Odisha, formerly Orissa, is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India. It neighbours the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south. Odisha has a coastline of 485 kilometres (301 mi) along the Bay of Bengal in Indian Ocean. The region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned by this name in India's national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana". The language of Odisha is Odia, which is one of the Classical Languages of India.
Bhubaneswar is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as Chakra Kshetra and Ekamra Kshetra. Bhubaneswar is dubbed the "Temple City", a nickname earned because of the 700 temples which once stood there. In contemporary times, it has emerged as an education hub and an attractive business destination.
Utkal Congress was a political party in the Indian state of Odisha. It was formed in 1969 when Biju Patnaik left Indian National Congress. After the 1971 Odisha elections UC took part in the Bishwanath Das ministry in the state. In 1974 Utkal Congress merged into Bharatiya Lok Dal.
Cuttack in Odia, is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of the Odia and Sanskrit name Kataka which literally means The Fort, a reference to the ancient Barabati Fort around which the city initially developed. Cuttack is known as the Millennium City as well as the Silver City due to its history of 1000 years and famous silver filigree works. The Orissa High Court is located there. It is the commercial capital of Odisha which hosts many trading and business houses in and around the city. Cuttack is famous for its Durga puja which is one of the most important festivals of Odisha. Cuttack is also the birthplace of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The city is categorised as a Tier-II city as per the ranking system used by Government of India.
Kalahandi district is a district of Odisha in India. Archaeological evidence of Stone Age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilised, cultured and urban human settlement about 2000 years ago in the region. In South Asia it is believed that the lands of Kalahandi district and Koraput district were the ancient places where people started cultivation of paddy. In ancient time it was known as Mahakantara and Karunda Mandal, which means treasure of precious stones like karandam (corundum/manik), garnet, beruz, neelam, and alexandrite, etc. Manikeswari is the clan deity of Kalahandi may also signify its historical name.
East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha from which it inherits its various Eastern Indo-Aryan languages.
Bhadrak is a city of Odisha state in eastern India. The city is the district headquarters of Bhadrak district. According to legend, the city derives its name from the Goddess Bhadrakali, whose temple is on the banks of the Salandi River.
Bhartruhari Mahtab is an Indian politician, the son of Late Shri Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab. He is a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) political party. He was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 from Cuttack constituency in Odisha. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 from the same constituency. He received the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award 2017. He is also the recipient of Sansad Ratna Award 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 for his outstanding performance in 'Debates'.
Nabakrushna Choudhuri was an Indian politician and activist. He served as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Odisha. He was a freedom fighter who participated in the Non-cooperation Movement, the Civil Disobedience movement, and the Peasants movement.
Biswambhar Parida was an Indian Freedom fighter who was born in Jagatsinghpur District in Indian state of Odisha. He plunged into Indian Independence Movement at a very early age, was a devout follower of Gandhian Freedom Movement and was imprisoned for around two years. He got himself involved in many social, literary and organizational activities among his in-mates and fellow Freedom Fighters, while being at Berhampur Prison.
The politics of Odisha are part of India's federal parliamentary representative democracy, where the union government exercises sovereign rights. Certain powers are reserved to the states, including Odisha. The state has a multi-party system, in which the two main parties are the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the regional, socialist Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The Indian National Congress (INC) has also significant presence.
Cuttack Lok Sabha Constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) Constituencies in Odisha state in Eastern India.
Harekrushna Mahatab was the leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and again from 1956 to 1961. He was popularly known by the sobriquet "Utkal Keshari".
The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of Odisha.
Binod Kanungo (1912–1990) was an Odia author, freedom fighter, Gandhian, educator, social reformer and compiler of the Gyana Mandala, which is the greatest encyclopaedia in the Odia language. He also won the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award for his travelogue Runa Parishodha (1983). He was also a veteran freedom fighter and notable educationist. He was awarded with India's fourth highest civilian honour "Padmashree". He died on 22 June 1990.
Subrat Kumar Prusty is an Indian Odia-language scholar, activist, social entrepreneur, literary critic and author. He is Member Secretary of the Institute of Odia Studies and Research, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He was instrumental in preparing the research documents, advocating the awarding of Classical Language status to Odia, forming Central Institute of Classical Odia, Odia University and implementation of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954. He was awarded the Presidential Certificate of Honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman – 2019 for Classical Odia.
Dr. Ekram Rasul was an Indian Freedom fighter as well as a doctor who spent most of his life in the service for humanity. He was the vice president of Indian National Congress of Odisha or better known as Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee and took part in the national freedom struggle, under the supervision of Mahatma Gandhi and Harekrushna Mahtab.
Sir William Hawthorne Lewis, KCSI, KCIE was a member of the Indian Civil Service who served as the Governor of Odisha from 1941 to 1946.
Basanta Manjari Devi was an Indian politician who served as the first woman minister of Odisha. She was the Deputy Minister of Health in the 1946 Harekrushna Mahatab government.
