JUNGLE VIEW — Restaurant in Odisha

The British first arrived in Odisha in 1633 after they were permitted by the Moghul king of Delhi to have trade centers at Harishpur, Jagatsinghpur, and Balasore. In 1803, the British had the full control of the undivided India excepting for Khurda Garh and its surrounding areas held in control by the 12th king Mukunda Dev of Bhoi dynasty. At that time the king had, in his court, Jayakrushna Mahapatra as Rajguru (popularly known as Jayi Rajaguru), Baxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mahapatra Bhramarabara Ray as chief commander, and Krushnachandra Bhramarabara Ray as his Diwan.

In that year, the British defeated the Marahattas in Barabati fort at Cuttack in a fight that lasted only a few hours. In that fight the British colonel Harcourt had sought and received the help of king Mukunda Dev to permit his soldiers from Madras Presidency to pass through his state to reach Cuttack. Jayi Rajaguru advised the king not to permit the British soldies to pass through his state. Heeding his advice the king did not permit the British soldiers to pass through Banpur and Khurda but permitted them to pass through Puri with a hope of getting back the four mahalas that his forefather King Birakishor Dev had conceded to the Marahattas. However, after the British defeated the Marahattas and took over Cuttack, they not only did not return the mahalas to the king, but asked him to surrender.

Jayi Rajaguru and His Valiant Attempt to Save Khurda Fort from British Takeover The minor king Mukunda Dev was not ready to fight against the British and retreated to Puri. Jayi Rajaguru, on the other hand, led the fight against the British. He defeated the British initially, held the Khurda fort for three weeks against the ferocious British army, but could not stand against the much superior opponent. Finally, he lost the war and was caught by the British as a prisoner and was killed brutally in Medinapur. Thus came the end of the valiant Jayi Rajaguru who gave his life to preserve the freedom of Khurda, and thus came the end of the glory of Khurda Fort, the last fort of India to be conquered by the British.

Baxi Jagabandhu and the First War of Independence Baxi Jagabandhu (full name Baxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhara Mahapatra Bhramarabar Ray) was born at Rorar Garh near about 1769 and was the chief commander of the Army of the minor Khurda king Mukunda Dev. The history is silent on his role during the war against the British that was led by Jayi Rajaguru.

After the British takeover of Khurda, many had hoped for good administration and respect for the prevailing social order. The British, however, deprived many aristocrat families of their control over their land, replacing them by non-Oriya aristocrats, and levied new taxes. Baxi Jagabandhu rallied the disgruntled Paikas from around Khurda and the nearby estates, got the support of the trival Khandha community of Ghumusar and led the fight against the British on 1 April 1817 and defeated them on 4 April 1817. Jagabandhu requested the erstwhile king Mukunda Dev (then residing at...

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