Bhubaneswar: The exclusion of Odisha’s historic Paika rebellion of 1817 from the new Class VIII social science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has triggered sharp reactions in the state, with questions being raised about the Central government’s commitment to 'Odia Asmita'.

The NCERT’s earlier Class VIII history book, Our Past-III, had described the Khurda-based uprising as the “first anti-British armed rebellion” in India. However, in its newly introduced social science textbook, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, the Council has removed the reference to the Paika rebellion and instead included content on four other resistance movements: the Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion in Bengal (1770), the Kol uprising in Chota Nagpur (1831–32), the Santhal rebellion (1855–56), and the Indigo revolt in Bengal (1850–62).

This change has not gone down well with many in Odisha. Samajwadi Party’s state president Rabindra Nath Behera termed the move an "insult" to the bravery and sacrifice of the Paikas, who fought against British rule. “When Dharmendra Pradhan from Odisha is heading the education ministry, such an act by NCERT is a blow to Odia pride. In the past, Pradhan had pushed the BJD-led Odisha government to write to the Centre to declare the Paika rebellion as the first war of independence,” Behera said.

The Central government had also taken steps to honour the uprising. In April 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated descendants of 16 Paika families at a function in Bhubaneswar. Later, ₹200 crore was sanctioned to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the rebellion, and in December 2019, then President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone for a Paika memorial at Barunei near Khurda, the epicentre of the revolt.