Bastar state
Encyclopedia
Bastar state was a princely state
in India
founded in early 14th century, by Annama Deva, the brother of Kakatiya king Pratapa Rudra Deva of Warangal (Andhra).
In the early 19th century the state became part of the Central Provinces and Berar
under the British Raj
, and acceded to the Union of India on Jan 1, 1948, to become part of the Madhya Pradesh
in 1956, and part of the Bastar district
of Chhattisgarh
state, 2000 onwards.
Baster state was situated in the south-eastern corner of the Central Provinces and Berar, bounded north by the Kanker
State, south by the
Godavari district of Madras States Agency
, west by Chanda District, Hyderabad State
, and the Godavari river
, and east by the Jeypore
estate in Orissa
.
It had an area of 13062 square miles (33,830.4 km²) and a population of 306,501 in 1901 and 633,888 in 1941. In 1901 its capital Jagdalpur
, situated on the banks of Indravati river
, had a population of 4,762
Traditionally the area is mentioned as Dandakaranya
in the epic Ramayana
, and part of the Kosala Kingdom
in the Mahabharata
. Around 450 AD, Bastar state was ruled by Nala King, Bhavadatta Varman, who is mentioned to have invaded the neighbouring Vakataka
kingdom, during the reign of its King, Narendrasena (440-460)
The princely state
of Bastar was established around 1324 AD, when Annama Deva, brother of the last Kakatiya
King, Pratapa Rudra Deva (r. 1290-1325), left Warangal
and established his kingdom at Bastar under the tutelage of local goddess, 'Dantheshwari', who still is the tutelary deity of Bastar region, her famous Dantheshwari Temple stands today at Danthewada, also named after her .
Annama Deva ruled till 1369 when he was followed successively by Hamir Deva (r. 1369-1410), Bhaitai Deva (1410–1468), Purushottama Deva (1468–1534) and Pratapa Raja Deva (1602–1625) after which the Bastar branch of the dynasty became extinct in the third generation with Dikpala Deva (1680–1709), after which a descendant of the younger brother of Prataparaja Deva, Rajapala Deva became the next King in 1709. Rajapala Deva had two wives, first a Baghela Princess, married, who had a son, Dakhin Singh, secondly, a Chandela
Princess, who has two sons, Dalapati Deva and Pratap, trouble however struck again when after the death of Rajapala Deva in 1721, the elder queen ousted other claimants and placed her brother on the throne of Bastar, Dalapati Deva took refuge in the neighbouring kingdom of Jeypore and finally regained his throne a decade later in 1731 .
Its capital was Jagdalpur
, where Bastar royal palace built by its ruler, when its capital was shifted here from old capital Bastar
.
Later at some point in the 15th century Bastar was divided into two kingdoms, one based in Kanker and the other ruled from Jagdalpur. The present Halba Tribe claims to descend from the military class of these kingdoms.
Until the rise of the Marathas , the state remained fairly independent until 18th century. In 1861, Bastar became part of the newly formed Central Provinces and Berar, and in 1863, after years of feud, over the Kotapad
region, it was given over to the neighbouring Jeypore state in 1863, on the condition of payment of tribute of Rs. 3,000, two-thirds of which sum was remitted from the amount payable by Bastar. By virtue of this arrangement the tribute of Bastar was, reduced to a nominal amount.
Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo
(1929–1966), the 20th and the last ruling head of the Bastar state, ascended the throne in 1936, before it acceded to India in 1948 during the political integration of India
.
Maharaja Chandra Bhanu Deva was immensely popular among the tribals. He was shot dead in a "police action" in 25th March 1966 while leading a tribal movement in Bastar. He was executed on the steps of his own Palace in Jagdalpur. Scores of other tribals and courtiers too were murdered by the police.
A number of tribals started migrating to Andhra to escape the brutalities of police in connivance with the outsider-settlers who viewed the tribal lands green eyed. Due to the continued Police brutalities and Sociocultural harassment by the settlers, the migration gained pace and there has been a gradual reduction in the tribal and native populations as a percentage of the total population.
