Utkala Sammilani ( or, ଉତ୍କଳ ସମ୍ମିଳନୀ)is an Indian social and cultural organization. It was founded in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

in 1903 by Madhusudan Das and continues in present times.

History

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

Chakradharpur Chakradharpur is a city in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is the railway divisional headquarters of Chakradharpur (CKP) division of the South Eastern Railway. The city stands at an elevation of 227 metres (745 fee ...

and the organization decided to join the non-cooperation movement that had recently been endorsed by the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. 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 (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

to its modern-day status as Odisha and it opposed

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

'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