ODISHA / Aaeai;aa xamn

[ORISSA

 

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HISTORY

HERALDRY

Mayurbanj

 

 

History

 

In the history of Orissa the year 1568 is regarded as a dividing line between the glorious epochs of the past and the gloomy periods which followed thereafter. Through centuries from ancient times, Orissa maintained her political vitality with several powerful ruling kings at different periods, and she developed a political distinction of her own within the wider syndromes of Indian civilization. In the fields of art, architecture, religion, philosophy and literature, ancient Orissa made notable achievements and left for the future rich legacies of undying character. Orissa’s political strength was so spectacular even so late as 15th century AD that during the rule of Kapilendradeva (1435–1466 AD) the Oriya armies threatened and attacked most powerful kingdoms in the neighbouring regions as well as in the far south and established political supremacy over a vast territory outside the limits of geographical Orissa. Kapilendra ruled from the Ganges in the north-east to Arcot in the south. His successors Purushottamdeva and Prataprudradeva, though not very powerful, retained their hold over an extensive territory, and during the rule of the latter from 1497 to 1541 AD his kingdom extended from the Hooghly and Midnapore districts of West Bengal to the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Political decline came soon thereafter all too suddenly. Internal turmoil, internecine wars and external invasions worked simultaneously to bring about the downfall of medieval Orissa. The Muslim ruler of Bengal, Suleiman Karrani with the help of his famous general Kalapahad succeeded in conquering the land in 1568 by defeating the last Orissa king Mukundadeva, ending thereby the independence of this powerful Hindu kingdom which had resisted Muslim invasions successfully for three centuries. Orissa was one of the last of the Indian territories to succumb to the Muslim invasion though most part of the sub-continent had come under the Muslim rule much earlier.

Mughal Rule The Mughals conquered Bengal and Oda in 1576.

Maratha Rule: Orissa was subsequently ceded to the Marathas in 1751.

 

On 4 November 2011, then-President Pratibha Patil passed a law that officially changed the name of the state from Orissa to Odisha with effect from 1 November, that year. The Oriya language has since been referred to by the name Odia. The name change process was initiated in 2008.

 

British Period

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 administed 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, the Province of Bihar and Orissa was divided into separate provinces.

 

The Eastern States Union came into being after the British Parliament had decided on 15 August 1947 that India and Pakistan would become independent, and the Indian Princely States thereby had become independent.and the princes of the Eastern States Agency had formed the Eastern States Union. On 1 January 1948, the Union was dissolved and the princely states incorporated into the states of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

 

Post independence

Following Indian independence, the area of Orissa was almost doubled and the population was increased by a third by the addition of 24 former princely states. In 1950, Orissa became a constituent state in the Union of India.

 

To Orissa came the States Gangpur, Bonai, Mayurbhanj (only on 1. January 1949), Bamra, Keonjhar, Rairakhol, Sonpur, Athmallik, Pal Lahara, Talcher, Patna, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Hindol, Daspalla, Narasinghapur, Barhamba, Athgarh, Tigiria, Nayagarh, Ranpur and Kalahandi as well as Kharsawan and Sareikella, which came in May 1948 to Bihar

 

To Madhya Pradesh came the States Chang Bhakar, Korea, Surguja, Jashpur, Udaipur, Raigarh, Sarangarh, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Nandgaon, Kanker and Bastar. Most of these territories belong since 2000 to the federal state of Chhattisgarh.

 

Heraldry

 

 

The emblem of Odisha /Orissa represents the Horse and Man of Konark., surrounded by the name of the state in devanagiri and Bengali  and crested with the crest of India

 

Man leading a horse trampling a warrior.

A part of the Konark temple which is now at Bhubaneswar Railway Station (Master Square)

Konark Sun Temple, Odisha

 

The Konark Sun Temple (Konark Surya Mandir) is a 13th-century Sun temple at Konark about 35 kilometres northeast from Puri on the coastline of Odisha, India. The temple is attributed to king Narasimhadeva I (1238-1264 A.D) of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty about 1250 AD.

 

The sculpture, of course of definite Indian signature, is reminiscent of the western sculptures of St. George trampling a dagon or monster. Also the sculpture of Alexander & Bucephalus by John Steell strongly looks like the Konark Horse. This reminds the fact that the most eastern part of the raids and campaigns of Alexander the Great was in India (actually in Punjab). The Steell sculpture is located in front of Edinburgh's City Chambers. Modelled 1832, was cast in bronze in 1883, and was presented to the city by the subscribers in 1884. It is not known if the Edinburgh horse was inspired by the Konark horse.

