Kalahandi district
Kalahandi district 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 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. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilised, cultured and urban human settlement about 2000 years ago in the region. 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 and Karunda Mandal, which means treasure of precious stones like karandam, garnet, beruz, neelam, and alexandrite, etc. Maa Manikeswari 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. One of the largest size axe of late Stone Age culture has been recovered from Kalahandi. 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.
In the 4th century BC Kalahandi region was known as Indravana from where precious gemstones and diamonds were collected for the imperial Maurya treasury. 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. In the beginning of the Christian era probably it was known as Mahavana. In the 4th century AD Vyaghraraja was ruling over Mahakantara comprising Kalahandi, undivided Koraput and Bastar region. Asurgarh was capital of Mahakantara. 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-visaya 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. During Sarabapuriyas in the 6th century, Kalahandi lost its political entities and merged with eastern part of South Kosal or Kosal. 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. The Somavamsi king Mahabhavagupta I Janmejaya assumed the title Trikalingadhipati. Trikalinga was short lived and Chindakangas carved out a new kingdom called Chakrakota Mandala or Bramarakota Mandala, 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. During the 12th century Chkrakota Mandal was incorporated with the Ganga realm of Kalinga, and renamed "Kamala Mandala", 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 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 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:
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. 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.
The Kalahandi film made by Indian film director Gautam Ghose received critical notice.
Political marginalization in recent times
Politically, the district does not have much importance in state or national politics. Though in 2000 and 2004 elections Biju Janata Dal- Bharatiya Janata Party combined had won all the MLA and MP seats in Kalahandi, in 2009 election people opted for Indian National Congress except Dharamgarh MLA constituency, which is largely seen as ongoing political negligence to this region. Bhakta Charan Das, as third time Indian National Congress MP from the district did not receive any Union Ministry in Manmohan Singh's Ministry. During the Chandrasekhar regime, Bhakta Charan Das was part of the union ministry in the Railway and Sports department. No other MPs in last three decades have made it to any important post of national or state level. Pradeep Naik the seating MLA from Bhawanipatna Constituency is leader of opposition of Odisha assembly. Bhupinder Singh, Jagannath Pattnaik and Rasa Bihari Behera had been among the opposition leader, senior leaders, ministers in Odisha. Despite trio of them being in an important ministry like Revenue and Tourism, Agriculture they failed to make it to limelight. Earlier Pushpendra Singh Deo was a state and later on cabinet minister and currently Dibya Shankar Mishra is a state minister in Naveen Patnaik Government in Odisha since 2000. Political disappointment in the region is raising.Kalahandi highlighted for starvation and poverty is often marginalised in Odisha state and Indian national politics. This discrimination is thought to be due to national politics. Immediately after independence Kalahandi Lok Sabha Constituency was represented by non-congress candidate for 30 years, the period India was ruled by Congress Party. Thus, Kalahandi Lok Sabha Constituency was neglected and left out of development initiatives when the Congress ruled at the centre. Indira Gandhi visited Kalahandi in the early 1980s; Rajiv Gandhi visited in 1984; Sonia Gandhi visited in 2004, and Rahul Gandhi visited in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Since 1980, the Indian National Congress has been ruling for 20 years at the centre. Despite late prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and present leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi etc. Tall claims for developing Kalahandi, little was done for long-term sustainable development in higher education, national highway, railway and industry during those leadership at Delhi. Few initiatives taken in post-independence of India for developing Kalahandi were only during non-congress rule in India such as Upper Indiravati Irrigation Project, Lanjigarh road – Jungarh and possibility of extending to Nabarangpur district, National Highway 201 & 217 passing through Kalahandi, all these projects are not yet fully accomplished.
The Central government of India has established two public sector factories such as HAL factory and NALCO factory in the neighbouring Koraput district, a Lok Sabha constituency held by congress party since independence, and an ordnance factory in Balangir district leaving only Kalahhani among KBK for such development in the region. No public sector industrial investment has been taken place in Kalahandi since past 62 years. Local need in major infrastructure in railway, highways and demand for a railway factory and Central University is not yet addressed. In 2008, "India Today" survey put Kalahandi among the bottom five Lok Sabha Constituency in Socio-economic and infrastructure development in India