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Odisha (, The 'sha' spelling comes about from the historical or Sanskritic letter śa (ଶ), however all Odia sibilants today are realised as sa (ସ). ; ଓଡ଼ିଶା, ; formerly known as Orissa) is one of the 29 states of India. Located in eastern India, it is surrounded by the states of West Bengal to the north-east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south. Odisha has of coastline along the Bay of Bengal on its east, from Balasore to Ganjam. It is the 9th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state also has the third largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India. Odia language is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by 36.6 million according to the 2016 Census.
The ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Empire emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE resulting in the Kalinga War, coincides with the borders of modern-day Odisha. The modern state of Odisha was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India, and consisted predominantly of Odia-speaking regions. 1 April is celebrated as Odisha Day (Utkala Dibasa). The region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned in India's national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana". Cuttack was made the capital of the region by Anantavarman Chodaganga in circa 1135, after which the city was used as the capital by many rulers, through the British era until 1948. Thereafter, Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha.
The name of the state was changed from Orissa to Odisha, and the name of its language from Oriya to Odia, in 2011, by the passage of the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2010 and the Constitution (113th Amendment) Bill, 2010 in the Parliament. After a brief debate, the lower house, Lok Sabha, passed the bill and amendment on 9 November 2010. On 24 March 2011, Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, also passed the bill and the amendment.
By c. 150 BCE, emperor Kharavela, who was possibly a contemporary of Demetrius I of Bactria,Austin Patrick Olivelle Alma Cowden Madden Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts University of Texas (2006). 9780199775071, Oxford University Press. . ISBN 9780199775071 conquered a major part of the Indian sub-continent. Kharavela was a Jain ruler. He also built the monastery atop the Udayagiri hill. Subsequently, the region was ruled by monarchs, such as Samudragupta9788184245684, Allied Publishers. . ISBN 9788184245684 and Shashanka. It was also a part of Harsha's empire.
Later, the kings of the Somavamsi dynasty began to unite the region. By the reign of Yayati II, c. 1025 CE, they had integrated the region into a single kingdom. Yayati II is supposed to have built the Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar. They were replaced by the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Notable rulers of the dynasty were Anantavarman Chodaganga, who began re-construction on the present-day Shri Jagannath Temple in Puri (c. 1135), and Narasimhadeva I, who constructed the Konark temple (c. 1250).9780071329231, Tata McGraw-Hill Education. . ISBN 9780071329231
The Eastern Ganga Dynasty was followed by the Gajapati Kingdom. The region resisted integration into the Mughal empire until 1568, when it was conquered by Sultanate of Bengal. Mukunda Deva, who is considered the last independent king of Kalinga, was defeated and was killed in battle by a rebel Ramachandra Bhanja. Ramachandra Bhanja himself was killed by Bayazid Khan Karrani.9788171995745, Bright Publications. . ISBN 9788171995745 In 1591, Man Singh I, then governor of Bihar, led an army to take Odisha from the Karranis of Bengal. They agreed to treaty because their leader Qutlu Khan Lohani had recently died. But, they then broke the treaty by attacking the temple town of Puri. Man Singh returned in 1592 and pacified the region.
In 1751, the Nawab of Bengal Alivardi Khan ceded the region to the Maratha Empire.
The British India had occupied the Northern Circars, comprising the southern coast of Odisha, as a result of the 2nd Carnatic War by 1760, and incorporated them into the Madras Presidency gradually. In 1803, the British ousted the Marathas from the Puri-Cuttack region of Odisha during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. The northern and western districts of Odisha were incorporated into the Bengal Presidency.
The Orissa famine of 1866 caused an estimated 1 million deaths. Following this, large-scale irrigation projects were undertaken. In 1903, the Utkal Sammilani organisation was founded to demand the unification of Odia language regions into one state. On 1 April 1912, the Bihar and Orissa Province was formed. On 1 April 1936, Bihar and Orissa were split into separate provinces. The new Orissa Province came into existence on a linguistic basis during the British rule in India, with Sir John Austen Hubback as the first governor. Following India's independence, on 15 August 1947, 27 signed the document to join Orissa.
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Due to the climate and good rainfall, Odisha's evergreen and moist forests are suitable habitats for wild . Around 130 species have been reported from the state. 97 of them are found in Mayurbhanj district alone. The Orchid House of Nandakanan Biological Park hosts some of these species.
