Kalahandi district (Odia: Kɔɭāhāṇḍi) is one of the 30 districts of Odisha in eastern India. The headquarters of this district is at Bhawanipatna. It has a population of 1,576,869, according to the 2011 census of India.
The history of the district dates back nearly 2,000 years, with evidence of advanced urban settlements, most notably at Asurgarh.The folk culture of Kalahandi has been shaped by mainstream Odia and tribal influences, including the Paraja and Kondha peoples, such as the Ghumura folk dance. It existed as a princely state from 1005, before its accession to India in 1948.
In 1967, Kashipur block was transferred to Rayagada district for administrative reasons. In 1993, Nuapada subdivision was carved out as a separate district. Kalahandi (Lok Sabha constituency) continues to constitute present Kalahandi district and Nuapada district together.
The economy of Kalahandi is primarily dependent on its mineral resources, mainly in the form of gemstones such as rubies, and bauxite processing and its extensive forests, covering nearly one third of the district. Waterfalls such as Phurlijharan and Dokarichanchara have begun to become a significant source of income through tourism.
History
Archaeological evidence of Stone Age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region.B.Mishra, J. Bengal Art, Vol.9&10, 2004–2005, 383–410 Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilised, cultured and urban human settlement about 2000 years ago in the region.P.Mohanty, B. Mishra, Op. Cit, 2000; C.R. Mishra, S. Pradhan, op. cit. 1989–1990, Infra, F.N.79 In South Asia it is believed that the lands of Kalahandi district and Koraput district were the ancient places where people started cultivation of paddy. In ancient time it was known as Mahakantara (meaning great forest) and Karunda Mandal, which means treasure of precious stones like karandam (corundum/manik), garnet (red stone), beruz, neelam (sapphire/blue stone), and alexandrite, etc. Maa Manikeswari (the goddess of Manikya or Karandam) is the clan deity of Kalahandi may also signify its historical name.
The archaeological record of the Tel Valley reveals the presence of the primates in its zones during the Pleistocenephase. Paleolithic is being documented in Kalahandi, like Moter river basin in Dharamgarh region.R.P. Prusty, 1992, Paleolithic Vestiges from Kalahandi, Odisha Historical Research Journal, XXXVII, no.1-5, pp.55–66, Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar One of the largest size axe of late Stone Age culture has been recovered from Kalahandi.P. Mohanty, B. Mishra, Op. Cit,2001, p.47 Tel river civilisation put light towards a great civilisation existing in Kalahandi in the past that is recently getting explored. The discovered archaeological wealth of Tel Valley suggest a well civilised, urbanised, cultured people inhabited on this land mass around 2000 years ago and Asurgarh was its capital. Kalahandi along with Koraput and Bastar was part of Kantara referred in Ramayana and Mahabharata.Mahabharata Sabhaparva, 31, sloka-11-16
In the 4th century BC Kalahandi region was known as Indravana from where precious gemstones and diamonds were collected for the imperial Maurya treasury.Proceedings, Indian History Congress, 1947, 10th session, 178 During the period of Maurya emperor Ashoka, Kalahandi along with Koraput and Bastar region was called Atavi Land. This land was unconquered as per Ashokan record.B. Mishra, op.cit., 2003–2004 In the beginning of the Christian era probably it was known as Mahavana.N. K. Sahu, 1964, op. cit. In the 4th century AD Vyaghraraja was ruling over Mahakantara comprising Kalahandi, undivided Koraput and Bastar region.N. K. Sahu, op.cit., 1964, p.200 Asurgarh was capital of Mahakantara.ibid.7 After Vyaghraraja, the Nala kings like Bhavadatta Varman, Arthapati and Skanda Varman ruled over south part of this region up to about 500, the territory was known as Nalavadi-visayaN. K. Sahu, Utkal University, History of Orissa, 433 and rest of Mahakantara, lower part of Tel river valley was ruled by king Tastikara and his scions, the kingdom was known as Parvatad-waraka, whose headquarters was Talabhamraka near Belkhandi.
In the 6th century a new kingdom developed in the Kalahandi tract under King Tustikara, but very little is known about other kings of his family. Maraguda valley was identified as the capital of Sarabapuriyas.S.P.Tiwari, Comprehensive History of Orissa, 95–96 During Sarabapuriyas in the 6th century, Kalahandi lost its political entities and merged with eastern part of South Kosal or Kosal.J. P. Singh Deo, op.cit. But this was also for a short period as in succeeding phase it assumed a distinct name Trikalinga. By the 9th–10th centuries the region including Western Odisha, Kalahandi, Koraput and Bastar was known as Trikalinga.M.N.Das(Ed)Sidelight on History and Culture of Orissa, 36 The Somavamsi king Mahabhavagupta I Janmejaya (925 – 960) assumed the title Trikalingadhipati.Orissa District Gazetteers, Kalahandi, 46–49 Trikalinga was short lived and Chindakangas carved out a new kingdom called Chakrakota Mandala or Bramarakota Mandala,ibid.47 which later one expanded to whole Kalahandi and Koraput.
