Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Challenges of the district : Our research
with local communities
Following are the social and developmental challenges
of the district:
Bastar is one of the backward districts of India.
Literacy rate in the district is very low.
Quality of education received is also very poor.
Many students do not attend the schools as most of the villages
in the district are in the interiors.
Lack of health facilities and medicines in the interior parts of
the district.
Lack of employment and income generating activities in the district.
Brief About Bastar District
Bastar , the tribal district ,before splitting in to three districts
,was one of the largest district in India ,with an area of 39114
sq k.m ,which was even greater than the Kerala state and some
other countries like Belgium,Israel etc.
In the year 1999 , the district Bastar has been divided into
3 districts namely Bastar,Kanker and Dantewada. All these 3 districts
comes under Bastar Division with the divisional head quarter at
Jagdalpur ,which is the district head quarter of Bastar district.
In the year 2000 ,Bastar became one of the 16 districts of the
newly formed state Chhattisgarh ,which was earlier in the state
of Madhya Pradesh.
The District Bastar is located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh
and situated at a height of 2000 ft plateau from sea level .The
borders of Bastar district are Kanker district in the north,Maharashtra
State in the west , Dantewada district in the south and Orissa
State in the east.The District head quarter Jagdalpur is situated
approximately at a distance of 300 k.m from Raipur,which is the
capital of Chhattisgarh state.
The beauty of Bastar district lies in its natural forest area
and various types of tribals.The total forest area is 7112 sq
k.m which is more than 75 % of the total area of the district
.Of the total population more than 70 % are tribals like Gonds,Abhuj
Maria,Darda Maria,Bison Horn Maria ,Munia Doria ,Dhruva,Bhatra
,Halba etc.
The largest and the most important river in Bastar district is
the Indravati which has numerous tributaries ,the largest being
the Pamer Chinta .The Indravati river rises from Rampur Thuamul
in the Orissa state and flowing through the Bastar division for
about 240 miles and finally merges into the Godavari at Bhadrakali
in Dantewada district.Owing to its rocky bed the river is not
navigable except near its junction at Godavari.Neither the river
nor its tributaries dry up in the hot season.
HISTORY OF BASTAR
The early history of the Bastar State is obscure and
it appears that the central part of the Bastar State formed in
the 11 th century by the kingdom of the Nagavanshi family who
had their capital at Barsur .Their Kingdom was known as 'Chakrakot'.This
Kingdom subsequently formed part of the Warangal Kingdom of the
Kakatiya dynasty.
The Bastar Raj family claims its descent from the Pandu king
,Birbhadra of Delhi who was granted by the family goddess Dillishwari
an arrow as his weapon of war .This Birbhadra subsequently moved
to Mathura where he received a trident from the goddess Bhuwaneshwari
.Then he moved on to Jeypur (Orissa) with the family goddess.Later
on they settled at Warangal with Manikya Devi (or Danteshwari
as she is called in the Bastar inscriptions),their family goddess,
who granted them a sword when they moved into Bastar.All these
weapons are still in existance and are even now worshipped.
The Kakatiyas were great patrons of learning and the great commentator
Mallinath flourished under their patronage.The great Kakatiya
King Pratap Rudra's brother , Annam Deo , left Warangal and established
his kingdom at Bastar,after 1424 A.D.After Annam Deo ,Hamir Deo
had been succeeded and then Pratap Raj Deo .The Pratap Raj Deo
is said to have conquered 18 forts around Dongar and assigned
them to his younger brother as a maintenance grant.It seems that
within three generations of this event the Bastar branch of the
family became extinct ,and then after both Donger and Bastar came
under Rajpal Deo.
Rajpal Deo had two Ranis (wives) ,Baghelin and Chandelin.By the
first he had a son named Dakhin Singh and by the second two sons
namely Dalpat Deo and Pratap Singh.The Baghelin Rani was very
jealous of her Co-Rani and her sons.When Rajpal Deo died ,she
managed to place her brother on the throne and there by ousting
the legitimate claiment Dalpat Deo ,who had to leave Bastar for
the time being and take shelter in the Jeypore Kingdom.Subsequently
he managed to win over the Bastar Court people to his side and
with their help he occupied the Bastar throne.
Dalpat Deo had seven Ranis .By the senior rani , a Kanker princess
, he had a son named Ajmer Singh .Later on Dalpat Deo shifted
his capital to Jagdalpur which has since then become the head
quarters town of Bastar State.After the death of Dalpat Deo ,Daryao
Deo , his son of second Rani , occupied the throne of Bastar by
ousting the Ajmer Singh.But later Ajmer Singh secured the throne
.But he had ruled only for two years , when Daryao Deo with the
help of Raja of Jeypore , ousted him.He also received assistance
from the ruler of Raipur ,then a part of Nagpur Territory, for
which he had to pay a yearly tribute.
Palace of Bastar Rajas' at Jagdalpur
After the death of Daryao Deo, his eldest son Mahipal Deo succeeded
the throne of Bastar, and then after his death ,Bhopal Deo succeeded.Bhairam
Deo was the next successor .He seems to have been unfortunate
in his Dewan and a disturbance occured in which some Murias tribals
were shot.This lead to the Raja being besieged by his subjects
in 1876 A.D.In 1883 A.D ,Colonel Ward held an enquiry into the
administration and it was arranged that Lal Kalindar Singh should
be Dewan , assisted by a Tehsildar in government service.This
arrangement however broke down.The Raja was alleged to have permitted
a human sacrifice to take place and was removed from the state
while enquiries were made.The charge was not proved and he was
allowed to return in 1886 , but an Extra Assistant Commissioner
was appointed Diwan and made responsible for the administration
of state affairs.The Raja being unable to over rule him without
the approval of the higher authorities .
Bhairam Deo died in 1891 , leaving a minor son Rudrapratap Deo
.During his minority the state was managed by government until
January 1908 when the young Raja was installed as Feudatory Chief
of Bastar.In 1910 a tribal revolt was occured against the Diwan
and British government who ruled over the state.Raja Rudrapratap
Deo died in 1921 and his daughter Praphul Kumari Devi ascended
the throne in 1922.Later in 1927, she was married to Praphul KumarBhanj
Deo,who belonged to the royal family Mayurbhanj of Orissa.Praphul
Kumari Devi died in 1936 in London and her elder son Maharaja
Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo 'Kakatiya'ascended the throne in 1936
at a minor age.The famous Maharani hospital at Jagdalur was built
in memory of Maharani Praphul Kumari Devi in 1937.Later in 1941,
the Air strip had been made at Jagdalpur.One bridge was also constructed
during this time over river indravati.In 1948, Bastar state has
been merged in Indian Union.
Archaeology
The Bastar State is fairly rich in archaeological remains.Old
buildings and inscriptions are found at Barsur, Dantewada,Bhairamgarh,Narainpal,Kuruspal
and Dhanora.At barsur there is a Siva temple with 12 stone pillets
carved on the outside with Sculptures of nude figures in a damaged
state.It is said that Mahipal Dev and his queen Padmakumari were
offended at the indescency of the figures and caused them to be
defaced.
