| Voice of Kanker (N Bastar)
: Rajan Sahu
The health infrastructure is very weak. People very frequently
fall sick.
The quality of education received by children is very hideous.
We also face shortage of water.
Kanker (N Bastar)
District
Area, Population & Sex Ratio
Geographical Area : 6506.0 Km2
Population in Kanker (Census 2011)
Total Population
Total : 7,48,593
Male : 3,72,987
Female : 3,75,606
Under 6 population
Total : 97,479
Male : 49,344
Female : 48,135
Disabled population
Total disabled population : 14859
In seeing : 6090
In speech : 994
In hearing : 1530
In movement : 4506
Mental : 1739
Brief About Kanker (N Bastar) District
The Kanker District is situated in the southern region of the state
Chhattisgarh. Previously Kanker was a part of old Bastar district.
But in 1999 Kanker got it's identity as an independent district.
Now it is surrounded by four districts of chhattisgarh state, namely
Bastar, Dhamtari, Durg and Rajnandgaon. Kanker is situated within
the longitudes 20.6-20.24 and latitudes 80.48-81.48. the total area
of the district is 5285.01 square kilometers. Small hilly pockets
are seen throughout the area. Mainly five rivers flow through the
district namely- doodh river, Mahanadi, Hatkul river, sindur river
and Turu river.
PROFILE
The Kanker District is situated in the southern region of the state
Chhattisgarh. Previously Kanker was a part of old Bastar district.
But in 1999 Kanker got it's identity as a independent district.
Now it is surrounded by four districts of chhattisgarh state, named
Bastar, Dhamtari, Durg and Rajnandgaon. Kanker is situated within
the longitudes 20.6-20.24 and latitudes 80.48-81.48. the total area
of the district is 5285.01 suare kilometers. Small hilly pockets
are seen throughout the area and increase the beauty. mainly the
five rivers flow in the district named- doodh river, Mahanadi, Hatkul
river, sindur river and Turu river.
The Kanker is situated on the National Highway
number 43. It lies between the two well developed cities of Chhattisgarh
named Raipur (Capital of Chhattisgarh) and Jagdalpur. The Kanker
is 140 kilometers away from Raipur and 160 Kilometers from Jagadalpur.
A lot of Roadways and Private buses as well as taxis are available
on this national Highway. Presently railway is not available in
the district.
The climate of the district is of Monsoon type.
The May month is the hottest month and the December month is the
coolest month. Average rain of the district is 1492 mm. 90% rain
fall during the June to October. Climate changes in to dry and wet.
Dry climate is found in Kanker and Charama and the wet climate is
found in Bhanupratappur.
At present the Kanker district has 6 tehsils named
Kanker, Charama, Narharpur, Bhanupratappur, Antagarh and Pakhanjoor
and 7 blocks named Kanker, charama, bhanupratapur, Narharpurn Antagarh,
Durgu kondal and Koyali beda. The total number of villages is 1074.
The number of revenue villages is 988, whereas forest villages are
47. The nuber of Gram Panchayats is 362. The literacy percentage
in district is 74.71 and the total population of the district is
651333. The ratio of male female is 106. The density of population
is 100 per square kolometer.
ANCIENT HISTORY
The History of kanker is started from Stone era.
In starting stage here human was like abysmal and their behave was
like animals. With reference of Ramayana and Mahabharat there was
a dense forest area named Dandakaranya and the Kanker state belonged
to Dandakaranya.According to myths the Kanker was the land of monks.
A lot of Rishis (monks) named Kank, Lomesh, Shringi, Angira were
lived here. In sixth century before Christ the region was affected
by Buddhism. The ancient history of Kanker tells that it remained
always independent state.
In 106 AD the Kanker state was under the Satvahan
dynasty And the king was Satkarni, This fact is also descripted
by chinese visitor Whensaung. After Satkarni his disasters named
Pulumavi, Shivshri and Shivskand became the king. After Satvahans
the state was under control of Nags, Vakataks and Gupt dynasties
time to time.
After the Vakataks the Kanker state came under
control of Nal dynasty. according to historians Vyghraraj was the
first king of Nals. the second king Varahraj won the whole region
of dandakaranya. after Varahraj , Bhavdutt verma became the king
of Kanker state. During the kingdom of Bhavdutt Verma Vakatak
king Narendra Sen attacked on state and won a little part of state,
but after some years Bhavdutt Verma recollect the lost part and
also expand his state up to Orrisa and Maharashtra. after the death
of Bhavdutt verma his son Arthpati became the king. He got a bigger
state from his father but he was a poor king and had not the qualities
like his father and lost some part of states to Vatakataks. In 475
Skand Verma became the king of Kanker state and ruled up to 500
AD. He was the last memorable king of Nal dynasty. After his death
the Kanker state suffered a lot of attacks and divided into
many parts. After the downfall of Nal kings the state was won by
famous king Pulkeshin II of Chalukya dynasty, he also won the some
part of Orrisa. During his kingdom a lot of temples were constructed
in kanker state. After Pulkeshin, Vikramaditya, Vinayaditya, Vijayaditya,
Vikramaditya II, Kirtiverman II were the other kings of Chalukyas
They Ruled the state up to 788 AD after Chalukyas the state was
ruled by different dynasties time to time like Nals, Nags, Kalchuris
etc up to 1100 AD.
