Orissa-Location

Orissa is the ninth largest state of India. It is located on the southeastern fringes of the country. The state is is surrounded by West Bangal on the north-east, Jharkhand (formerly part of Bihar) on the north, Chhatisgarh (formerly part of Madhya Pradesh) on the west and Andhra Pradesh on the south, while the Bay of Bengal washes its shores on the east. The geographical area of the state is 1,55,707 sq. km. It is located between the parallels of 17 degree 49'E and 22° 34'N latitudes and the meridians of 81 degree 27'E and 87degree 29'E longitudes.

Bhubaneshwar is the capital of the state. It is the eleventh largest by population. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936 as a province in British India, and consists, predominantly of Oriya speakers. 1 April is therefore celebrated as Utkal Divas (Odisha Day). It got its final shape on January 1, 1949 when Mayurbhanj, the last among the princely states, merged in it. Odia is the official and most widely spoken language. Odisha has a relatively unindented coastline (about 480 km long) and lacks good ports, except for the deepwater facility at Paradip. The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi River delta supports the bulk of the population. The interior of the state is mountainous and sparsely populated. Deomali at 1672 m is the highest point of the state.

In 1568 Orissa lost its independence to the Afghan rulers of Bengal and then became part of the Mughal Empire. When the Mughal Empire declined in the 18th century, part of Orissa remained under the Bengal Nawabs, but the greater part passed to the Marathas. Orissa's hazy past comes into focus with the reign of Kalinga. In 260 BC he was defeated by Ashoka, the great Indian emperor, but the bloody battle left such a bitter taste with Ashoka that he converted to Buddhism and spread that gentle religion far and wide. Buddhism soon declined in Orissa, however, and Jainism held sway until Buddhism reasserted itself in the 2nd century AD. By the 7th century AD Hinduism had, in turn, supplanted Buddhism and Orissa's golden age was in full swing.

Under the Kesari and Ganga kings the Orissan culture flourished and countless temples from that classical period still stand today. The Orissans managed to defy the Moslem rulers in Delhi until the region finally fell to the Moghuls during the 16th century. Many of Bhu-baneswar's temples were destroyed at that time. Today Orissa is tapping the hydro-electric potential of its many rivers and fledgling industries are being started but the state is still a region of green fields and small villages.

Orissa's economy is predominantly agricultural with most of the population engaged in raising rice. Other agricultural products are pulses (legumes), cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, and turmeric. Among the livestock raised are buffalo and other cattle, sheep, and goats. Fish is largely exported. Major industrial towns are Raurkela, Haldia, Kharagpur, Sambalpur, Cuttack and Bhubaneshwar.

Orissa is home to a large number of tourist attractions. Odisha is home to the Hirakud Dam, one of the longest dams in the world. Orissa has several popular tourist destinations. Puri, with the Jagannatha's temple near the sea (famous for Rath Yatra or the Car Festival), and Konark, with the Sun Temple, are visited by thousands of tourists every year. The Jagannatha Temple of Puri, The Sun Temple of Konarka, The Lingaraja Temple of Bhubaneswar, and the Barabati Fort of Cuttack are important in the archaeological history of India.