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
founded in early 14th century, by Annama Deva, the brother of Kakatiya king Pratapa Rudra Deva of Warangal (Andhra).
In the early 19th century the state became part of the Central Provinces and Berar
Central Provinces and Berar
The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India. The province comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered much of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. The Central Provinces was formed in...
under the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, and acceded to the Union of India on Jan 1, 1948, to become part of the Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
in 1956, and part of the Bastar district
Bastar District
Bastar District is a district of the state of Chhattisgarh in central India. Jagdalpur is the district headquarters. The district has an area of 8755.79 km²...
of Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
state, 2000 onwards.
Overview
Kanker
Kanker is a city and a municipality in Kanker District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.-Geography:Kanker is located at . It has an average elevation of 388 metres .-Demographics:...
State, south by the
Godavari district of Madras States Agency
Madras States Agency
The Madras States Agency was an administrative unit of British India. The agency was created in the 1930s, on the model of the Central India Agency and Rajputana Agency, and was composed of five princely states in southern India, located in the present-day Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and...
, west by Chanda District, Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, and the Godavari river
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
, and east by the Jeypore
Jeypore
Jeypore, is the largest town in the Koraput district of Orissa, India. Along with Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore, Puri and Berhampur, Jeypore is one of the prominent places of Orissa. It is encompassed by hills of the Eastern Ghats and the more famous Araku hills on three...
estate in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
.
It had an area of 13062 square miles (33,830.4 km²) and a population of 306,501 in 1901 and 633,888 in 1941. In 1901 its capital Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur is a city and a municipality in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bastar District and Bastar Division, and was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Bastar. Jagdalpur and its surrounding area comprise a major part of the...
, situated on the banks of Indravati river
Indravati River
Indravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River, located in central India. The river rises in the Eastern Ghats in Kalahandi Orissa, and flows west to join the Godavari, forming the boundary between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh states at places....
, had a population of 4,762
History
For History of Bastar- Dr.Sanjay Alung ड़ा.संजय अलंग-छत्तीसगढ़ की पूर्व रियासतें और जमीन्दारियाँ (वैभव प्रकाशन ISBN 81-89244-96-5)Traditionally the area is mentioned as Dandakaranya
Dandakaranya
Dandakaranya is a spiritually significant region in India. It is roughly equivalent to the Bastar District in the central east part of India...
in the epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, and part of the Kosala Kingdom
Kosala Kingdom
Kosala Proper or Uttara Kosala is the kingdom of the celebrated personality of Treta Yuga, Raghava Rama. Ayodhya was its capital, presently in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh. Rama's sons Lava and Kusha inherited parts of this kingdom. Lava ruled from the city called Sravasti and Kusa from the...
in the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. Around 450 AD, Bastar state was ruled by Nala King, Bhavadatta Varman, who is mentioned to have invaded the neighbouring Vakataka
Vakataka
The Vākāṭakas were a royal Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-third century CE. Their kingdom is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the western to the...
kingdom, during the reign of its King, Narendrasena (440-460)
The princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
of Bastar was established around 1324 AD, when Annama Deva, brother of the last Kakatiya
Kakatiya
The Kakatiya dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled most parts of what is now Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083 CE to 1323 CE, with Orugallu , now Warangal , as its capital. Orugallu is also called 'Eka Sila Nagaram'...
King, Pratapa Rudra Deva (r. 1290-1325), left Warangal
Warangal
Warangal is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District. This district is a combination of three cities: Warangal,...
and established his kingdom at Bastar under the tutelage of local goddess, 'Dantheshwari', who still is the tutelary deity of Bastar region, her famous Dantheshwari Temple stands today at Danthewada, also named after her .
