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The uprising of the Paikas in Khordha in the year 1817 was not a revolt against the British rule, but a freedom movement, said Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy during a programme in the Odisha capital Bhubaneswar on Friday.
Reddy was speaking at Chalo Dekhen Apna Desh, a programme organised by the Union Tourism Ministry in which many State tourism departments including Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir participated.
Worthwhile to mention here that Reddy had earlier denied to accord the Paika Revolution as India’s first war of Independence. At present, the Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 is called the first war of Independence against British Rule.
The Paika Bidroha (Paika Rebellion) of 1817, as it is called in Odisha, took place nearly 40 years before the first sepoy mutiny. The Paikas were peasant militias of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha who offered military services to the king.
Reddy said, “There are different historians who describe the uprising differently. No decisions have been taken till now on this. But I can tell you that that was not a mutiny or revolt. It was a freedom movement.”
Clearing the air on the ongoing dispute in Odisha government’s Srimandir Parikrama Project, Reddy said, “I have spoken to the officers and the DG of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in this regard. We will bring an Act to liberalise the rules so that the problem is solved soon enough.”
Reddy further told the reporters that Odisha has immense scope for tourism and its future is bright. Just recently, the Konark Temple has been included in the Iconic Destinations Project under which the monument and its adjoining areas will be developed accordingly, he said.
Speaking about the tourism development in the Country, Reddy said, “I will host a meeting of all the Tourism ministers of the States in Delhi and discuss different types of tourism and the National Tourism Policy which the Ministry is going to table in the Parliament soon.”
“From adventure tourism to nature tourism and to wildlife tourism, we are going to encompass all the facets of tourism and constitute a comprehensive tourism policy for the Country,” he said.
