Bonai State ( or, ବଣାଇ), was a

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

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

in what is today India. It was one of the

Chota Nagpur States The Chota Nagpur Tributary States or Chota Nagpur States were a group of non-salute states (minor princely states) at the time of British Raj, located on the Chhota Nagpur Plateau. British suzerainty over the states was exercised through the g ...

and had its capital at

Bonaigarh Bonaigarh, also locally known as Bonai, is a subdivision of Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. It is 162 km east of the district headquarters in Sundargarh. It is a sub-divisional headquarter. The town is surrounded by the ...

,Malleson, G. B.: An historical sketch of the native states of India, London 1875, Reprint Delhi 1984 located in the present-day

Sundergarh district Sundargarh District is a district in the northwestern part of Odisha state in eastern India. Sundargarh district is bounded by Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh in the west, Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh in the North-West, Simdega district o ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. It had an area of and a population of 24,026 in 1892 with an average revenue of Rs.60,000 in 1901.

History

Origins of the Kadamba dynasty of Bonai

As per legends, the founders of the dynasty claimed numerous obscure origins but lack of written archival records dispute them as untenable due to the mythical legends which shrouds the ancestry of the founding clans. Most research into the origins of the dynasty points that the founders of the Bonai State belonged to the head of the

Bhuyan The Bhuyan (Also known as Bhuiya, Bhuiyan and Bhuinya) are an ethnic group found mainly in many districts of Odisha. The 2011 census showed their population to be around 220,859. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government. ...

clans of the region which was later acquired mythical characteristics. The founding of the Bonai State led to the establishment of the Kadamba dynasty, named after the flowers of the Kadamba tree (

Neolamarckia cadamba ''Neolamarckia cadamba'', with English common names burflower-tree, laran, and Leichhardt pine, and called kadam or cadamba locally, is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia. The genus name honours French naturalist Jean- ...

) which is also present in the founding legendary myths of the dynasty and also remains the symbol of one of its collateral branch of

Athmallik State Athmallik State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was a former jagir recognized as a state in 1874 and had its capital in Kaintaragarh near the town of Athmallik.L. E. B. Cobden-Ramsay, ''Fe ...

. The Kadamba tree also plays a central element in the legends of the dominant

clans of the region demonstrating the close relationship that the clans play in the royal traditions and rituals of the dynasty. Reconstruction of the court records points that the founder of the dynasty Pratap Bhanu Deo founded the State with the help of local Bhuyan landlords and subjugated the region. The local

landlords maintained a strong presence at the royal court, administrative levels and socio-religious traditions of the kingdom.

Modern period

During the reign of Raja Dayanidhi Chandra Deo, the region formally became a part of the British Empire after the defeat of the Marathas in the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...

. The princely states of

Athmallik Athmallik is a town and a notified area committee and one of the four subdivisions of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. History Athmallik was initially an estate (jagir) which was recognized as a princely state in 1874. Athmalli ...

and

Rairakhol Redhakholis a town and a notified area council in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Odisha.It has the following banks: Canara Bank, DCB Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank, Utkal Gramin Bank, and Central Bank. Redhakhol town, which ...

also share descent with the Bonai State being collateral branches of the Kadamba dynasty. On 1 January 1948 the last ruler of Bonai signed the accession to the Indian Union after independence and following which it merged with the state of

forming a part of the

Rulers

The rulers of the Bonai State of Kadamba dynasty:Princely States of India A-J
/ref> *Pratap Bhanu Deo *... *Dayanidhi Chandra Deo (1804–1851) *Chandra Deo (1851–12 September1876) *Indra Deo (12 September 1876 – 1898) *Nilambar Chandra Deo (1898 – 19 February 1902) *Dharani Dhar Deo (19 February 1902 – 1 January 1948)

Titular

*Dharani Dhar Deo (1948) *Kadamba Keshari Chandra Deo (1948 – 17 December 2002) *Bir Keshari Deo (17 December 2002 – current)

References