Naga dynasty of Kalahandi
The Naga dynasty started ruling Kalahandi in 1006. The Nagas of Kalahandi are the only dynasty in Odisha having a record of thousand years (1050–1948). During the 12th century Chkrakota Mandal was incorporated with the Ganga realm of Kalinga, and renamed "Kamala Mandala",ibid.41 thus Kalahandi region became part of Kalinga as a feudatory of the Eastern Gangas under Nagas rules and continued till the 14th century. After 14th century Nagas owed allegiance from Eastern Gangas to the Suryavamsi Gajapatis. This territory assumed independence after the downfall of the Gajapatis of Odisha in 1568.
According to tradition the Kalahandi kingdom commanded sovereign power over eighteen garbs. It was occupied by the Bhonslas of Nagpur in the middle of the 18th century but still it was a Gadajat under Nagas rule. In 1853 the Nagpur state lapsed to the British Crown as Raghujee III died without an heir. Then Kalahandi became a princely state under British and known as Karonda Mandal. Maharaja Pratap Keshari Deo, the Ex-Maharaja of Kalahandi, in one of his articles expressed his view that the historical significance of naming Kalahandi as Karunda Mandala is based on the availability of Corundum in this region. Manikeswari (the goddess of Manikya), the clan deity of the Naga kings of Kalahandi may have also necessitated the adoption of the name.
After Indian independence in 1947, Kalahandi joined India on 1 January 1948. On 1 November 1949, Patna Balangir district and Subarnapur district together constituted a separate district and the Nuapada sub-division of Sambalpur was added to the Kalahandi district. In 1967, Kashipur block of Kalahandi district was transferred to Rayagada division for administrative purpose. In 1993, Raja Ravi Gupta along with his siblings and prajaa reinvented Nuapada. Nuapada sub-division was carved out as a separate district, but Kalahandi (Lok Sabha constituency) continues to constitute present Kalahandi district and Nuapada district together.
Post-independence
Kalahandi Syndrome
Kalahandi has had several major droughts over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Drought had occurred in Kalahandi in 1868, 1884 and 1897. The famine of 1899 is otherwise known as "Chhapan Salar Durbhikshya". The effect of the famine, according to the District Gazetteers, were of a magnitude unprecedented in any previous famine. In 1919–1920, another drought occurred followed by cholera, influenza and malnutrition due to lack of foodstuff.
A series of droughts in 1922–1923, 1925–1926, 1929–1930, 1954–1955 and 1965–66 occurred in Kalahandi. In the 1965–66 drought, three-fourths of the crop production failed due to lack of rain. The effect of the drought continued to be felt in 1967. The District Gazetteers of the time noted that: "The bulk of the population which constituted the landless agricultural labourers became unemployed due to suspension of all sorts of agricultural operations. The worst sufferers were the landed gentry, who, because of the drought, could not reap a harvest nor could they take to manual labour to which they were not accustomed. The pastures lost the greenery and the bovine population therefore was equally starved. Everywhere there was an acute shortage of water."
Again in 1974–75 and in 1985 . After the severe drought of 1956 and 1966, the rich cultivators of this area came down to the status of middle class cultivators and the middle class cultivators into ordinary ones. They all turned into Sukhbasis, a term used in Kalahandi for landless cultivators and labourers. The state's Bureau of Statistics and Economics has analyzed the rainfall of South Western Kalahandi and has reported that "there is a year of drought in every three or four years". Along with the drought the problems such as rural unemployment, non-industrialization, growth of population and rapid deforestation are some of the major problems of Kalahandi. Kalahandi has been in the news since the middle of the 1980s when India Today reported sale of a child by its parents due to financial crisis. (pages 247-248) That article led the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to pay a visit to the district and brought the district to the attention of the national stage for its acute poverty and famine. Subsequently, similar reported cases of starvation deaths and sale of children have led to the announcement of a host of relief efforts and development projects. This backward phenomena despite richness of Kalahandi was called Kalahandi Syndrome by social workers. Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao announced the famous KBK project for backward undivided Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput districts in 1994. Nonetheless, Kalahandi has not been able to take off despite hosts of programmes, largely because of lacuna at implementation stage. As the basic infrastructure is dismal state, the development progress is very slow.
Kalahandi is more often used a symbol of backwardness in popular media and among politicians or social workers. Use of Kalahandi in popular literature has been controversial. In a literary conference, "Rajya Sastriya Lekhaka Sammilani" in 1994 at Bhawanipatna, many invited speakers and local intellectuals pointed out that it's not wise to use the name "Kalahandi" as synonym for starvation death. Starvation death does not imply image of Kalahandi completely and by using it for starvation death other rich aspects of life in Kalahandi are being ignored. Starvation death was just one side of a coin, like poverty in Odisha or India. However, there are many writers, philosophers, social workers, journalists, politicians etc., particularly in India who are continue to use the name in literature, articles and reviews. According to Tapan Kumar Pradhan although the drought situation in Kalahandi was a moderate natural disaster, the starvation deaths were a completely avoidable manmade disaster. (pages 249-250)
The Kalahandi film made by Indian film director Gautam Ghose received critical notice.
Political marginalization in recent times