Korea State, currently spelt as Koriya, was a Rajput princely state in the Empire of India. After Indian independence in 1947, the ruler of Korea acceded to the Union of India on 1 January 1948, and Koriya was made part of

Surguja District Surguja district is a district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The district is one of the oldest districts of Chhattisgarh. The headquarters of the district is Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, Ambikapur. The district lies in its eponymous Surguja d ...

Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the ...

province. In January 1950, "Central Provinces and Berar" province was renamed

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

state. After November 2000, Korea and the former princely state of Changbhakar became Koriya district of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

state. Korea had an area of and a population of 126,874 as of 1941.

Location

The state of Korea, which included 400 villages, was in what is now Chhattisgarh state. It bordered Rewa to the north and southwest; Surguja State to the east; the British district of Bilaspur (Central Provinces) to the south; and Changbhakar State to the west.

History

Korea State was founded in the 17th century. The ruling family of Koriya were

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

of the Chauhan dynasty who came to Koriya from

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

in the 13th century and conquered the country. Before the coming of the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

, it is alleged that the rajas of Koriya "lived in perfect independence, and never having been necessitated to submit to the payment of any tribute, they had no occasion to oppress their subjects." This situation changed in 1790 when Korea had to pay tribute to the Marathas. Historically, Korea State also seems to have had some indefinite feudal relations with Surguja, but the British government ignored this claim when Koriya was ceded to them by the

Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of India. History Earliest members The earliest accepted members of the Bhonsles are Mudhoji Bhonsle and his kin Rupaji Bhonsle, who were the vi ...

Raja of

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

in 1818. On 24 Dec 1819 the state became a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

. Upon the extinction of the direct line in 1897, a distant collateral branch of the ruling family was recognized as successor by the British Raj. In 1891, the Raj decided that the five states of the Surguja group ( Surguja,

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

, Jashpur, Korea, and Changbhakar), as well as the states of Bonai, Gangpur,

Seraikela Saraikela (also spelled Seraikella) is the district headquarters and a nagar panchayat in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It was formerly the capital of Saraikela State, a pr ...

, and

Kharsawan Kharsawan garh is a town and a notified area in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Kharsawan (also spelled as Kharsuan) was founded around 1650. It was one of the Ori ...

, formerly known as the Tributary Mahals of Chhota Nagpur, were not part of British India, and revised sanads were issued in 1899, formally recognizing them as feudatory states and defining their relations with the British Raj.

Rulers

The rulers of the state have apparently always held the title of 'Raja' and were so recognized by the British as early as 1819.Princely States of India
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Rajas

*.... - .... Jit Rai Deo *.... - .... Sagar Sahi Deo *.... - .... Afhar Sahi Deo *.... - .... Jahan Sahi Deo *.... - .... Sawal Sahi Deo *.... - .... Gajraj Singh Deo *1795 - Jun 1828 Gharib Singh Deo (b. 1745 - d. 1828) *Jun 1828 - 1864 Amole Singh Deo (b. 1785 - d. 1864) * 4 Apr 1864 - 1897 Pran Singh Deo (b. 1857/59 - d. 1897) *1897 - 18 Nov 1909 Sheo Mangal Singh Deo (b. 1874 - d. 1909) *18 Nov 1909 – 15 Aug 1947

Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo (1901-1958) was the last ruler of erstwhile Korea State. He was crowned as the king of Korea in 1925 and continued to rule the state until the state's merger with independent India on 1 January 1948. He was a Rajput by ...

(b. 1901 - d. 1954)

References

External links