Bamra State or Bamanda State, covering an area of 5,149 km
2, was one of the
princely states of India during the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
. Its capital was in
Debagarh (Deogarh). Bamra State acceded to India in 1948.
The state was located in a hilly area between the
Mahanadi valley and the
Chhota Nagpur Plateau.
Most of its territory was forest, producing timber and
lac but said to be rich in iron ore. The most important river was the
Brahmani River. The state was one of the five
Orissa Tributary States which were transferred from the
Central Provinces to
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
on the reconstitution of that province in October 1905. The capital is situated at
Deogarh.
History
As per the documents preserved by the courts and legends of the historical events, the first ruler of the Bamra state Saraju Gangadeb was the son of the local
Eastern Ganga dynasty administrator of Patna region Hattahamir Deb, who was the son of Eastern Ganga ruler Bhanudeva II. Hattahamir Deb was overthrown in 1360 CE by
Ramai Deva of the Chauhan dynasty who led the foundation of
Patna
Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...
state, while the tribal chieftains installed Saraju Gangadeb as the ruler in Tikilipada near Kuchinda and later the capital was shifted to Deogarh. This laid the foundation of the Bamanda branch of the
Eastern Ganga dynasty.
The
Bengal-Nagpur Railway passed through the northeastern part of Bamra, with two stations in the state: Bamra Road and Garpos.
[''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', v. 6, p. 344.](_blank)
/ref> The state was under the political control of the Commissioner of the Chhattisgarh Division of the Central Provinces until 1905, under the Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...
until 1912, under the Bihar and Orissa Province until 1936 and under Orissa Province until it ceased to be a princely state.
On 1 January 1948 Bamra's last princely ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union.
Rulers
The rulers from the Bamanda branch of the Eastern Ganga dynasty:Indian Princely States
/ref>
* Saraju Gangadeb (1360 CE)
* Raj Narayan Deb
* Jagannath Deb
* Gangadhara Deb
* Jag Jyesthi Tribhuban Deb
* Rudranarayan Deb
* Kanphoda Sudhal Deb
* Raghunath Deb
* Kasturi Deb
* Ram Chandra Deb (1545–1578)
* Bikram Deb (1578–1625)
* Haru Deb (1625–1641)
* Chandra Sekhar (1641–1673)
* Bhagirath Deb (1673–1713)
* Pratap Deb (1713–1745)
* Sidasar Deb (1745–1779)
* Arjun Deb (1779–1819)
* Balunkabrusabha Deb (1819–1832)
* Khageswar Deb (1832)
* Brajasundar Deb (1832 – 12 May 1869)
* Basudeb Sudhal Deb (12 May 1869 – 19 November 1903)
* Satchitananda Tribhuban Deb (19 November 1903 – 11 March 1916)
* Dibyashankar Sudhal Deb (11 March 1916 – 1 January 1920)
* Bhanuganga Tribhuban Deb (1 January 1920 – 1 January 1948)
Titular
* Bhanuganga Tribhuban Deb (1 January 1948 – 1982)
* Pradipta Ganga Deb (1982–1997)
* Nitesh Ganga Deb (1997–present)
See also
* Eastern States Agency
References
Princely states of Odisha
History of Odisha
14th-century establishments in India
1360 establishments in Asia
1948 disestablishments in India
States and territories disestablished in 1948
Debagarh district
{{Odisha-geo-stub