History

 The history of the Chhattisgarh region dates back to approximately the 4th century AD, when it was known as Southern (or Dakshina) Kosala. The name Chhattisgarh, meaning thirty-six forts, was formerly applied to the territory of the Haihaya dynasty of Ratanpur, which was founded around 750. The present-day region of Chhattisgarh under British rule comprised a division of 14 feudal princely states under the Eastern States. agency. The headquarters of that division was Raipur. Within the Republic of India, Chhattisgarh was part of Madhya Pradesh until November 1, 2000. Although the campaign for Chhattisgarh statehood began only in the 1970s, its roots go back to the early 20th century, when local leaders began to make a separate claim. Cultural identity for the region was emphasized in the electoral platforms of various political parties in the early 1990s, and promises of a separate state were again prominent during the 1996 and 1998 elections. In August 2000 the Indian legislature passed the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Bill to create Chhattisgarh. The formation of Chhattisgarh was particularly notable because it was peaceful, it was not associated with any of the movements and violence that led to the establishment of two other new states—Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand) and Jharkhand—at around the same time.