Kujang is a large village in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, India. It is known as the gateway to the

Paradip Paradeep, also spelled Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelled Paradwip), is a major industrial seaport town and municipality, nearly 80 km from Cuttack city, in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep was constituted as an NAC o ...

industrial area and most preferable residential hub. The literacy rate of Kujang is around 90.48%, which is above the national average of 74.04%. Correspondingly, the "Bana Bihari High School", a prominent local school which was founded in 1901, is located in Kujang.

Geography

Kujang is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. It is bordered by the blocks of Tirtol, Erasama, Mahakalpara, from the neighbouring District of

Kendrapara Kendrapara is a Town and a municipality in the Kendrapara district of the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of Kendrapara district. Geography Kendrapara is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is surrounded by Bhadrak ...

, and approximately 5km of the coastline of Bay of Bengal. The town is situated on the bank of the river

Mahanadi The Mahanadi River is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...

History

The Kujang Estate was established by Mallik Sandha in the 16th century. As a result of the efforts of Sandha, Kujang became a rich estate, deriving great revenue from agriculture and sea trade. Due to the rebellious nature and continuous debt of the Kujang rajas, the British government sold the estate in an auction in 1868 to the Queen of Bardhaman, whose rulers were loyal to the British. However, the royal family of Kujang was still respected by the people of the estate. Ratnamali Jema, an Indian freedom fighter and politician, was a princess of the dispossessed Kujang royal family. When the Bardoli Satyagraha was taking place in 1928, the peasants and tribals of several zamindaris, including Kujang, were inspired to start campaigns against rent-hikes imposed by the British government. In the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

, Kujang became an important centre, in which Bhagyabati Devi of the Kujang royal family participated. The "Salt March", known as the "Labana Satyagraha" in Kujang, was inspired by the

Salt March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of Non violence, non violent civil disobedience in British Raj, colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 19 ...

carried out by the prominent Indian freedom fighter

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and introduced to Kujang by the "Gandhi of Kujang", Narayana Beerabara Samanta. Kujang became a part of the

Jagatsinghpur district Jagatsinghpur District is one of the thirty districts of Odisha in the eastern coast of India. It became a new district on 1 April 1993 being separated from Cuttack district with its own headquarter in Jagatsinghpur town. Deltaic and partly li ...

that was formed in 1993. Before that, it was part of the old

Cuttack District Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in India. It is located in the coastal part of the state and its administrative headquarters are located in the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 Census, after Ganjam district, Ganjam, it is t ...

Demographics

, according to the

Census of India The decennial census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1872. Post 1949, it has been conducted by the R ...

, Kujang had a population of 3686. There are 1914 males and 1772 females, with a sex ratio of 926 females per 1000 males. The population under 6 years of age are 367. The literacy rate stands at 90.48% percent.

Transport

The nearest railway station from Kujang town is the Badabandha Road railway station, which is about 5 km from Kujang. There are frequent bus services available from Jagatsinghpur,

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

. Kujang is about 70 km from Cuttack and 92 km from the state capital, Bhubaneswar.

Politics

Kujang falls under the

Assembly Constituency and the

Jagatsinghpur Jagatsinghpur is a town and a municipality in Jagatsinghpur district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of Jagatsinghpur district. It got the recognition as a new district on 1 April 1993 formerly it was a sub-division ...

Lok Sabha constituency. It is viewed as the "political pond" of the

Assembly Constituency. Mr. Sampad Chandra Swain (

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

) is the current MLA of

, Bibhu Prasad Tarai (

) is the current Member of Parliament.

Cuisine

Kujang was historically famous for its dairy cuisine, such as

chhena Chhena () or chhana () is a kind of acid-set cheese originating in the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil V ...

(cheese), Dahi (curd), and milk marketing and exports. Other famous dishes from the region include

chhena poda Chhenapoda () () is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. ''Chhena poda'' literally means ''Burnt Cheese'' in Odia, referring to its caramelised crust exterior and soft, spongy texture with slightly smoky notes. It is often describ ...

chhena gaja Chhena gaja () is a sweet dish from Balasore, Odisha, India. Unlike some other popular chhena-based Odia desserts, such as rasagola, which have spread throughout India, the chhena gaja remains largely popular within the state itself. Although ...

, and Rasagola (

Rasgulla Rasgulla (literally "syrup filled ball") is a syrupy dessert popular in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of South Asia. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. This is done until the syrup perm ...

). There is also a large market for dried fish.

Government

Kujang is a block comprising the following offices and services: Panchayat samiti Office, Block Office, Fishery Office, Forest Office, Revenue Office, Tehsil, Medical, Treasury, Fire station, Bank, College, Police Station, Civil and Criminal Court, Session Circuit Court, JMFC Court, ADJ Court, CJ(S.D) cum A.S.J. Court, CJ(J.D.) Court.

References

Cities and towns in Jagatsinghpur district {{Jagatsinghpur-geo-stub