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Princely States of Kharsawan Garh and the Massacre of 1948



The Princely states of Kharsawan Garh was a small state located in present-day India. It was one of many such states that existed in India during the colonial period and was ruled by a local prince or chieftain who held a great deal of power within the state. It was located in the eastern part of India and was surrounded by other princely states such as Jashpur, Changbhakar, and Surguja. The state was relatively small in size, covering an area of only about 400 square miles and included around 263 village. Despite its small size, however, Kharsawan Garh was an important center of trade and commerce, thanks to its strategic location along major trade routes.


The Princely States of Kharsawan Garh was ruled by the Raja of Kharsawan, who was the hereditary ruler of the state. The Raja held a great deal of power within the state and was responsible for overseeing the administration of the state and its various departments. The Raja was also responsible for collecting taxes and ensuring the safety and security of the state. The people of Kharsawan Garh were primarily Hindus, with a small minority of Muslims. The state was home to a diverse range of cultures and traditions, and the people were known for their hospitality and kindness. The state was also home to a number of important temples and religious sites, which were visited by people from all over the region.


According to the Declaration of Independence, the princely states in the tribal areas were to merge with the Union of India and Kharsawan Garh was no exception. This triggered the Kharsawan Massacre. Home Minister Patel started the integration process, and it was decided that Kharsawan Garh be integrated with Odisha. The then Raja did not have an objection but many tribals like Mundas, Santhals and Bhumij were against this merger. They wanted a separate state for tribals, called "Jharkhand". They united the tribal population and decided to register their protest against the merger with Odisha. By then, Government of Odisha had already started overtaking the state of Kharsawan Garh and they deployed police force to counter the protest. Clash was inevitable and police open fired on thousands of tribals protesting in the Kharsawan Bazar area. Locals say, around two thousand people killed by bullet injuries and many others were left wounded. The entire ground was filled with dead bodies, many died while fleeing the place and other while hiding in a big well which was once the source of water of many. Locals say, police administration threw the bodies into the Saranda Jungle. Curfew was imposed and no journalists were allowed. Medical facilities were denied, and bodies were disposed like dead animals. It is mentioned in Santosh Kiro’s book The Life and Times of Jaipal Singh Munda that Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia termed this incident ‘Second Jallianwala Bagh". Every Indian knows about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre where General Dyer open fired at people protesting peacefully, resulting a causality of hundreds. But not many know about this massacre that took place in the Independent India, by the Indian Chief Minister of the Indian State of Odisha.

One such bullet also reached my native house in the Kharsawan Garh, about a mile away from the place this massacre took place.


74 years later, the wounds of massacre are still alive. Locals do not celebrate January 1st as New Year but as a Black Day. Every year the tribals who martyred in the January 1st massacre are remembered and mourned by organizing ‘Dul Sunum’ Shradh at the incident site.

With all these in the past, Kharsawan Garh still did not get the visibility or mention in the history books, like Jallianwala got and the glory of Once Princely state got diluted into the modern day Saraikela - Kharsawan district and its small achievements.

PS : Photos are sourced from Google.

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