Simlipal National Park is a protected wildlife area and tiger reserve spread over 2750 km2 of the northern part of Mayurbhanj district. It has 1078 species of plants, including 94 orchids. The sal tree is the primary tree species there. The park has 55 mammals, including barking deer, Bengal tiger, common langur, four-horned antelope, Indian bison, Indian elephant, Indian giant squirrel, Indian leopard, jungle cat, sambar deer, and wild boar. There are 304 species of birds in the park, such as the common hill myna, grey hornbill, Indian pied hornbill and Malabar pied hornbill. It also has 60 species of reptiles, notable among which are the king cobra and tricarinate hill turtle. There is also a mugger crocodile breeding program in nearby Ramtirtha. The Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary is a 190 km2 protected area near the capital city, Bhubaneswar. However, urban expansion and over-grazing have reduced the forests and are driving herds of elephants to migration. In 2002, there were about 80 elephants. But by 2012, their numbers had been reduced to 20. Many of the animals have migrated toward the Barbara reserve forest, Chilika, Nayagarh district, and Athagad. Some elephants have died in conflicts with villagers, while some have died during migration from being electrocuted by power lines or hit by trains. Outside the protected area, they are killed by . Besides elephants, the sanctuary also has , and .
The Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara District covers 650 km2, of which 150 km2 are mangroves. The Gahiramatha beach in Bhitarkanika is the world's largest nesting site for olive ridley sea turtles. Other major nesting grounds for the turtle in the state are Rushikulya, in Ganjam district, and the mouth of the Devi river. The Bhitarkanika sanctuary is also noted for its large population of salt-water crocodiles. In winter, the sanctuary is also visited by migratory birds. Among the species of birds spotted in the sanctuary are the black-crowned night heron, darter, grey heron, Indian cormorant, Oriental white ibis, purple heron, and sarus crane. The possibly endangered horseshoe crab is also found in this region.
Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon on the east coast of Odisha with an area of 1105 km2. It is connected to the Bay of Bengal by a 35-km-long narrow channel and is a part of the Mahanadi delta. In the dry season, the tides bring in salt water. In the rainy season, the rivers falling into the lagoon decrease its salinity. Birds from places like the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, other parts of Russia, Central Asia, South-East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas migrate to the lagoon in winter. Among the birds spotted there are Eurasian wigeon, Northern pintail, bar-headed goose, greylag goose, flamingo, mallard and Goliath heron. The lagoon also has a small population of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins. The state's coastal region has also had sightings of finless porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, humpback dolphin and spinner dolphin in its waters.
The main parties active in the politics of Odisha are the Biju Janata Dal, the Indian National Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party. Following the Odisha State Assembly Election in 2014, the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal stayed in power for the fourth consecutive term.
These 30 districts have been placed under three different revenue divisions to streamline their governance. The divisions are North, South and Central, with their headquarters at Sambalpur, Berhampur and Cuttack respectively. Each division consists of 10 districts, and has as its administrative head a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC). The position of the RDC in the administrative hierarchy is that between that of the district administration and the state secretariat. The RDCs report to the Board of Revenue, which is headed by a senior officer of the Indian Administrative Service.
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Each district is governed by a Collector & District Magistrate, who is appointed from the Indian Administrative Service. The Collector & District Magistrate is responsible for collecting the revenue and maintaining law and order in the district. Each District is separated into Sub-Divisions, each governed by a Sub-Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate. The Sub-Divisions are further divided into Tahasils. The Tahasils are headed by Tahasildar. Odisha has 58 Sub-Divisions, 317 Tahasils and 314 Blocks. Blocks consists of Panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities.
The capital and largest city of the state is Bhubaneswar. The other major cities are Cuttack, Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur. Municipal Corporations in Odisha include Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela.
Other municipalities of Odisha include Angul, Balangir, Balasore, Barbil, Bargarh, Baripada, Belpahar, Bhadrak, Bhawanipatna, Biramitrapur, Boudh, Byasanagar, Chhatrapur, Debagarh, Dhenkanal, Gopalpur, Gunupur, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jeypore, Jharsuguda, Joda, Kendrapara, Kendujhar, Khordha, Konark, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Paradeep, Paralakhemundi, Phulbani, Puri, Rajgangpur, Rayagada, Sonepur, Sundargarh, Talcher and Umerkote.
Auxiliary authorities known as , for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs.
The judiciary is composed of the Odisha High Court, located at Cuttack, and a system of lower courts.
Arcelor-Mittal has also announced plans to invest in another mega steel project amounting to $10 billion. Russian major Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Company (MMK) plans to set up a 10 MT steel plant in Odisha, too. Bandhabahal is a major area of open cast coal mines in Odisha. The state is attracting an unprecedented amount of investment in aluminium, coal-based power plants, petrochemicals, and information technology as well. In power generation, Reliance Power (Anil Ambani Group) is putting up the world's largest power plant with an investment of US$13 billion at Hirma in Jharsuguda district.
