The history of Orissa makes an interesting case-study in that it's history is in many ways atypical from that of the northern plains and many of the common generalizations that are made about Indian history do not seem to apply to the Oriya region. It was known as Kalinga in ancient times.

History of Orissa has a place of distinction in the Indian folklore. The famous Battle of Kalinga was fought near the city of Bhubaneswar in 260 BC. The battle transformed Emperor Ashoka into a philanthropist and patronizer of the Buddhist faith. Many battles took place during this time period, and the next rulers of the Orissan area were the Kesari, a Hindu people, and then the Ganga. Then in the 16th century the Mughals brought Orissa in its empire followed by the Marathas. The British rule entered the political scene and took control of the state in 1803 with the rest of India. Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism flourished in Orissa.

KALINGA

Orissa, the land of the Oriyas, was known as "Kalinga" in ancient times. Very early in Kalingan history, the Kalingas acquired a reputation for being a fiercely independant people. Ashoka's military campaign against Kalinga was one of the bloodiest in Mauryan history on account of the fearless and heroic resistance offered by the Kalingas to the mighty armies of the expanding Mauryan empire. Perhaps on account of their unexpected bravery, emperor Ashoka was compelled to issue two edicts specifically calling for a just and benign administration in Kalinga.

Unsurprisingly, Mauryan rule over Kalinga did not last long. By the 1st C. BC, Kalinga's Jain identified ruler Kharavela had become the pre-eminent monarch of much of the sub-continent and Mauryan Magadha had become a province of the Kalingan empire. The earliest surviving monuments of Orissa (in Udaigiri near Bhubaneshwar) date from his reign, and surviving inscriptions mention that Prince Kharavela was trained not only in the military arts, but also in literature, mathematics, and the social sciences. He was also reputed to be a great patron of the arts and was credited with encouraging dance and theater in his capital.

Although the bravery of the Kalingas became legendary, and finds mention in the Sahitya Darpan, it is important to note that a hereditary warrior caste like the Kshatriyas did not take hold in the region. Soldiers were drawn from the peasantry as needed and rank in the military depended as much on fighting skills and bravery as on hereditary factors. In this (and other) respects, Oriya history resembles more the history of the nations of South East Asia, and may have been one of the features of Oriya society that allowed it to successfully fend off 300 years of raids initiated by numerous Islamic rulers untill the 16th century.

THE VARIOUS RULERS OF KALINGA

In the 3rd century BC (261 BC), Ashoka the great emperor of Magadha, sent a powerful army to annex Kalinga into his empire. The brave people of Kalinga refuse to be a part of his kingdom. The war proved to be a disaster. Millions of warriors, women and children were killed. Cities were looted & property was annihilated. It led to much destruction and carnage. Kalinga was subdued by Ashoka at Dhaulagiri near Bhubaneswar, but so was his heart, because after seeing the aftermath of the war, he felt great remorse. Seeing the ephemeral nature of everything earthly and the uselessness of running after it, he converted to Buddhism and spent the rest of his life spreading the light of Buddhist teachings far and wide. (The battleground is marked by a rock edict and a pillar at Dhuli, 5 km from Bhubaneswar). His philosophy of life now was peace and therefore in addition to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism also co-existed during the Mauryan Dynasty.

After the death of Ashoka, Kalinga regained independence. In the second century BC, it became a powerful country under the Kharvelas. The Kharvela king was a fervent Jain, who extended his empire. Description of his capital and kingdom remain recorded for posterity in the Udayagiri caves near Bhubaneswar, through inscriptions and carvings. Many of the Jain caves were built under his and his Queen's patronage.

With the death of Kharvela, Orissa passed into obscurity. Nothing was known about the region for sometime until in the fourth century AD, Samudragupta invaded Orissa, which lay in his path of conquest, and overcame resistance offered by five of its kings. In 610 AD, King Sasanka, an able ruler, ruled Orissa. After Sasanka's death, Orissa came under the sway of Harshavardhana of Kannauj.

Orissa had its own independent dynasty of rulers in the 7th century AD. This period was also an epoch making period of temple construction activities in Bhubaneswar under the Kesaris (7th-12 century). In 795 AD, Mahasiva Gupta Yayati II came to the throne, and with him began the most brilliant chapter in the history of Orissa.

He was responsible for uniting Utkal, Kostala, Kangoda and Kalinga in the imperial tradition of Khasvela. The streak of the golden period in the history of Orissa continued under the kings of the Ganga dynasty (12th-15th century). The kings of this dynasty who were affluent due to trade etc., made and supported ambitious programs of developing temple architecture. They were responsible for the Jagannath Puri temple and the Sun temple at Konark, which was built under the patronage of king Nara Singha Dev.

From the 14th century, Orissa was ruled successfully by five Muslim kings till 1592, when Akbar annexed it to the Mughal empire. This period saw the destruction of temples in Bhubaneshwar and Puri.

The Marathas followed the Mughals in 1751, till the British took over in 1803.

In 1936 Orissa was made into a separate province by the state's merger order (Governor's provinces) of 1949. Princely states in and around Orissa surrendered their sovereignty to the Government of India and merged with the state of Orissa on 19th August 1949 (after India’s independence in 1947).

In 1947, India won freedom, and Orissa became a part of Indian Union. In the same year, Gadajat was unified. In 1948, Bhubaneswar was made the new Capital of Orissa. All India Radio started functioning at Cuttack. The Orissa High Court was also founded in the same year. 

The Hirakud Dam was constructed on Mahanadi River in the year 1957. It is the longest dam in India. In the same year, Orissa Sahitya Academy was formed. In 1962, the construction work of Paradeep Port was initiated, which was completed in 1966. In 1969, Berhampur & Sambalpur University were established. In 1983, Binayak Acharya passed away and a year later, Nabakrishna Choudhury also passed away alongwith Biswanath Das.

In 1984, the construction work of Talcher-Sambalpur railway line was initiated. Construction of Cuttack Over-bridge was also started the same year. From April 1, 1986, Oriya became the official language of Orissa Government. In 1985, the first Lok Adalat worked in Orissa. In 1988, the holy Dalailama visited Orissa. In the same year, Guru Keluchran Mohapatra was awarded Padma Bhushan award. 

In 1997, the political stalwart of Orissa, Biju Patnaik died. In 1998, the Prime Minister, AB Vajpayee, inaugurated Biju Patnaik International Airport at Bhubaneswar.