2018 - Paika Bidroha | Commemorative Coin
The 4th commemorative coin for the year 2018 was released on the occasion of Bi-centenary of Paika Bidroha.
The Paik Rebellion, also called the Paika Bidroha, was an armed rebellion against the British East India Company's rule in Odisha in 1817. The Paikas rose in rebellion under their leader Bakshi Jagabandhu and, projecting Jagannath as the symbol of Odia unity, the rebellion quickly spread across most of Odisha before being ruthlessly put down by the company's forces.
The Paikas were the traditional militia of Odisha. They served as warriors and were charged with policing functions during peacetime. The Paikas were organised into three ranks distinguished by their occupation and the weapons they wielded. These were the Paharis, the bearers of shields and the khanda sword, the Banuas who led distant expeditions and used matchlocks and the Dhenkiyas - archers who also performed different duties in Odisha armies. With the conquest of Odisha by the East India Company in 1803 and the dethronement of the Raja of Khurda began the fall of the power and prestige of the Paikas. The attitude of the company to the Paikas was expressed by Walter Ewer, on the commission that looked into the causes of the Rebellion, thus: "Now there is no need of assistance of Paikas at Khurda. It is dangerous to keep them in British armed forces. Thus they should be treated and dealt as common Ryots and land revenue and other taxes should be collected from them. They must be deprived of their former Jagir lands (rent free lands given to the Paikas for their military service to the state.) Within a short period of time the name of Paika has already been forgotten. But still now where the Paikas are living they have retained their previous aggressive nature. In order to break their poisonous teeth the British Police must be highly alert to keep the Paikas under their control for a pretty long period, unless the Paika community is ruined completely the British rule cannot run smoothly.
The Paika rebellion had several social, economic and political reasons. The Paiks were alienated by the British regime, who took over the hereditary rent-free lands granted to them after the conquest of Khurda. They were also subjected to extortion and oppression at the hands of the company government and its servants. Had conciliatory measures been adopted towards the Paiks from the beginning, it is possible that they would have become a source of strength to the company rule in Odisha. The extortionist land revenue policy of the company affected the peasants and the zamindars alike. A source of much consternation for the common people was the rise in prices of salt due to taxes imposed on it by the new government. The company also abolished the system of cowrie currency that had existed in Odisha prior to its conquest and required that taxes be paid in silver. This caused much popular hardship and discontent. In 1804 the Raja of Khurda planned a rebellion against the British in alliance with the Paiks, but the plot was soon discovered and the Raja's territory confiscated.
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