa | |
| [image] Location of Orissa | |
| Capital | Bhubaneshwar 20.15° N 85.50° E |
| Largest city | Bhubaneswar |
| Abbreviation | IN-OR |
| Official languages | Oriya |
| Legislature • Strength • Governor • Chief Minister | Unicameral 147 Rameshwar Thakur (list) Naveen Patnaik (list) |
| Formation | 1949-01-01 |
| Area | 155,707 kmē (9th) |
| Population (2001) | 36,706,920 (11th) |
| Density | 236/kmē |
| Districts | 30 |
| Time zone | IST (UTC +5:30) |
| [image] Seal of Orissa | |
Orissa (2001 provisional pop. 36,706,920), 60,162 sq mi (155,820 sq km) is a state situated in the east coast of India.
Orissa is bounded on the north by Jharkhand, on the north-east by West Bengal, on the east by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Andhra Pradesh and on the west by Chhattisgarh.
The relatively unindented coastline (c.200 mi/320 km long) lacks good ports save for the deepwater facility at Paradip. The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi River delta, is exceedingly fertile. Rainfall is heavy and regular, and two crops of rice (by far the most important food) are grown annually. The state is known for its temples, especially in the cities of Konark, Puri, and Bhubaneswar.
The dense population, concentrated on the coastal alluvial plain, is Oriya-speaking. The interior, inhabited largely by indigenous people (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 holds the promise of becoming one of India's major manufacturing hubs in the near future. Recently POSCO of South Korea has agreed to construct a mammoth $12 billion steel plant, which would be the largest ever investment in India. Several other steel majors have shown enough interest in setting up very large scale projects in the state. Although Paradip is Orissa's only large port, the coastal towns of Dhamra and Gopalpur are being developed into major ports as well.
The Eastern Ghats range and the Chota Nagpur plateau occupy 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.
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.
http://www.orissaa.com/orissafacts.htm : for geographical facts on Orissa
Orissa has a glorious history spanning a period of over 3000 years. In ancient times, it was the proud kingdom of Kalinga. Kalinga was a major seafaring nation that controlled most of the sea routes in the Bay of Bengal. For several centuries, a substantial part of Southeast Asia, such as Kampuchea (Cambodia), Java, Sumatra, Bali and Thailand were colonies of Orissa. In fact the name of the country "Siam" is derived from Oriya/Sanskrit Shyamadesha. The temple of Angkor Wat is a fine example of Orissan architecture, with some local variations. Bali still retains its Hindu Orissan heritage.
A major turning point in world history took place in Orissa. The famous Kalinga war that led emperor Asoka to embrace non-violence and the teachings of Buddha was fought here in 261 BC. Later on, Asoka was instrumental in spreading Buddhist philosophy all over Asia.
In the second century BC, Kalinga flourished as a powerful kingdom under Kharavela. It is he who was 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 Jagannath temple at Puri. King Narasimha Dev is reputed to have built the magnificent sun temple in Konark. Although now largely in ruins, the temple would easily have rivaled the Taj Mahal in splendor.
The ruins of a major ancient university and center of Buddhist learning, Ratnagiri, was 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 the oldest universities in the world. The ruins of Ratnagiri University have not been fully excavated yet.
During the medieval period of Indian civilization, Orissa was ruled by a succession of Muslim kings. It was later annexed by emperor Akbar and became part of the Mughal empire. After the fall of the Mughals, the Marathas under Shivaji invaded the land and continued to rule until 1803 AD when Orissa fell prey to the British. Modern Orissa was carved out of Bihar in 1936.
Contemporary Orissa has a proud cultural heritage that arose due to the intermingling of three great religious traditions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It has been further enriched by Islam and Christianity. The culture of the Adivasis (the original inhabitants of India) is an integral part of modern Orissan heritage.
The dynasties that ruled Orissa beginning in the third century BC included:
After long resistance to the Muslims, the region was overcome (1568) by Afghan invaders and passed to the Mughal empire.