Annama Deva ruled till 1369 when he was followed successively by Hamir Deva (r. 1369-1410), Bhaitai Deva (1410–1468), Purushottama Deva (1468–1534) and Pratapa Raja Deva (1602–1625) after which the Bastar branch of the dynasty became extinct in the third generation with Dikpala Deva (1680–1709), after which a descendant of the younger brother of Prataparaja Deva, Rajapala Deva became the next King in 1709. Rajapala Deva had two wives, first a Baghela Princess, married, who had a son, Dakhin Singh, secondly, a Chandela
Chandela
The Chandela is a Rajput clan found in North India. A section of the Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region of central India for long periods between the 10th and the 13th centuries AD. The Chandela dynasty is famous in Indian history for King Vidyadhar, who repulsed the attacks of Mahmud...
Princess, who has two sons, Dalapati Deva and Pratap, trouble however struck again when after the death of Rajapala Deva in 1721, the elder queen ousted other claimants and placed her brother on the throne of Bastar, Dalapati Deva took refuge in the neighbouring kingdom of Jeypore and finally regained his throne a decade later in 1731 .
Its capital was Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur is a city and a municipality in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bastar District and Bastar Division, and was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Bastar. Jagdalpur and its surrounding area comprise a major part of the...
, where Bastar royal palace built by its ruler, when its capital was shifted here from old capital Bastar
Bastar
* Bastar state, a state founded in the 15th century that later became a princely state of British India* Bastar district, an administrative district of Chhatisgarh state in central India...
.
Later at some point in the 15th century Bastar was divided into two kingdoms, one based in Kanker and the other ruled from Jagdalpur. The present Halba Tribe claims to descend from the military class of these kingdoms.
Until the rise of the Marathas , the state remained fairly independent until 18th century. In 1861, Bastar became part of the newly formed Central Provinces and Berar, and in 1863, after years of feud, over the Kotapad
Kotpad
Kotpad is a town and a notified area committee in Koraput district in the Indian state of Orissa. Nearest railway station to Kotpad is Kotpad Road station located on Kothavalasa-Kirandul railway.-Demographics:...
region, it was given over to the neighbouring Jeypore state in 1863, on the condition of payment of tribute of Rs. 3,000, two-thirds of which sum was remitted from the amount payable by Bastar. By virtue of this arrangement the tribute of Bastar was, reduced to a nominal amount.
Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo
Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo
Pravir, King of Bastar was the first Oriya ruler and 20th Maharaja of Bastar state who was killed in 1966 by then Congress government of Madhya Pradesh for championing the cause of his subjects. He fought for rights of the tribal people.The Last Kakatiya ruler of Bastar was adored by his subjects...
(1929–1966), the 20th and the last ruling head of the Bastar state, ascended the throne in 1936, before it acceded to India in 1948 during the political integration of India
Political integration of India
At the time of Indian independence, India was divided into two sets of territories, the first being the territories of "British India", which were under the direct control of the India Office in London and the Governor-General of India, and the second being the "Princely states", the territories...
.
Maharaja Chandra Bhanu Deva was immensely popular among the tribals. He was shot dead in a "police action" in 25th March 1966 while leading a tribal movement in Bastar. He was executed on the steps of his own Palace in Jagdalpur. Scores of other tribals and courtiers too were murdered by the police.
A number of tribals started migrating to Andhra to escape the brutalities of police in connivance with the outsider-settlers who viewed the tribal lands green eyed. Due to the continued Police brutalities and Sociocultural harassment by the settlers, the migration gained pace and there has been a gradual reduction in the tribal and native populations as a percentage of the total population.
Rulers
- Bhanja dynasty -- *1819* Mahipal Deo
- *1829 - 1853 Bhopal Deo
- 1853 - Jul 1891 Bhairam Deo (b. 1839 - d. 1891)
- 1891 - 1921 Rudra Pratap Deo (b. 1885 - d. 1921)
- 23 Nov 1922 - 1936 Profulla Kumari Devi (f) (b. 1910 - d. 1936)
- 1936 - 15 Aug 1947 Maharaja Pravir Chandra Deo (b. 1929 - d. 1966)