Utkala Sammilani () The Utkal Sabha Sammilani was a welfare organization formed on August 16, 1882, in Cuttack, Odisha primarily meant for the unification of Odia (Oriya)-speaking tracts and promotion of elected local self- Government. It is an Indian social and cultural organization. It was founded in Cuttack,Odisha by

Madhusudan Das Madhusudan Das (28 April 1848 – 4 February 1934) was an Indian lawyer and social reformer, who founded Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to campaign for the unification of Odisha along with its social and industrial development. He was one of the pro ...

and continues in present times.

History

Utkal Sammilani was founded by Madhusudan Das. Its first meeting was held in Rambha in 1903 and included 62 "permanent members". The organization's first objective was to campaign for the unification of the state of Odisha, known as the Oriya Movement. A conference was held in 1920 in

Chakradharpur Chakradharpur is a municipal town situated in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, India, positioned strategically on the Chota Nagpur Plateau. Located 62 kilometers west of Jamshedpur, 115 kilometers south of Ranchi, and 101 kilometers ea ...

and the organization decided to join the

non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

that had recently been endorsed by the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. It elected a new president, Basanta Kumar Panigrahi, in 2002. In 2010, Utkal Samilani, requested that the Indian government grant " Classical language status" to Odia and take appropriate actions to preserve the interests of the people who speak Odia but reside outside their home state. Utkal Sammilani was a key player in the transformation of the state of

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

to its modern-day status as Odisha and it opposed

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

's Polavaram project in 2010.

References

External links

Utkal Sammilani (1903–1936): Vol 1
{{Odisha Organisations based in Odisha 1903 establishments in India Organizations established in 1903