SOM DYNASTY
Due to weakness of Kalchuri king Gayakarna, A brave
person Singh raj won the Kanker stateand kept the foundation of
Som dynasty, He ruled the state from 1125 to 1140.
After the death of Singh Raj his son Vyaghra Raj
became the king. He expanded his state, In fourth year of his kingdom
he suffered bye the attack of a kalchuri king and lost some part
of state. He was a brave person. Although he suffered defeat but
he ruled his state successfully up to 1166. He donated some land
for the construction of a temple of Kal Bhairav.
In 1166 Bop Dev became the king of state after
the death of his father. In starting he was the governor of the
state but the main power was under Kalchuri kings. but Bop Dev took
advantage of weakness of Kalchuris and became independent but soon
the Kalchuris awoke and again dominated Bop Dev. He ruled the state
up to 1184 under control of Kalchuris.
Bop Dev had two sons Krishna and Som Raj. After
the death of Bop Dev both princes fought for the kingdom and in
last Krishna got success and became the king. For the satisfaction
of his brother Som Raj he divide the state in two parts. So after
the death of Bop Dev the Som dynasty divided into two branches.
Karna Raj (Krishna) was a brave and religious king. He got constructed
Lord Shiva's Temple in Sihava and the Ramnath temple on the bank
of Doodh River in Kanker. He ruled the state up to 1206. There is
no details available about the other branch of Som dynasty.
After the death of Karna Raj his son Jait Raj became
the king. He was very brave person and attacked on neighbouring
states fro expansion his kingdom. During his kingdom the other branch
of Som dynasty mixed with main branch again. In 1258 Jait Raj was
expired. After that his son Som Chandra became king during his kingdom
the Kanker state became stronger and prospers. He ruled the state
up to1306. In 1306 Bhanu Dev became the king of state. During his
kingdom he had suffered a lot of attacks by neighboring states but
he came out successfully and saved his kingdom. He was religious
king and brought prosperity. After the death of Bhanu Dev his son
Chandrasen Dev became the king. He got constructed a Lord Shiva's
temple. He ruled the state up to 1344. He was the last king of Som
dynasty.
KANDRA DYNASTY
After the downfall of Soms A brave and strong person
Dharam Dev kept the foundation of Kandra dynasty. His original name
was Dharman. He was a tribal leader. He won the khalgarh and made
it his capital after the death of last king of Som dynasty. He got
constructed a fort in Muchkund fountain. He was a famous king. Once
the king of Hiragarh arranged a competition for the marriage of
his daughter. The king Dharam Dev won the competition and married
with Hiradevi, a beautiful princess. Due to this marriage the neighbouring
king were jealous. According to myth the king of Bastar Annam Dev
attacked on Sihava for getting Hiradevi. So Dharam Dev came to Kanker
with his family. In his absence Annam Dev won the Sihava fort. and
on other end Dharam Dev won the Kanker and made his capital to Gadhiya
fountain a natural and safe fort. After some years He again won
the Sihava. He had two daughters and two sons. The king Dharam Dev
was very good and popular king in peoples. He got dug so many tanks
in Kanker. He never misused the money of state. He ruled the state
from 1345 to 1367. After his death, his son Chhatar Dev became the
king but due to his poor administration he lost the some part of
state and died in 1385.
CHANDRA DYNASTY
After the downfall of Kandras the Chandra dynasty
came. Some historian assume the Chandra dynasty was related to Som
dynasty. According to a myth the first king of this dynasty was
Veer kanhar Dev. Previously he was the king of Jagannath Puri in
Orrisa, but due to suffering from leprosy he left his kingdom and
came to Sihava and started to pass his time in worship. One night
he saw a dream that if he takes bath in a special tank at
Sihava he will get healthy. Then by keeping the faith on that dream
he took the bath in that tank and wonderfully he got healthy. In
Sihava the people surprised by this event and elected him the king.
He proved himself as a good king and ruled the state up to 1404.
After the death of Veer Kanhar Dev, Veer Kishore
Dev became the king of the state, He was a wise and brave person.
He expanded his state by winning the neighbouring states. He declared
his capital at Nagri instead of Sihava. He ruled the state up to
1425. After his death his son Tanu Dev became the king. His kingdom
is famous for the change of capital. He declared his capital at
Kanker. He was very popular in people he ruled up to 1461.
