Bastar state

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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.

Overview

Central Provinces and Berar in 1909, showing the districts, divisions, and Bastar princely state under the authority of the province, as well as the 1905 changes to the eastern boundary.

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 13,062 square miles (33,830 km2) [1] 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 [1]

History

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) [2]

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, 'Danteshwari', who still is the tutelary deity of Bastar region, her famous Danteshwari Temple stands today at Dantewada, also named after her.[3]

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.[4][5][6]

Its capital was Jagdalpur, where Bastar royal palace built by its ruler, when its capital was shifted here from old capital Bastar.[4]

Later at some point in the 15th century Bastar was divided into two kingdoms, one based in Kanker and the other ruled from Jagdalpur.[7] 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.[5]

H H Maharaja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo was immensely popular among the tribals. He was shot dead in a "police action" in 25 March 1966 while leading a tribal movement against encroachment of land by outsider in concert with the authorities 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.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bastar The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908. v. 7, p. 121
  2. ↑ The Vākātaka-Gupta age: Circa 200-550 A.D., by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Anant Sadashiv Altekar.Published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1986. ISBN 81-208-0026-5. Page 116.
  3. ↑ Bastar Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bastar - History The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908. v. 7, p. 122.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bastar (state) - History and Genealogy Queensland University.
  6. ↑ History of Bastar Bastar district official website.
  7. ↑ Gill, Simeran Man Singh. The Ghotul in Muria Society. (Singapore: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1992) p. 4

Further reading

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press 

External links

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