Jagdalpur district is situated in the south direction of Chhattisgarh. Jagdalpur city is the headquarters of Bastar district and Bastar division. It was earlier known as Dakshin Kaushal. Bastar, a district colored in beautiful forests and tribal culture, is known as the cultural capital of the region. Spread over 6596.90 square kilometers, this district was once bigger than a state like Kerala and countries like Belgium, Israel. In 1999, two separate districts, Kanker and Dantewada, were created to enable the district to be systematically managed. Bastar district is surrounded by the districts of Kondagaon, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur in Chhattisgarh region. Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar, is located 305 km from the capital Raipur. The population of Bastar district was 834375 in the year 2011. It had 413706 males and 420669 females. 70 percent of the population of Bastar are tribal communities like Gond, Maria, Muria, Bhatra, Halba, Dhuruva communities. Bastar district is divided into seven development blocks / tehsils Jagdalpur, Bastar, Bakavand, Lohandiguda, Tokapal, Darbha and Bastanar.
Bastar Mahal, Bastar Dussehra, Dalpat Sagar, Chitrakote Falls, Tirathgarh Falls, Kutumsar and Kailash Gufa are the main centers of tourism. Historically the region is part of the Dandakaranya in the epic Ramayana and the Kosala kingdom in the Mahabharata. The Bastar princely state was established around 1324 AD, when Annam Dev, the brother of the last Kakatiya king, Pratap Rudra Dev (1290–1325), left Warangal and established his royal empire in Bastar. Maharaja Annam Dev was followed by Maharaja Hamir Dev, Baital Dev, Maharaja Purushottam Dev, Maharaj Pratap Dev, Dikpal Dev, Rajpal Dev. The initial capital of Bastar rule was settled in Bastar city, then shifted to Jagdalpur city. Maharaja Praveer Chandra Bhanj Dev (1936–1948) last ruled in Bastar. Maharaja Praveer Chandra Bhanj Dev was extremely popular among all the communities of Bastar, mainly among the tribals. ‘Danteshwari’, still the adorable goddess of Bastar region, is named after her in the famous Danteshwari temple Dantewada. The Bastar princely state was merged with India during the political integration of India in 1948.