After the fall of the Mughals, Orissa was divided between the Nawabs of Bengal and the Marathas. In 1803 it was conquered by the British. The coastal section, which was made (1912) part of Bihar and Orissa Province, became in 1936 the separate province of Orissa. In 1948 and 1949 the area of Orissa was almost doubled and the population was increased by a third with the addition of 24 former princely states. In 1950, Orissa became a constituent state of India. 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.
http://www.orissaa.com/orissahistory.htm: For historical facts on Orissa
The aborgines or tribes, known as Adivasis, constitute 24% of the population, belonging to 62 different ethnic communities. Their traditional around the Forest Ecosystem. Over the years collection of forest produce, Hunting and persuasion of other traditional ways of living have become increasingly difficult, influencing socio-cultural life. Issues with modernisation and industrial activities, such as Mining, construction of dams, roads, railways have grown to become a concern affecting their very traditional livelihood and have displaced the Adivasi communities.
[image] Konark Temple - This is also known as the Sun Temple and is famous for its exquisite Orissan style of architecture. The sun temple was built in the 13th century A.D. The Sun Temple (Surya Deul) at Konark includes in its decoration many vignettes of military life. The thousands of elephants marching around the base of the temple are not figments of the imagination. Rather, they demonstrate pride in the superb war elephants for which Orissa was famous.
Jagannath Temple (12th Century A.D.) at Puri is Famous for Ratha Jatra (Chariot Festival). Every year millions of devotees come to Puri during the Rathyatra. It is a festival during which Jagannath along with his brother Ballabhadra and sister Subhadra come out of the temple to meet their devotees.
The capital city of Bhubaneswar has some magnificient temples, including the Lingaraja temple, and the Mukteswar temple.
http://www.orissaa.com/orissa_temples.html : temples of Orissa
The rate of growth in Orissa has been rather fantastic in comparison with the national average. For instance; in the 1990s Orissa's rate of growth was 14.3% in comparison to the national average of 6.7%. The agricultural sector accounts for 2% of the GDP and 5% of the total employment. Around 2 lakh people live below the poverty line. The state is witnessing unprecedented investment, both domestic and foreign. A whopping 50 billion dollars are expected to be invested in the state for building steel and aluminum producing capacity, power projects, ports and other infrastructure in the near futute. In addition, the state capital, Bhubaneswar, a well planned city with modern facilities, is attractive for information technology with a few software development centers (TCS, Satyam, Infosys) and a software technology park.
http://www.orissaa.com/orissa_careerfest.htm : covers careers for Oriyas, resume tips, interview tips, job tips, placement consultants address, Foreign Missions in India & Indian Missions abroad, Institutes of Orissa.
Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das Freedom Fighter, Poet Netaji Subash Ch Bose Freedom Fighter Fakir Mohan Senapati Master of Short Stories, Poet Madhusudan Das Founder of Utkal Sammilani Biju Patnaik Freedom fighter, Politician, Pilot Jatin Das Artist, Poet Nandita Das Artist, Social Activist, Dancer Manoj Das Writer, Novelist Nilakantha Das writer, Editor, Politician, Social Reformer, Speaker and Author. Biswanath Das Freedom fighter, Politician, Lawyer Gajapati Maharaja Krushna Chandra Dev Freedom fighter, Educationist, Social Reformer Chandrasekhar Behera Freedom fighter Pathani Samant Chandrasekhar Astrologer, Scientist, Dr Harekrushna Mahatab Freedom fighter, Politician, Administrator Dr. Radhanath Rath Journalist, Writer, Speaker, Politician
Details collected from /orissa_peoples.html
For details of these peoples click on the link provided
| Indian states and territories | [image] |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Bihar | Chhattisgarh | Goa | Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu and Kashmir | Jharkhand | Karnataka | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | Manipur | Meghalaya | Mizoram | Nagaland | Orissa | Punjab | Rajasthan | Sikkim | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | Uttaranchal | Uttar Pradesh | West Bengal | |
| Union territories: Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Chandigarh | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Daman and Diu | Lakshadweep | Pondicherry | |
| National Capital Territory:''' Delhi | |