Gangpur State, also known as Gangpore State, was one of the princely states of

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 ...

during the period of 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 him ...

. Until 1905 it was one of the Chhota Nagpur States under the

Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the Indian Empire. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agen ...

. Covering an area of 6454 km², in 1941 Gangpur had a population of 398,171. The population was predominantly Odia speaking. It was made part of

on 1 January 1948. The capital of Gangpur State was modern Sundargarh of

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 ...

History

According to traditions, the dynasty was established by Gangadhar Sekhar Deo, a scion of the Sekhar dynasty from Sikharbhum near the

Singhbhum Singhbhum was a district of India during the British Raj, part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency. It was located in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern li ...

region of Eastern India with the help of the dominant local Bhuyan clans. Written archival records point to the reign of Indra Shekhar Deo under whom 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 ...

. Gangpur was a feudatory estate of

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Sam ...

. In 1821 the British authorities canceled the feudatory rights of Sambalpur over Gangpur and the ruler was granted a ''sanad'', by which Gangpur was recognized as a state. On 1 January 1948 the last ruler of Gangpur signed the accession to the Indian Union after independence and following which it merged with the state of

forming a part of the Sundergarh district.

Rulers

The rulers of Gangpur of Sekhar dynasty: *Gangdhar Sekhar Deo *... *Indra Sekhar Deo (1804 – 1820) *Parshuram Sekhar Deo (1820 – 1831) *Jagadev Sekhar Deo (1831 – 1852) *Chandrabhanu Sekhar Deo (1852 – 1858) *Mohan Sekhar Deo (1858) *Raghunath Sekhar Deo (28 Oct 1858 – 10 June 1917) *Bhabani Shankar Sekhar Deo (10 June 1917 – 5 May 1930) *Bir Mitra Pratap Sekhar Deo (5 May 1930 – 26 December 1938) *Rani Janaki Rathnayammarjee of Kurupam (f) - Regent (5 May 1930 – 26 December 1938 and 26 December 1938 – 27 November 1944) *Bir Udit Pratap Sekhar Deo (26 December 1938 – 1 October 1948)

Titular

*Bir Udit Pratap Sekhar Deo (1 October 1948 - 1967) *Birendra Sekhar Deo (1967 - 2010) *Samarendra Sekhar Deo (2010 - current)

References

Princely states of Odisha History of Odisha Sundergarh district 1804 establishments in India 1948 disestablishments in India {{Sundargarh-geo-stub