In 2009 Odisha was the second top domestic investment destination with Gujarat first and Andhra Pradesh in third place according to an analysis of ASSOCHAM Investment Meter (AIM) study on corporate investments. Odisha's share was 12.6 percent in total investment in the country. It received investment proposal worth . 2,00,846 crore during the last year. Steel and power were among the sectors which attracted maximum investments in the state. Flood and cyclone are the major hurdles in Odisha's development as the important districts are situated near to the Bay of Bengal. In the five-year period between 2004 and 2005 and 2008–09, Odisha's GDP has grown by a stunning 8.74% way beyond the definition of 7% growth. All-India growth during this period was 8.49%. In this period, Odisha was the fourth fastest growing state, just behind Gujarat, Bihar, Uttarakhand.
The dominant ethnic group is the Odia people, and Odia language is the official language; it is spoken as a native language by 81.8% of the population. Other minority languages of the state are Hindi, Telugu language, Santali language, Kui, Urdu, Bengali language and Ho language. Some of the important tribes are Ho people, Santhal people, Bonda people, Munda people, Oraon, , Mahali and Kora.
The literacy rate is 73%, with 82% of males and 64% of females being literate, according to the 2011 census.
The proportion of people living below the poverty line in 1999–2000 was 47.15% which is nearly double the Indian average of 26.10%.
Data of 1996–2001 showed the life expectancy in the state was 61.64 years, higher than the national value of years. The state has a birth rate of 23.2 per 1,000 people per year, a mortality rate of 9.1 per 1,000 people per year, an infant mortality rate of 65 per 1000 live birth and a maternal mortality rate of 358 per 1,000,000 live births. Odisha has a Human Development Index of 0.442 as of 2011.
The Odisha Temple Authorisation Act of 1948 empowered the Government of Odisha to have Hindu temples open for all Hindus including the Harijans.P. 63 Case studies on human rights and fundamental freedoms: a world survey, Volume 4 By Willem Adriaan Veenhoven
Perhaps the oldest scripture of Odisha is the Madala Panji from the Puri Temple believed from 1042 AD. Famous Hindu Odia scripture includes the 16th-century Bhagabata of Jagannatha Dasa.P. 77 Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 30 By Scholastic Library Publishing In the modern times Madhusudan Rao was a major Odia writer, who was a and shaped modern Odia literature at the start of the 20th century. Madhusudan Rao By Jatindra Mohan Mohanty, Sahitya Akademi
Christians in Odisha account for about 2.8% of the population while Oriya Muslims account for 2.2% as per census figures of 2001. The Sikh, Buddhist and Jain communities together account for 0.1% of the population
Entry to various institutes of higher education especially into engineering degrees is through a centralised Odisha Joint Entrance Examination, conducted by the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Rourkela, since 2003, where seats are provided according to order of merit. Few of the engineering institutes enroll students by through Joint Entrance Examination. For medical courses, there is a corresponding All India Pre Medical Test.
The syrupy dessert rasagola made in Odisha is known throughout the world. Chhenapoda is another major Odisha sweet cuisine, which originated in Nayagarh.
Except these Pakhala is considered as traditional food of every Odia family . Chhena Jhilipi of Nimapada, Mudhi Mansa of Baripada, Aloodum Dahibara of Cuttack, various pancakes prepared during festivals are some important cuisine of the state. With this Santula and Dalmaa are some of the cuisine of the state .
The variety of dances includes Ghumura Dance, Chhau dance, Jhumair, Mahari dance, and Gotipua.
Odisha's varying topography – from the wooded Eastern Ghats to the fertile river basin – has proven ideal for evolution of compact and unique ecosystems. This creates treasure troves of flora and fauna that are inviting to many migratory species of birds and reptiles. Bhitarkanika National Park is famous for its second largest mangrove ecosystem. The bird sanctuary in Chilika Lake (Asia's largest brackish water lake) and the tiger reserve and waterfalls in Simlipal National Park are integral parts eco-tourism in Odisha, arranged by Odisha Tourism. Daringbadi is a hill station in the Kandhamal district of Odisha. Chandipur, a calm and serene site, is mostly unexplored by tourists. The unique specialty of this beach is the ebb tides that recede up to 4 km and tend to disappear rhythmically.
The share of foreign tourists’ arrival in the State is below one percent of total foreign tourist arrivals at all India level.
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