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Synopsis The work provides a readable analysis of the economy of British Orissa, Princely Orissa and hill tribes of Orissa. The impact of colonial economy combined with the consequences of fragmentation of Oriya-speaking areas brought about colossal change in the material condition of the people of Orissa. The poverty and starvation had taken root among the common mass of Orissa while a select class lived a parasitic life in abundance of wealth, thriving easy on the cheaply available labour and the back-breaking toil of the farmers and artisans. The crux of the problem was that indigenous economic system remained nearly intact, though stagnant and ossified, scarcely able to release more wealth to meet the growing demands. Even today any excursion to an Orissan village, unless modernised under the Five Year Plans, reveal to an observer that traditional economy in its structure in the system that supports the land-based people, however inadequately. This was the root cause of extreme economic backwardness of colonial Orissa. This work will provide some insight into the operation of a vital system in regional economy so that defects that still continue to plague it may be remedied towards a healthy regeneration of this system.