Бунделкханд: География, история и борьба за штат.

Geographical and cultural region in central India

Bundelkhand (/'//b//ʌ//n//d//ɪ//l/,/k//h//ʌ//n//d///, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lying in the latter state. Jhansi is the largest city in Bundelkhand. Another major city of Bundelkhand is Sagar being second largest city of Bundelkhand and headquarter of Sagar Division.

Bundelkhand means "Bundela domain". The region was earlier known as Jejabhukti or Jejakabhukti ("Jeja's province"). According to the inscriptions of the Chandela dynasty, this name derived from Jeja, the nickname of their ruler Jayashakti. However, it is possible that the name derives from an even earlier name of the region: "Jajhauti" or "Jijhoti". After the Bundelas replaced the Chandelas around 14th century, the region came to be known as Bundelkhand after them.

The Chandelas were a powerful dynasty in Central India, ruling from the 9th to the 12th century. They are best known for constructing the temples of Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Chandelas ruled over a vast territory, and their influence gradually diminished until their eventual fall in 1182 CE. After the decline of the Chandelas, the Khangar community, an ancient Kshatriya clan, established their rule over parts of present day Bundelkhand from the late 12th century until the mid 14th century. The Khangar dynasty had its seat of power at Garh Kundar, a fort built by Khet Singh Khangar. Also, kingdoms such as Damoh, Ramgarh were ruled by Lodhi Rajputs.

Bundelkhand comprises parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. While Bahujan Samaj Party government under Mayawati had proposed in 2011 creation of Bundelkhand from seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, organizations such as Bundelkhand Akikrit Party and Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha (BMM) want it to include six districts from Madhya Pradesh as well. Uma Bharati of Bharatiya Janata Party has promised separate state of Bundelkhand within three years if her party voted to power, during campaign for Loksabha Election, 2014 at Jhansi. Similar promise was made by Congress leader Pradeep Jain Aditya during Loksabha Election, 2014. Since the early 1960s there has been a movement for establishing a Bundelkhand state or promoting development of the region. Bundelkhand is geographically the central part of India covering some part of Madhya Pradesh and some part of Uttar Pradesh. (At Sagar is the exact centre of the original undivided India: the granite bench mark by British surveyors indicating this is placed in the compound of a church in Sagar Cantonment.) In spite of being rich in minerals, the people of Bundelkhand are very poor and the region is underdeveloped and underrepresented in state and central politics. There are several local parties and organisations, some promoting further development of the region and some seeking statehood. The agrarian crisis and farmers' suicides are also cited as reasons for separate statehood. In November 2011 Uttar Pradesh Council of Ministers proposed to split the state into four parts, with one part being Bundelkhand.

An engraving of a picture by Henry Melville entitled Scene near Chillah Tarah Ghaut, Bundelkhund was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835 alongside a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Scene in Bundelkhund, which alludes to the desperate conditions in the district due to the famine then prevailing. The "nearly independent territory of Bundelcund" is featured in Jules Verne's 1872 novel Around the World in Eighty Days, as the scene where Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout rescue the Princess Aouda.