 

Æ See illustration in the head of this article

 

Police

 

The Odisha police was formed on 1 April 1936, at the same day as the creation of the state of Orissa. It was a continuation of the Moghul and British police force created in1803. In 1829 the post of superintendent of police was abolished  and the office of the Magistrate was transferred from the judge to the Collector. The Magistrate was the controllimg officer of Police known as Darogas enjoying almost absolute powers.

In 1857 a commission was set up by the House of Commons  which recommended the Police act (Act V, 1861) which is the basis for policing till now in Odisha and most parts of the country.

 

Emblem

 

Cap badge

 

Flag

 

MAYURBHANJ

 

Mayurbhanj was a princely state of British India in what is now the state of Orissa. Its capital was the place Baripada. According to legend, the principality was founded by a relative of the Raja of Jaipur. The first Raja from the Bhanja Rajput dynasty was Saveshwara Bhanj (1688–1711). Mayurbhanj was under the sovereignty of the Marathas until 1803 and was 1829–1947 British protectorate. Raja Krishna Chandra Bhanj Deo (1868–82) was raised to a Maharaja in 1877. Mayurbhanj had an area of 10,989 km² and 610,000 inhabitants in 1901.

The Maharaja joined the Eastern States Union in August 1947 and became its first president of the ruling council. On 1 January 1948, this union was dissolved and Mayurbhanj was incorporated on 1 January 1949 in Orissa and thus India. On 1 November 1956, all princely states were dissolved.

Mayurbhanj State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was one of the largest states of the Eastern States Agency and one of the three states of the Bengal States Agency. The emblem of the state were two peacocks for according to legend the ancestors of the ancient rulers originated from a peafowl’s eyes. [1]

 

Rulers of Mayurbanj

Raja Raghunath Bhanj

1728-1750

Raja Chakradhar Bhanj

1750-1761

Raja Damodar Bhanj

1761-1796

Rani Sumitra Devi

1796-1805

Rani Jamuna Devi

1805-1810

 

Raja Tribikram Bhanj

Raja of Mayurbhanj 1810-1822

 

Maharaja Jadunath Bhanj deo

Raja of Mayurbhanj 1822-1863

 

British Protectorate 1829-1936

granted the title of Maharaja for personal use only, married and had issue. He died  1863.

 

In the grants of the Bhanjas of Khijjinga, it is said that the first of the Bhanjas, Birbhadra or Adhibanja was born from a peahen’s egg which is probably why the dynasty’s emblem included peacocks....

The frist coat of arms with a peacock is on the achievement of Nawab Nazim Humayn of Murshidabad on the Hazarduari Palace (1829-1837)..

It shows a peacock upright, wings expanded and a marshal’s baton  and a ball in its claws.

 

1829- ’37

 

Raja shrinath bhanj

1863-1868

 

Maharaja Krishna Chandra Bhanj

1868-1882

Was raised to a Maharaja in 1877

 

Mourbhanj State Non Judicial Stamp. Undated

 

On this stamp is an achievement consisting of:

Arms: A staar of 16 rays charged with an unreadable device

Crowm: The royal crown of Mayurbanj

Supporters: Two peacocks

Motto: Unreadable

 

The crown makes the achievement of a Maharaja

 

HH Maharaja Sir Shri Sriram Chandra Bhanj deo,

Maharaja of Mayurbhanj 1882-1912

 

Achievement of Mayurbanj

 

Arms: A (breast-) star of 16 points charged with achrysantemum-like flower of 2´16 leaves, recharged with a cross, in each quarter a hindu-device.

Crest: A chatra (umbrella)

Supporters: Two peacocks

Motto: in devenagiri

Title: MAYURBANJ

 

HH Maharaja Shri Purna Chandra Bhanj deo

Maharaja of Mayurbhanj 1912-1928

 

HH Maharaja Sir Shri Pratap Chandra Bhanj deo

Maharaja of Mayurbhanj 1928-1968

 

Seal of Mayurbhanj 1931

Census of Mayurbanj 1931 

 

State of Mayurbanj

01-04-1936

Joined the Eastern States Union, 08-1949

 

Drawing: Roberto Breschi

1948

Achievement

 

Arms: A target bordured of a wave intertwined with besants, an eight-pointed star charged with the cypher TKD

Crest: A rising sun

Supporters: Two peacocks

Title: MAYURBANJ

 

HH Maharaja shri Pradeep Chandra Bhanj deo

maharaja of mayurbhanj 1968-2000

 

HH Maharaja shri Praveen Chandra Bhanj deo

Maharaja of Mayurbhanj 2000-present.

 

 

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 © Hubert de Vries 2020-07-30.

 

 

 



[1] https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/227693/8/08_chapter%201.pdf