The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Paika Rebellion of Odisha on July 20, 2017 in New Delhi. 40 years before the Revolt of 1857, under the leadership of Baxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhara of Odisha the Paika Rebellion was organized against the British Raj in 1817. It is regarded as India’s first organized armed rebellion against British Raj. Paikas were essentially the peasant militias of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha