Shahdol district

History

The etymology of the name as ascertained from the local residents points to its derivation from the name of the one Shahdolwa Ahir of Sohagpur village. The progenitor of the Ex-Illakadar family of Sohagpur, Jamni Bhan was the second son of Maharaja Virbhan Singh of Bagelkhand. He decided to settle at Sohagpur and assured maximum facilities to settler around, and also declared that places settled by clearing forests will be named after the pioneer settlers. Shahdolwa Ahir is believed to have settled the former village of Shahdolwa, about 2.5 km. from the headquarters of Sohagpur after this declaration. Later on, the place used to be the camp site for the Maharaja of Rewa and British officers on tour. More villages were grouped into the village of Shahdol as it grew to a town. The District Headquarters was shifted from Umaria to Shahdol after the merger of princely states took place in 1947

Location

Shahdol District is situated in the north-eastern part of the Madhya Pradesh province of India. Because of the division of the district on 15-08-2003, the area of the district remains 5671 km². It is surrounded by Anuppur in the southeast, Satna & Sidhi in the north and Umaria in the west. The district extends 110 km from east to west and 170 km from north to south. This district is situated between 22°38' N latitude to 24°20' N latitude and 80°28' E Longitude to 82°12' E longitude.

Topography

The District is located in the north-eastern part of the Deccan Plateau. It lies at the trijunction of Maikal Ranges of the [Satpura Range], the foot of the [Kymore Range] an extension of the Vindhya Range and a mass of parallel hills which extend over the Chhota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand. In between these hill ranges lies the narrow valley of the Son and its tributaries. Since the Kymore Range extends along the Son just across the northern boundary, the District may be divided into three physiographic divisions. They are :-

Geographical scenario

District Shahdol is predominantly hilly district. It is picturesque with certain pockets and belt of SAL and mixed forests. Total geographical area of the district is 5671 km². Adjacents to the District Shahdol are the boarding districts Dindori, Satna, Sidhi, Umaria, Anuppur and Rewa.

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Shahdol one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 24 districts in Madhya Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Agriculture

District is very backward in the field of agriculture. Tribals of the district prefer the cultivation in the old traditional method. The size of the fields are very small and mainly the tribals are marginal farmers. The yearly yield of the products from the fields are not enough for their home use. Hence, for the rest part of the year they work on daily wages.Mahua fruit, wood & seeds are source of income for tribe area people.

Living standard of the tribe

The Tribals have a simple lifestyle. Their houses are made of mud, bamboo sticks, paddy, straw and local tiles. Tribal men wear Dhoti, Bandi, Fatohi and headgear. Women wear Saree named "Kaansh" saree in the local dialect. The saree is usually of skin colour. Women love to wear colourful clothes and ornaments. They wear traditional jewelry made of bamboo, seeds and metals.Nowadays people have also taken a liking for Western wear.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Shahdol District has a population of 1,064,989, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Rhode Island. This gives it a ranking of 427th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 172 inhabitants per square kilometre (450/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 17.27%. Shahdol has a sex ratio of 968 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 68.36%.

Languages

Vernaculars spoken in Shahdol include Bagheli, which has a lexical similarity of 72-91% with Hindi (compared to 60% for German and English) and is spoken by about 7,800,000 people in Bagelkhand.

Virateshwar Temple

There is a Virateshwar temple of Lord Shiv in Sohagpur Banganga. Kalchuri King Maharaja Yuvraj Deva had got it built between 950 A.D. and 1050 A.D. to present it to the Acharya of Golkaki Math. Many Archaeologists consider this temple as the temple of Karn Deva. When you reach the campus of this 70 feet high temple you will find this beautiful example's about Virat Ishwar Mandir of Shahdol of Kalchuri Age architecture. When you ascend the five steps of the terrace of this temple, you will find Nandi and Lion as if welcoming you. The statue of Mahavir, Shiv and Parvati in dancing posture, the statue of Saraswati, Ganesh, Vishnu, Nrisingh, Vyal, beautiful young woman taking out a thorn, fighting men, Lord Krishna playing flute, beautiful erotic postures related to Kamasutra, Vinavadini, Ardhnarishwar will fascinate you. Having the statues of AgniDevata, Panchlokpal, Batuk Bhairav, Amrut Bhairav, Nag Couple etc. this temple is the beauty of District.