History of Orissa

To start the history of Orissa we need to go 3000 years back. The original inhabitants of Orissa were the Buiyas and the Gonds. When the Dravidians started settling in this region, these original tribes confined themselves to the forest and hills. During the reign of the famous king Ashoka Orissa was called Kalinga. Kharavela ruled Orissa in 2nd century BC; Orissa was part of his territory along with some parts of the Tamil country. Caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri were built under his rule. The kingdom of Guptas dominated Orissa in 4th century AD. Eventually, there were several kings such as Samudragupta, Sasanka, Murundas, Nala etc. During this dynasty famous Sun Tmple was built in Kornak. Muslim rulers started their kingdom in 1568 after defeating Hindu king Mukundadeva.

In 1803, East India Company began ruling over Orissa. However it only became Orissa in 19th century after the floods when the costal region of Bengal was divided into bihar and Orissa. After independence, Orissa became twice its size as 24 former princely states were now included as a part of Orissa. Orissa became a constituent state of India in 1950.