After the death of Tanu Dev, Vasu Dev became the
king of Kanker state. He got started to celebrate the festival of
Rath Yatra at Kanker. In this festival they walked in a procession
with the statues of lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra. This
festival was very popular in villagers. He ruled the state up to
1482. After his death Kapeel Narendra Dev became the king. He got
constructed the temple of lord Shiva on the bank of Mahanadi. He
ruled the state up to 1504. After his death Dhar Hameer Dev ruled
the state up to 1522 and after that Hameer Dev ruled the state up
to 1539.
After the death of Hameer Dev, Rudra Dev became
the king. He was very much brave person. He established the peace
in his state. He was married with the daughter of neighbouring state
and got that state in dowry. He declared Rudri as his capital of
the state. He got constructed the temple of lord Shiva on the bank
of Mahanadi, This temple is famous by the name of Rudreshwar. He
got constructed a big fort and two tanks in Dhamtari. He was
a popular king. His state was wealthy and peaceful. He ruled the
state from 1539 to 1588. After that the respective kings were Himanchal
Dev, Shyam Sai Dev, Harihar Sai Dev, Lal Sai Dev and Ghoor Sai Dev.
They ruled the state up to 1729. But their detail information is
not available.
After the death of Ghoor Sai Dev his son Harpal
Dev became the king. He had good administrative qualities. He settled
his sister's marriage with the Dalpat Dev, Who was the prince of
neighbouring state Bastar. And both the neighbouring states lived
friendly till the death of Dalpat Dev. Harpal Dev ruled the Kanker
state up to 1775.After his death Dhiraj Singh Dev, Ram Raj Singh
Devand Shyam Singh Dev were the other kings and they ruled the state
up to 1802.
KANKER UNDER CONTROL OF MARATHAS AND BRITISH
During the kingdom of Shyam Singh Dev Marathas
had started attacks on Kanker and Bastar States due to prosperity
of these states. When Mahipal Dev was the king of Bastar State then
Marathas attacked on Bastar at that time the king of Kanker was
Bhoop Dev. Since Kanker and Bastar were neighbouring states, therefore
they affected each other. when the two princes Mahipal Dev and Umrao
Singh were fighting for kingdom Bhoop Dev supported to Mahipal Dev
due to their family relations. And also in the case of Marathas
Bhoop dev supported to Mahipal Dev so Marathas could not get success.
But they got angry with Bhoop Dev and attacked on Kanker state.
Bhoop Dev surrenderd and ran away and marathas won the Kanker state.
Bhoop Dev lived in a small village near Dhamtari for 9 years in
last he did an agreement with the resident of Nagpur state Mr. Jenkins
on behalf of Marathas and got his sate again but for that he had
to pay some tax per year and had to obey some conditions. Bhoop
Dev remained faithful towards Nagpur state up to his death in 1839.
After the death of Bhoop Dev his son Padma Dev
(Padma Singh) became the king. He followed his father regarding
Marathas and remained faithful till death. The king of Nagpur Bhosla
Raja was very much impress with Padma Dev because of his faithful
behaviour. People were very happy during his kingdom. He Got constructed
a temple of goddess Durga. He ruled the state up to 1853.
After the death of Padma Singh his elder son Narhari
Dev became the king. He has three brothers named Laxman Dev, Shiv
Charan Dev and Ghanshyam Singh Dev. His wife was Padmalaya Devi,
who was the daughter of Bhairam Dev, the king of the Bastar state.
During his kingdom the Kanker state came under control of British
from Marathas. British government gave the adoption to Narhari Dev
and He gave the acknowledge of fealty to British.
In1882 the control of Kanker State handed over to Commissioner Raipur.
The deputy commissioner Raipur visited the Kanker State and submitted
the precious report of Narhari Dev to government. Narhari Dev had
good administrative qualities, After getting power he concentrated
on administration. During his kingdom A palace near Gadiya mountain,
printing press, library, Radhakrishna Temple, Ramjanki temple, jagannath
temple and Balaji temple were constructed. He was so much popular
in people. He made a plan named Ratna Bhandar for keeping grain
in stock for his people. He had two sons but they both died in 14
and 16 years of age. So Narhari Dev got very much sad and
left the kingdom and went to holy town Vrindavan. But due to pressure
of people and British government he came back. He had smart personality
and was very wise and religious, He often donated a lot of money
and land to different temples. He established a new town named Narharpur
near Kanker. He was expired in 1903.
In 1904 Komal Dev became the king of Kanker. He
was the nephew of Narhari Dev. He controlled the state with the
help of his minister Anand Rao. He had three queens. He was a good
king. During his kingdom one English high school, one Girls school
and 15 primary Schools were established and also two hospitals one
in Kanker and the other in Sambalpur were constructed. He established
a new town near Kanker named Govindpur. He also tried to make capital
Govindpur instead of Kanker. He was expired on 8 January 1925. After
his death, Bhanupratap Dev became the king. he was a relative of
Komal Dev because Komal Dev had no son. Bhanupratap Dev was the
last king of Kanker before independence of India after independence
He was elected M. L. A. from Kanker constituency two times. He was
expired on 14 August 1969
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