Descendants of the Paikas of Khordha on Tuesday left for New Delhi for a special function in the national capital on Thursday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Khordha Paika Rebellion.
The event will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee. The Odia Samaj in New Delhi will also participate in the event.
“The Paikas will be felicitated at the function there. We will also reiterate our demand to set up a Paika Academy in Odisha,” advisor of Kalinga Paika Association Prafulla Samantray told media while leaving for Delhi along with the descendants of the 150 martyrs of the great rebellion against British.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, a member of the central committee set up to celebrate the 200 years of rebellion, had said earlier the commemoration would be celebrated thoughout the country for a year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Odisha in April, felicitated the descendants of 16 families involved in the uprising. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also mentioned it in his Budget speech.