Bundelkhand
From Freepedia
Bundelkhand is a geographic region of central India. The region is divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lying in Madhya Pradesh.
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Geography
Bundelkhand lies between the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the north and the Vindhya Range to the south. It is a gently-sloping upland, distinguished by barren hilly terrain with sparse vegetation, although the it was historically forested. The plains of Bundelkhand are intersected by three mountain ranges, the Vindhya, Fauna and Bander chains, the highest elevation not exceeding 600 meters above sea-level. Beyond these ranges the country is further diversified by isolated hills rising abruptly from a common level, and presenting from their steep and nearly inaccessible scarps eligible sites for forts and strongholds of local kings. The general slope of the country is towards the northeast, as indicated by the course of the rivers which traverse or bound the territory, and finally discharge themselves into the Yamuna River.
The principal rivers are the Sindh, Betwa, Ken, Bagahin, Tons, Pahuj, Dhasan and Chambal. The Kali Sindh, rising in Malwa, marks the western frontier of Bundelkhand. Parallel to this river, but further east, is the course of the Betwa. Still farther to the east flows the Ken, followed in succession by the Bagahin and Tons. The Yamuna and the Ken are the only two navigable rivers. Notwithstanding the large number of streams, the depression of their channels and height of their banks render them for the most part unsuitable for the purposes of irrigation,which is conducted by means of ponds and tanks. These artificial lakes are usually formed by throwing embankments across the lower extremities of valleys, and thus arresting and impounding the waters flowing through them.
The major towns are Jhansi, Sagar, Panna, Banda and Chhatarpur. Bundelkhand's most well known place, however, is Khajuraho which has a number of 10th century temples devoted to fine-living and eroticism. The mines of Panna have been famous for magnificent diamonds; and a very large one dug from the last was kept in the fort of Kalinjar.
Bundeli is the most common Hindi dialect spoken in the area. The region is predominantly Hindu. Jainism is historically significant, and several Jain Tirthas are located in this region. Many prominent Jain scholars of the 20th century have been from this region.
Ecology
The region is part of the Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests ecoregion. The original vegetation consisted of tropical dry forest, dominated by teak (Tectona grandis) associated with ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon), Anogeissus latifolia, Lagerstroemia parvifolia, Terminalia tomentosa, Lannea coromandelica, Hardwickia binata, and Boswellia serata. It was mostly forested until the late 18th century, when intensive logging of the forests accelerated. Deforestation accelerated after the consolidation of British control in the 19th century. The Panna Tiger Reserve in Panna and Chhatarpur districts boasts of tigers and a variety of other wildlife.
History
Precolonial history, to 1818
The Chandela Rajput clan ruled Bundelkhand from the 10th to the 16th centuries. In the early 10th century they were feudatories of the Pratiharas of Kannauj, and ruled from the fortress-city of Kalinjar. A dynastic struggle among the Pratiharas from 912 to 914 allowed the Chandelas and other feudatories to assert their independence. The Chandelas captured the strategic fortress of Gwalior c. 950. Dhanga (c. 950-1008) left many inscriptions, and endowed a large number of Jain and Hindu temples. Dhanga's grandson Vidyadhara (1017-29) expanded the Chandela kingdom to its greatest extent, extending the Chandela dominions to the Chambal river in the northwest and south to the Narmada River. The Afghan king Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the Chandela dominions during Vidydhara's reign, but did not retain any Chandela territory. the Chandelas built the famous temple-city of Khajuraho between the mid-10th and mid-11th centuries. During the Chandela period, Bundelkhand was home to a flourishing Jain community and numerous Jain temples were build in that period.
In the 12th century, the Rajput Chauhan rulers of Ajmer challenged the Chandelas. The Muslim conquests of the early 13th century reduced the Chandela domains, although they survived until the 16th century as minor chieftains. Bundela Rajputs grew to prominence starting in the 16th century. Orchha was founded in the sixteenth century by the Bundeli chief Rudra Pratap, who became the first Raja of Orchha. In 1545 Sher Shah Suri, the only Indian king to defeat Mughals and sit on Delhi throne, was killed while attempting to capture Kalinjar from the local Bundeli kings.
The region came under nominal Mughal rule during the 16th-18th centuries, although the hilly, forested terrain of the sparsely populated region made it difficult to control. Akbar's governors at Kalpi maintained a nominal authority over the surrounding district, and the Bundela chiefs were in a state of chronic revolt, which culminated in the war of independence under Chhatar Sal. On the outbreak of his rebellion in 1671 he occupied a large province to the south of the Yamuna. Setting out from this base, and assisted by the Marathas, he conquered the whole of Bundelkhand. On his death in 1732 he bequeathed one-third of his dominions to his Maratha allies, who before long succeeded in annexing the whole of Bundelkhand. Under Maratha rule the country was a prey to constant anarchy and strife. The region was ceded to the British at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818.
British rule, 1818-1947
Bundelkhand Agency was a collection of princely states ceded by the Maratha empire to Britain in 1818. The eastern portion was detached to form Bagelkhand agency in 1871. In 1901 there were 9 states, 13 estates and the pargana of Alampur belonging to Indore state, with a total area of 9851 sq. mi. and a total population of 1,308,326 in 1901. The most important of the states were Orchha, Panna, Samthar, Charkhari, Chhatarpur, Datia, Bijawar and Ajaigarh. Deforestation accelerated during British rule. The population of the agency decreased 13% between 1891 and 1901 due to the effects of famine.
Independent India, 1947-present
After Indian independence in 1947, the princely states of Bundelkhand agency were combined with those of the former Bagelkhand agency to form the province of Vindhya Pradesh, which became an Indian state in 1950. On November 1, 1956, Vindhya Pradesh was merged into Madhya Pradesh. Famous dacoits like Phoolan Devi and Malkhan Singh once ruled the area. Currently the area is economically and industrially one of the most backward areas in India. Lack of resources, poor communications, and infertile land are some of the reasons for under-development in the region.
A number of local politicians have advocated that the region become its own state. The proposed state includes the districts of Chhatarpur, Damoh, Datia, Panna, Sagar, and Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Jhansi, Jalaun, Lalitpur, and Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh.
External link
- Bundelkhand Home Page (About Bundelkhand)
- Check dam project in Bundelkhand (Development Alternatives)
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
