Pal Lahara
Encyclopedia
Pal Lahara is a small town in Angul district
of the state of Orissa
and located on National Highway 6. The NH 6 and NH 23 intersects here at Pallahara. Pallahara is one of the Subdivisional headquarters in Angul district.
Before Indian Independence, Pal Lahara was a princely state under Eastern States Agency
.
According to popular tradition, the first king of the ruling family of Pallahara was Santosh Pal, a Rajput of Dharanagar. He is said to have come on pilgrimage to Puri and on his return visited this territory where a struggle was going on between two aboriginal parties for supremacy over that land. The Sabaras, one of the contesting tribes, selected Santosh Pal as their future ruler and concealed him under a heap of straw (locally known as Pala). Later on, being victorious they formally installed him as the king and regarded themselves as king makers. As the Rajput Chief Santosh Pal was concealed under a heap of straw(pala) , the territory ruled by him was named as Pal Lahara. This tradition seems to be recent. It can not be taken to be authentic. The account of the rulers after Santosh Pal are vague. The Rajas of this territory are known to have assumed the title Ganeswar Pal & Munipal alternatively. About the year 1789 when the ruler Munipal died without a heir the territory was ruled by the queen mother Annapurna and the illegitimate brother of ex-Raja Munipal , named Nanda Pal . After the death of Annapurna in 1815, the Raja of Keonjhar claimed the gadi of Pallahara as he had matrimonial relation with the ruling family of that state. Nanda Pal also supported the claim of Keonjhar. But after his death in 1825, the people opposed the rule of Keonjhar and subsequently made a petition to Col. Gilbert, the then Political Agent of the South-West Frontier, protesting against the interference of Keonjhar. Col Gilbert supported the cause of the people and ordered the Raja of Keonjhar to withdraw his forces from Pallahara. One Baidyanath Pal was selected by the people as their ruler. The next ruler Chakradhar Munipal was very faithful to the British Government. When the Bhuiyans of Keonjhar revolted against their Chief in 1867-68, Chakradhar Munipal rendered much help in suppressing the Bhuiyans and in recognition of his service he obtained the personal title of Rajabahadur from the British Government. He also got the hereditary title of Raja in 1874. He died in 1888 and as his son Dwitikrishna was then a boy of four years, the territory came under the management of Court of Wards till 1908 when Dwitikrishna Ganeswar Pal assumed the administration of the State. But on account of his mismanagement the State was once again taken away by the Government in 1911. Dwitikrishna died without any male issue in 1912 and was succeeded by Sarat Chandra Munipal, one of his close relatives. The state however, continued to be under the management of Court of Wards till 1925 when the new Raja got full administrative control. During the rule of the Raja Sarat Chandra Munipal, Pal-lahara merged with the State of Orissa on 1st January,1948, and now it is being administered as a sub-division.
Angul District
Angul is a district of Orissa state in India. The city of Angul is the district headquarters.-History:A bridge between western and coastal areas of Orissa where the prehistoric and protohistoric relics are found in village Bhimakund, Kankili, Kulei, Samal, Sanakerjang, Kaliakata, Paranga, Kerjang,...
of the state of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
and located on National Highway 6. The NH 6 and NH 23 intersects here at Pallahara. Pallahara is one of the Subdivisional headquarters in Angul district.
Before Indian Independence, Pal Lahara was a princely state under Eastern States Agency
Eastern States Agency
The Eastern States Agency was a political office of the British Indian Empire, created on 1 April 1933. This agency dealt with forty-two princely states in eastern India, located in the present-day Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, and Tripura...
.
According to popular tradition, the first king of the ruling family of Pallahara was Santosh Pal, a Rajput of Dharanagar. He is said to have come on pilgrimage to Puri and on his return visited this territory where a struggle was going on between two aboriginal parties for supremacy over that land. The Sabaras, one of the contesting tribes, selected Santosh Pal as their future ruler and concealed him under a heap of straw (locally known as Pala). Later on, being victorious they formally installed him as the king and regarded themselves as king makers. As the Rajput Chief Santosh Pal was concealed under a heap of straw(pala) , the territory ruled by him was named as Pal Lahara. This tradition seems to be recent. It can not be taken to be authentic. The account of the rulers after Santosh Pal are vague. The Rajas of this territory are known to have assumed the title Ganeswar Pal & Munipal alternatively. About the year 1789 when the ruler Munipal died without a heir the territory was ruled by the queen mother Annapurna and the illegitimate brother of ex-Raja Munipal , named Nanda Pal . After the death of Annapurna in 1815, the Raja of Keonjhar claimed the gadi of Pallahara as he had matrimonial relation with the ruling family of that state. Nanda Pal also supported the claim of Keonjhar. But after his death in 1825, the people opposed the rule of Keonjhar and subsequently made a petition to Col. Gilbert, the then Political Agent of the South-West Frontier, protesting against the interference of Keonjhar. Col Gilbert supported the cause of the people and ordered the Raja of Keonjhar to withdraw his forces from Pallahara. One Baidyanath Pal was selected by the people as their ruler. The next ruler Chakradhar Munipal was very faithful to the British Government. When the Bhuiyans of Keonjhar revolted against their Chief in 1867-68, Chakradhar Munipal rendered much help in suppressing the Bhuiyans and in recognition of his service he obtained the personal title of Rajabahadur from the British Government. He also got the hereditary title of Raja in 1874. He died in 1888 and as his son Dwitikrishna was then a boy of four years, the territory came under the management of Court of Wards till 1908 when Dwitikrishna Ganeswar Pal assumed the administration of the State. But on account of his mismanagement the State was once again taken away by the Government in 1911. Dwitikrishna died without any male issue in 1912 and was succeeded by Sarat Chandra Munipal, one of his close relatives. The state however, continued to be under the management of Court of Wards till 1925 when the new Raja got full administrative control. During the rule of the Raja Sarat Chandra Munipal, Pal-lahara merged with the State of Orissa on 1st January,1948, and now it is being administered as a sub-division.