Rairakhol State ( or, ରେଢ଼ାଖୋଲ ରାଜ୍ୟ) 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

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 ...

(Redhakhol), located in the present-day Sambalpur district 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 ...

. It had an area of and a population of 26,888 in 1901, the average revenue was Rs.55,000 in 1904. Most of the state was covered by forest where wild

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s used to roam. Rairakhol State's inhabitants spoke mostly the

Odia language Odia (, ISO: , ; formerly rendered Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha (formerly rendered Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also ...

, although there were also large

Kol people The Kol people referred to tribals of Chotanagpur in Eastern Parts of India. The Mundas, Oraons, Hos and Bhumijs were called Kols by British. It also refers to some tribe and caste of south-east Uttar Pradesh. They are mostly landless and depen ...

groups speaking Munda and

Oraon language Kurukh (; Devanagari: कुंड़ुख़), also Kurux, Oraon or Uranw, is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken by the Kurukh people, Kurukh (Oraon) and Kisan people, Kisan people of East India. It is spoken by about two million ...

. The

Chasa caste Chasa is a community from the Indian state of Odisha. Chasas were traditionally cultivators but are now engaged in several professions. The Odia word ''chasa'' means farmer. They are third largest caste by population in Odisha. History The Or ...

was the predominant caste in the state.

History

Although records are obscure but according to traditions, around 17th century a branch of Kadamba dynasty of the

Bonai State Bonai State ( or, ବଣାଇ), was a princely state during the British Raj in what is today India. It was one of the Chota Nagpur States and had its capital at Bonaigarh,Malleson, G. B.: An historical sketch of the native states of India, Lond ...

was ruling in the region and the chiefs were feudatories of the

Bamra State Bamra State or Bamanda State, covering an area of 5149 km2, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj, its capital was in Debagarh (Deogarh). Bamra State acceded to India in 1948. The state was located ...

until the 18th century, when the rulers of the

Sambalpur State Sambalpur State, also known as Hirakhand Kingdom was a sovereign state founded in the 1570 CE. It ruled over a vast kingdom spread across Western Odisha and Eastern Chhattisgarh in central-eastern India prior to the Maratha occupation in 1800 AD ...

freed it from its dependence.''Imperial Gazetteer of India,'' v. 21, p. 61.
/ref> During the 19th century, Raja Bishan Chandra Jenamuni whose reign lasted 75 years, was recognized as Raja and in 1867 a sanad was granted by the British recognizing Rairakhol as a state in its own right. The state was under the political control of the Commissioner of the

Chhattisgarh Division Chhattisgarh Division was an administrative division of the Central Provinces of British India. It was located in the east of the Central Provinces and encompassed the upper Mahanadi River basin, in the central part of present-day Chhattisgarh st ...

of the Central Provinces until 1905, coming then under the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. His successor Gaura Chandra Deo adopted Bir Chandra Jadumani Deo Jenamuni, a scion of the Kadamba dynasty branch of Bonai as his successor. On 1 January 1948, he signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union. The princely state then became part of the Sambalpur district.

Rulers

The rulers of Rairakhol State of the Kadamba dynasty branch: * 1 Bishan Chandra Jenamuni (1825 – ) * 2 Gaura Chandra Deo ( – ) * 3 Bir Chandra Jadumani Deo Jenamuni ( – )

Titular

* 3 Bir Chandra Jadumani Deo Jenamuni ( – ) * 4 Girish Chandra Jadumani Deo Jenamuni ( – ) * 5 Hari Shankar Jadumani Deo Jenamuni ( – ) * 6 Nav Chandra Deo ( - current)

References

Princely states of Odisha History of Odisha Sambalpur district States and territories disestablished in 1948 {{Polisci-stub

History

Rulers

Titular

See also

References