Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh (/ˈtʃætɪsɡɑːr/; Hindi: [ˈtʃʰət̪ːiːsgəɽʱ]) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the northwest, Maharashtra to the southwest, Jharkhand to the northeast, Odisha to the east, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to the south. Formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was granted statehood on 1 November 2000 with Raipur as the designated state capital.

The Sitabenga caves in Chhattisgarh, one of the earliest examples of theatre architecture in India, are dated to the Mauryan period of 3rd century BCE. The region was split between rivaling dynasties from the sixth to twelfth centuries, and parts of it were briefly under the Chola dynasty in the 11th century. Eventually, most of Chhattisgarh was consolidated under the Kingdom of Haihaiyavansi, whose rule lasted for 700 years until they were brought under Maratha suzerainty in 1740. The Bhonsles of Nagpur incorporated Chhattisgarh into the Kingdom of Nagpur in 1758 and ruled until 1845, when the region was annexed by the East India Company, and was later administered under the Raj until 1947 as the Chhattisgarh Division of the Central Provinces. Some areas constituting present-day Chhattisgarh were princely states that were later merged into Madhya Pradesh. The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 placed Chhattisgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and it remained a part of that state for 44 years.

Chhattisgarh is one of the fastest-developing states in India. Its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is ₹5.09 lakh crore (US$60 billion) (2023–24 est.), with a per capita GSDP of ₹152,348 (US$1,800) (2023–24 est.). A resource-rich state, it has the third largest coal reserves in the country and provides electricity, coal, and steel to the rest of the nation. It also has the third largest forest cover in the country after Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh with over 40% of the state covered by forests.