Dantewada District

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Dantewada District, also known as Dantewara District or South Bastar District, is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Dantewada is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bastar Division. Until 1998, the Dantewada District was a tehsil of the larger Bastar District.

Dantewada District has an area of 10,238.99 km². It is bounded on the north and northeast by Bastar District, on the east by Malkangiri District of Orissa state, on the south and southwest by Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh state, and on the east by the Indravati River, which forms the boundary with Karimnagar District of Andhra Pradesh and Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra.

The state has a population of 719,065 (2001 census), of which 476,945 (66%) are tribal peoples (adivasis). The district is divided into four tehsils, Bhopalpatnam, Bijapur, Dantewada, and Konta.

Before Indian Independence, the district was part of the princely state of Bastar. After Indian Independence in 1947, Bastar's ruler acceded to the government of India, and the erstwhile state became part of Bastar District of Madhya Pradesh state. Bastar District was divided into the districts of Bastar, Dantewada, and Kanker in 1999. In 2000, Dantewada was one of the 16 Madhya Pradesh districts that constituted the new state of Chhattisgarh.

Encompassing with hilly tracks, dales and valleys, numerous brooks and rivers, and many forests, Dantewada is home to many species of wildlife such as the tiger, leopard, deer, bison, etc. Two species characteristic to the area are the pahadi maina and the wild buffalo.

Dantewada District's culture represents a unique blend of influences of Tribal,Chhattisgarhi,Oriya,Telugu & Marathi; well as being part of Chhattisgarh, Dantewada shares borders with the states of Maharashtra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

[edit] Maoist rebellion

Over the last year, more than 350 people have been killed and 50,000 moved into camps in the Dantewada district, as a result of a Maoist uprising. The uprising was triggered by the formation in 2005 of Salwa Judum, an anti-Maoist movement..[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ * A spectre haunting India, the Economist Volume 380 Number 8491 August 19th-25th 2006

[edit] External links


State of Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh Topics | History | Politics
Capital Raipur
Districts Bastar | Bilaspur | Dantewada | Dhamtari | Durg | Janjgir-Champa | Jashpur | Kanker | Kawardha | Korba | Korea | Mahasamund | Raigarh | Raipur | Rajnandgaon | Surguja