Baghelkhand

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baghelkhand region in northern India
Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand in the former state of Vindhya Pradesh (1948–1956)

Baghelkhand or Bagelkhand ( Hindi : बघेलखंड) is a historical region in what is now the state of Madhya Pradesh in northern India . The Baghelkhand region includes the Rewa , Satna , Shahdol , Sidhi and Singrauli districts in Madhya Pradesh and the Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh . For a long time the center of the region was the city of Rewa .

geography

Baghelkhand is located in the hilly northeastern foothills of the Vindhya Mountains at heights of about 350 to 500  m ; to the west lies the Bundelkhand region . The Ganges plain with the cities of Kanpur , Prayagraj and Varanasi connects to the north; to the south lies the central Indian Dekkan Plateau. The most important river is the Son ; the Betwa , a southern tributary, partially forms the eastern border of the region.

Larger cities are Satna (approx. 300,000), Rewa (approx. 250,000), Singrauli (approx. 240,000), Shahdol (approx. 100,000) and Sidhi (approx. 70,000). In addition, there are only about 10 small towns but about 4000 smaller and larger villages.

history

In the early Middle Ages the region belonged to the settlement area of ​​the Gond and Kol tribes. Under the pressure of Islam , a number of Hindu groups - including the Bagheli- Rajputs - emigrated from the Gujarat region to mountainous areas further to the east. One of the leaders was Vyaghra Dev, to whom the name Baghelkhand is indirectly attributed. In the remote and poorly populated new settlement areas, the emigrants remained largely unaffected by Islamic tutelage. In the 19th century, the British gradually took over sovereignty in the region, the princely states of which merged in 1948 to form the state of Vindhya Pradesh , which was integrated into the newly created state of Madhya Pradesh in 1956.

Culture

Because of the rather poor soil, but perhaps also out of fear of discovery and conquest by the Sultanate of Delhi (1206–1526) or by the Mughal Empire (1526–1858), no conspicuous culture developed in the Baghelkhand region; neither elaborate palaces nor temples were built. As a result, tourism plays next to no role. The region is about 90% Hindu and still shaped by the old tribal cultures of the Gond and Kol.

literature

  • DEU Baker: Baghelkhand, or, the tigers' lair: region and nation in Indian history. Oxford University Press, New Delhi 2007, OCLC 607768237.

Web links