Utkal Divas (ଉତ୍କଳ ଦିବସ), also called Odisha Day or Utkala Dibasa, is celebrated every year on 1 April to mark the formation of Odisha as a separate province on 1 April 1936. On that day the Odia-speaking regions, until then divided between several British provinces, were united in a single province, the outcome of a long movement led by Madhusudan Das and others. Odisha is widely described as the first Indian province created on a linguistic basis.

Why is Odisha Day celebrated?

Odia speakers divided

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Odia-speaking population was spread across several British provinces and princely states. The 1936 province was put together mainly from the Bihar and Orissa Province, with southern areas such as Ganjam and Koraput taken from the Madras Presidency. Before unification, Odia areas in the north faced the dominance of Bengali and those in the west, around Sambalpur, the dominance of Hindi. Odia speakers felt that their language was being sidelined in administration and education; Kalinga TV notes, for example, that Hindi replaced Odia for official work in Sambalpur in 1895, provoking organised protest.

The Utkal Sammilani and the movement

The campaign for unification gained an organised platform with the Utkal Sammilani, founded at Cuttack on 30 December 1903, according to Odisha Tourism, at a session presided over by Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo of Mayurbhanj. Its driving force was Madhusudan Das, remembered as Utkal Gourab ("pride of Utkal").

Other leaders who played key roles include Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati of Paralakhemundi, who travelled to London several times to press the case, Gopabandhu Das, and Pandit Nilakantha Das.

From commission to province

The British government examined the question through several bodies in the early 1930s. Odisha Tourism records the O'Donnell Boundary Committee of 1932 and an Orissa Administrative Committee chaired by John Austin Hubback in 1933. The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the new province, and an order of 1936 completed the process. On 1 April 1936 the province of Orissa came into being, with Sir John Austin Hubback as its first governor and Cuttack as its capital.

The 1936 province

The new province had six districts: Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Sambalpur, Koraput and Ganjam. After independence, the Odia-speaking princely states, 26 of them according to Odisha Tourism, were merged with Odisha in 1948–49. The number of districts rose to 13 by 1950, and a reorganisation in 1992 created the present 30 districts; see Odiapedia's districts of Odisha.

For a wider overview, see a brief history of Odisha and the Odisha history timeline.

How is Utkal Divas celebrated?

Utkal Divas is a state public holiday in Odisha. The day is marked by:

  • official functions organised by the state government, and greetings from the Chief Minister and national leaders, including the Prime Minister;
  • cultural programmes, processions and competitions in schools, colleges and government institutions;
  • tributes to Madhusudan Das and the other leaders of the unification movement;
  • singing of "Bande Utkala Janani", the patriotic song written by Laxmikanta Mohapatra that is now Odisha's state song;
  • celebrations by Odia communities outside the state, such as the Odisha Dibas Samaroha held in New Delhi in 2025.

On Utkal Divas 2026, which marked 90 years since 1936, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi greeted the people of the state, and celebrations were held in educational and government institutions across Odisha.

Food associated with Utkal Divas

Utkal Divas is a civic commemoration rather than a religious festival, and no particular dish is associated with it. For Odia cuisine in general, see famous foods of Odisha.

Utkal Divas dates

YearDateDay
20261 AprilWednesday
20271 AprilThursday

Utkal Divas is a fixed civil date: it is always on 1 April. The 2026 date appears in the Government of Odisha's holiday list.