Kalahandi State, also known as Karond State,[1] was one of the princely states of India during the British Raj. It was recognized as a state in 1874[2] and had its capital in Bhawanipatna. Its last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948. The present titular head of the former state is Anant Pratap Deo who resides in the Kalahandi Palace in Bhawanipatna
History
Kalahandi was the largest of the 26 feudatory states of Odisha. According to local tradition, the state originated with Raja Raghunath Sai of the Naga dynasty, who traced descent from the Nagabanshis of Chotanagpur[3] of Eastern India, beginning to rule the Kalahandi area in 1005 CE.[4][5][6] As per the traditional records preserved in Kalahandi Darbar, the Nagas succeeded the Gangas in Kalahandi when the last Ganga Governor of Kalahandi, Jagannath Deo's only daughter was married to Raghunath Sai, a prince of the Naga clan. However, historians have disputed the early date for the establishment of Naga dynasty rule in Kalahandi but most agree the Nagas succeeded the Gangas as the feudatories in the region during the 15th century, taking advantage of the weakness of the central authority as the power of the Eastern Ganga dynasty started to decline in Odisha.[5] Hence the state's coat of arms had two cobras facing each other[7] and the presiding deity of the dynasty is Manikeswari.[8][9]
In August 1947 Kalahandi became part of the Eastern States Union, an entity that was formed in Rajpur and that gathered most of the princely states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The Eastern States Union was dissolved in 1948.[10]
The formerly princely state's territory is now within Kalahandi District.
