Bagelkhand or Baghelkhand is a proposed state and a mountain range in central

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

that covers the northeastern regions of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and a small area of southeastern

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

History

Dahala

Baghelkhand was known as Dahala 6th–12th century,

Kalachuri dynasty The Kalachuris (IAST: Kalacuri), also known as Kalachuris of Mahishmati, were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also known as the Haihayas or as the Early Kalachuris to distinguish them ...

with stronghold at

Kalinjar Fort Kalinjar ( hi, कालिंजर) is a fortress-city in Bundelkhand, in Banda District of Uttar Pradesh, in India. It was ruled by several dynasties including the Guptas, the Vardhana Dynasty, the Chandelas, Solankis of Rewa, Mughal a ...

. The area got its current name after Vaghela Rajput kings in the 14th century, later it was absorbed state.

Bagelkhand Agency

The

Bagelkhand Agency The Bagelkhand Agency was a British political unit which managed the relations of the British with a number of autonomous princely states existing outside British India, namely Rewa and 11 minor states, of which the most prominent were Maihar, Nag ...

was a British political unit which managed the relations of the British with a number of autonomous

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

existing outside

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, namely

Rewa Rewa may refer to: Places Fiji * Rewa (Fijian Communal Constituency, Fiji), a former electoral division of Fiji * Rewa Plateau, between the Kaimur and Vindhya Ranges in Madhya Pradesh * Rewa Province, Fiji * Rewa River, the widest river in Fiji ...

and 11 minor states, of which the most prominent were

Maihar Maihar is a tehsil in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India. Maihar is known for the temple of the revered mother goddess Sharda situated on Trikuta hill. Origin of the name It is said that when lord Shiva was carrying the body of the dead mother god ...

Nagod Nagod or Nagaud is a town and a nagar panchayat in Satna district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is located from the town of Satna. It is the administrative headquarters of Nagod Tehsil.It is believed that it was a small state owned b ...

and

Sohawal Sohawal is a town and tehsil in Faizabad district (officially Ayodhya district) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is subpost office of Faizabad. Sohawal is 18 km west of district headquarters Ayodhya. Demographics India census, Sohawa ...

. Other principalities included Jaso, Kothi,

Baraundha Baraundha (also known as Pathar Kachhar) was a princely state of colonial India, located in modern Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. Although historically far larger, at the time of Indian independence in 1950, it was a saluted state of 9 guns. ...

(aka

Patharkachhar Baraundha (also known as Pathar Kachhar) was a princely state of colonial India, located in modern Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. Although historically far larger, at the time of Indian independence in 1950, it was a saluted state of 9 guns. ...

) as well as the

Kalinjar Chaubes The Chaube Jagirs, also known as 'Kalinjar Chaubes', jagir states were a group of five feudatory states of Central India during the period of the British Raj. They were a British protectorate from 1823 to 1947 and belonged to the Bagelkhand A ...

, consisting of the princely estates of

Paldeo Paldeo, also spelt 'Paldev', was a Jagir, princely estate (Jagir) in India during the British Raj. It was under the Bundelkhand Agency of the Central India Agency until 1896 when it was transferred to the Baghelkhand Agency. In 1931 it was transf ...

Kamta-Rajaula Kamta-Rajaula was a princely state in India during the British Raj. History It was one of the Chaube Jagirs, part of the Bagelkhand Agency which was merged into the Indian state of Vindhya Pradesh in 1948. Kamta-Rajaula was a place of pilgrim ...

, Tarauwhan,

Pahra Pahra was a jagir in India during the British Raj. It was under the Bundelkhand Agency of the Central India Agency until 1896 when it was transferred to the Baghelkhand Agency. It was later transferred back to the Bundelkhand Agency. Pahra had a ...

and

Bhaisaunda Bhaisunda, also spelt 'Bhaisaunda', was a princely state in India during the British Raj. History Bhaisaunda state was founded in 1812 by the Kalinjar family. It was one of the Chaube Jagirs, which were part of the Bagelkhand Agency of British ...

.Malleson, G. B. ''An historical sketch of the native states of India,'' London 1875, Reprint Delhi 1984 Central India Agency Map

Geography

Bagelkhand is surrounded by the

Indo-Gangetic plains The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

in the north and east,

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

in the west and the

Vindhya range The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

in the south.

Administration

Currently it divided between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It includes the Madhya Pradesh districts

Satna Satna is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of Satna district. It is 7th largest city and 8th most populous city of the state. The city is 500 km east of the state capital Bhopal. The city is ...

Shahdol Shahdol is a city in Shahdol district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Shahdol district, The total geographical area of the district is . Demographics India census A census is the procedure o ...

Sidhi Sidhi is a town and a municipality in Sidhi district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the Sidhi district. Geography Sidhi is located at . It has an average elevation of 272 metres (892 feet) and cove ...

and Chitrakoot of

Demographics

The inhabitants of Bagelkhand are called Bagheli and they speak the

Bagheli language Bagheli (Devanagari: बघेली) or Baghelkhandi is a Indo-Aryan languages#Central Zone (Madhya or Hindi), Central Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Baghelkhand region of central India. Classification An independent language belonging to ...

which is also designated as a dialect of Hindi.

References

{{Proposed states and territories of India Regions of Madhya Pradesh Regions of Uttar Pradesh Regions of India