Non-resident Odia

Non-resident Odia are people of Odia ancestry residing outside Odisha. Most Odia people are from Northern, Western, Central and Coastal Odisha.

Manchester, Dubai, Doha, Kuala Lumpur and Newark are the cities with the highest Odia populations outside India.

Odias in Indian states outside Odisha

Migration from Odisha has a long history. Odia merchants had historical trade links with other parts of India. In modern times, Odias started migrating to different parts of India mainly for education and jobs.

There are various social and cultural organizations in various parts of the country which include Odia Cultural Association[1] which is a group of Odias in Delhi (based in Haryana), the Odia Association Of Delhi (which owns the Jagannath Temple) and Odia Mahasangram.[2] There is an Odia association at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh named as Varanaseya Utkal Samaj having long history of more than six decades of existence which is instrumental in bringing together the Odia people and culture within and beyond the Odia community living around the holy city of Varanasi.[3]

The NRO community has honoured Jyoti Kullu, captain of India women's national field hockey team in 2007, on her achievement of the Arjuna Award.[4][5] The Delhi Odia Lawyer Association awarded the Trophy. She was honoured in a brief function held at the residence of Mr.Jual Oram M.P. and National Vice President of BJP at Delhi. Oram and his wife Jhingia Oram garlanded Jyoti and congratulated her for her success in the field of sports.[6]

Odias outside India

Maritime trade played an important role in the development of Odia civilization, where cultural, commercial and political contacts with Southeast Asia, particularly with southern Burma and Indonesia were extensive. The Bonaz are a community living in Bangladesh.

Although the Odia population in abroad is 80% from the districts of northern, eastern and Western Odisha, American Odias mostly come from Balasore, Sambalpur and Cuttack.

The Gulf boom began in the late 2000s when oil-rich countries needed labour forces, mainly in Qatar and the UAE, where most of the migrants workers came from Balasore and Cuttack.

They are significant numbers of Odia in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Odias typically maintain close contact with relatives and friends in Odisha and around the world.

Odia Culture in the United States

Odia immigrants in the United States typically remained attached to their culture, which finds expression in traditional festivals and ceremonies. The festivals include Rath Yatra, Holi, Diwali and New Year, in which large number of Odias participate. Traditional dance and theatre forms include Odissi dance and Chhau dance, traditional dramas, and stage shows based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. Specialised dance troupes are invited from Odisha to perform on special occasions.[7]

International Organizations

There are various Odia organizations in the Canada, United Kingdom, United States and other countries such as: The Odisha Society of Canada,[8] Odisha Society of UK, the Odisha Society Of the Americas[9][9] and the Norway Odia Community.[10]

The Indo American Friendship Foundation also supports OSA and its chapters.[11]

The Odisha Society of the Americas organized their 40th Annual Convention on 3 & 4 July 2009 at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial & Marriott Hotel, Trenton, New Jersey.[12]

Other organizations safeguarding Odia culture abroad include the Shri Jagannath Temple Trust, Canada.[13][14]

Beside these country-level organizations, there has been attempts to unite all the NROs residing abroad to connect via various online communities. Pravasi Odia is one such online community.[15]