The Rhythms of Change and Devastation: Colonial Capitalism and the World of the Socially Excluded in Orissa

The diverse and inter-related processes that were intrinsically connected with the ‘development’ of colonial capitalism in Orissa are explored in this article. The aim is to broadly integrate the diversities of the region in order to focus on and unravel the profoundness of this phenomenon. Consequently, certain representative features and themes are examined to illustrate the way in which the colonisation of the region impacted both the coastal tract and the western interior, when it comes to the tribals and the outcastes. The starting point involved securing legitimacy for a colonial power that saw the emergence of Jagannatha as Orissa’s ‘God’