Bakshi Jagabandhu

Jagabandhu Bidyadhara Mohapatra Bhramarbara Raya popularly known as Buxi Jagabandhu (Odia: ବକ୍ସି ଜଗବନ୍ଧୁ) or Paika Khandayat Buxi was the commander (Buxi) of the forces of the king of Khurda. He is one of the earliest freedom fighters of India. The great Paika rebellion in 1817 was under his leadership.[1] The BJB College in Bhubaneswar has been named after this great personality.

Buxi Jagabandhu
Old sketch by Dharanidhara Behera of Cuttack
Native name
ବକ୍ସି ଜଗବନ୍ଧୁ ବିଦ୍ୟାଧର ମହାପାତ୍ର ଭ୍ରମରବର ରାୟ
Birth nameBuxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra Bhramarbar Ray
Born1773
Gadarondoga,Puri
Died1829 (aged 55–56)
Cuttack
AllegianceKhurda Kingdom
Service/branchGajapati military
Years of servicetill 1825
RankBuxi
Battles/warsPaika Rebellion
Statue of Buxi Jagabandhu, the leader of Paika Rebellion, in Bhubaneswar.

Life

Jagabandhu Bidyadhara had got the title of Buxi in inheritance from his ancestors which represents the rank of the commander of the forces of the King of Khurda, a rank second only to the king. He was born in an aristocratic Khandayat family.[2] His family was provided with Jagirs (vast landed properties and other requisites) and the estate of ‘Killa Roranga’ for generations by the King of Khurda.[3]

The Paika Rebellion

It was the first rebellion of the Paika (soldiers of Odisha) with the support of common people against the British Rule. The land revenue policy of the British was the primary cause of the rebellion in 1817. The rent-free land tenures provided to the soldiers for their military service on a hereditary basis were taken away in the settlement by Major Fletcher as their service were not required anymore. This policy resulted in the deprivation of Buxi Jagabandhu from his estates and forced him to depend on the voluntary contributions from the people of Khurda.[4] This policy also affected the zamindars as well as ryots. Another important cause for that great event was the raise in salt price. As a result, Buxi Jagabandhu led the tribals of Banapur and Ghumusar and bravely marched towards Khurda to fight against colonial power. He had an army of 400 Kandhas who fought bravely. The rebellion received extensive support from the common people. Even the Kandhas of Banapur became successful in their revolutionary activities. The rebellion was expanded throughout the state and continued for a quite long time. Government buildings were burnt, policemen were killed and government treasury looted. However, the fewer in number paika were unable to defeat their well-equipped British counterpart and receded back to the jungles, where they continued to resist the British. A number of them were captured, tried and executed in the last stages of the rebellion.[5] Bidyadhar was imprisoned in 1825 and died in jail four years later in 1829.[6]

References
  1. The Hindu Net Desk. "Paika rebellion of 1817". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  2. Jena, Bikram Keshori. "How odisha voted: Political postmortem report on state politics". www.indianjournals.com. Retrieved 28 August 2022. in Odisha as well as New Delhi to commemorate the sacrifice of the warriors of the Khandayat caste like Baxi Jagabandhu.
  3. Mohanty, Prof.N.R (2008). "The Oriya Paika Rebellion of 1817" (PDF). magazines.odisha.gov.in.
  4. "PAIK REBELLION". Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  5. "Death Anniversary of Buxi Jagabandhu" (PDF). Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  6. "Explained: Why Centre has refused to accept Paika revolution as first war of independence". The Indian Express. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.

Odia film on Bakshi Jagabandhu

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