Gondwana Kingdoms

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The Gondwana Kingdoms were the ruling kingdoms in the Gondwana region of India. The Gondwana region includes the core region of the eastern part of the Vidarbha of Maharashtra, Garha Kingdom, the parts of Madhya Pradesh immediately to the north of it, and parts of western Chhattisgarh. The wider region extends beyond these, also including parts of northern Telangana, western Odisha and southern Uttar Pradesh.

The Gondwana Kingdoms were ruled by Rajgonds. The Rajgonds are the ruling class among the Gond. The Gond is the dominating Community in Gondwana region. The name Gondwana named after Gondi people.

Gonds are followers of the nature-based religion Gondi Religion/Koyapunem.^[1]

Gondwana means "Country inhabited by Gonds".

In the early period, the Gondwana kingdom consisted of majorly four kingdoms — The Northern Gondwana was Garha Katanga or Garha Mandla Kingdom of Jabalpur and Southern part was Chanda Kingdom of Chandrapur. The western past was Kherla Kingdom of Betul and in 16th century Deogarh Kingdom of Nagpur and Chhindwara emerged as a strong kingdom.^[2]

The Gonds were first mentioned in 14th-century Muslim chronicles. From the 14th to the 18th century the area was held by powerful Gond dynasties, which during Mughal times remained independent or served as tributary chiefs. When in the 18th century the Gonds were conquered by the Marathas, the greater part of Gondwana was incorporated into the dominions of the Bhonsle rajas of Nagpur or the nizams of Hyderabad. Many Gonds took refuge in relatively inaccessible highlands and became tribal raiders. Between 1818 and 1853 the greater part of the region passed to the British, although in some minor states the Gond rajas continued to rule until Indian independence in 1947.