Bhubaneswar, July 22 (Reporter) Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today expressed concern over the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) decision to drop Odisha’s historic Paika rebellion from its school textbook. Taking to his social media handle ‘X’, the BJD chief and leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to ensure justice is done to the Paika rebellion, popularly known as Paika Bidroha, and to Odisha’s rich legacy. The longest serving Chief Minister of Odisha described the Paika rebellion as a “watershed movement” in Odisha’s history, stating that the brave Paikas fought with extraordinary courage against the British oppression as early as 1817. Patnaik noted that he had repeatedly urged the Central government to officially recognize the Paika rebellion as the First War of Independence. “The Paikas united to fight the tyranny of foreign colonial rule with unparalleled bravery,” Patnaik wrote. Terming the omission of the historic rebellion — which occurred 40 years before the 1857 War of independence (called Mutiny by the British) — as a “huge dishonor” to the valor of the Paikas, Patnaik stressed the importance of reinstating the episode in the curriculum. He further stated that even after 200 years, the rebellion remains a beacon of people’s resistance against the British rule and must find rightful space in the nation’s textbooks. He urged both the Chief Minister of Odisha and the Union Education Minister to intervene and ensure justice for the Paika rebellion and the people of Odisha...////...