Pre-20th-Century History
The ancient city of Tripuri, the Jabalpur of today, was mentioned in the great epic Mahabharata. The original inhabitants of Jabalpur were the nomadic Bhil and Gond tribes. These tribal communities were not highly structured as the North Indian Rajputs, or the Western Marathas. They were groups of farming communities in the fertile Narmada basin. The naïve tribes were gradually driven to the forests by the ordered Armies of the Marathas and then the Mughals. The British decimated the might of the tribal people by passing the Forest Act, which gave them absolute control over all the forests.
The earliest known states, the State of Avanti; which controlled the territory of modern day Jabalpur and the Eastern part of Madhya Pradesh, dates back to third century BC. Avanti had regular change of guards and various dynasties; the Sungas, Guptas, Harshas ruled the state. The Kalchuri dynasty in the latter part of eighth century AD made Jabalpur as their capital. The Gonds having imbibed the art of war wrested control in the 13th Century. The Gondwana Kingdom thrived in the region till late 16th Century.
The Gonds were lovers of art and worshippers of the Janani or the mother creator. The power to procreate is truly divine and their unsullied culture recognized sex as an ultimate worship. They built the exotic temples and palaces with erotic sculptures and the exquisite fine carvings all over the Gond Kingdom. The beauty of the temples and palaces in Jabalpur is an apt statement of their craftsmanship.
The Mughal rulers expanding their rule to the South India viewed the region as the major bottleneck and attacked it time and again. The legend of Durgawati, the Gond Queen and local Joan of Arc, was born when she killed herself after been defeated by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The rugged terrain was not the forte of Mughals and soon the specialists in guerilla warfare, Marathas gained control. The saga of change was not to stop here and the British defeated the Marathas in early 18th century.
The elusive Pindari tribes of the region, the Thugs, were notorious for their looting and treacherous killings of traders and merchants. The British were instrumental in wiping out this menace. The Collector of Jabalpur, Colonel William H Sleeman was the man behind eradicating the Thugee menace. On the way to Pench National Park, the village of Kokha, once a bastion of the Thugee cult; saw hanging and trampling by elephants of hundreds of Thugs.
The city of Jabalpur was made the capital of the Sagar and Narmada territories under the British rule and developed it into a massive cantonment. Later the city had the headquarters of one of the Southern Army divisions.
The location of the city within the Indian hinterland led to the development of Jabalpur as the major supplier of arms and equipment, and establishment of the ordnance factories. The city was part and parcel of the freedom struggle with bigwigs like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak and Subhash Chandra Bose holding major conferences in the city.
The city has maintained its fickle character even after independence and witnessed Hindu Muslim riots, Hindu revivalist movements and even today considered as the stronghold of the BJP and RSS, the Hindu Revivalist political parties of India.
Modern History
Recent History
The History of Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh is a significant one. It is one of the most important cities of the State of Madhya Pradesh. It got its name from being the native land of greeat ‘Jabali Rishi’. The city was the capital of the Gond rulers. In the ancient times it was known as Tripuri under the governance of The Hayahaya rulers.
The Mahabharata has a reference to the great city of Jabalpur. In later times it became a part of the Gupta and the Mauryan Empire. The Kalchuri dynesty took over the place in AD 875 and made it their capital. In the 13th century the Gonds won it over and made it their capital. By 16th century Jabalpur turned into the powerful kingdom of Gondwana. This illustrous region also witnessed invation from the Mughal forces. Legendary Gond Queen Rani Durgavati died fighting the Mughal forces under the leadership of Mughal Emperor Akhbar.The Marathas finally won the place in a battle that occured in 1789. The British took command of Jabalpur in 1817 and turned it into the commisioned headquarters of the territories of Narmada and also established a cantontment.
The city of Jabalpur has many great places like the Madan Mohan Fort which was built by the Gond ruler Madan Shah in 1116. Sangram Sagar and the Bajana Math were built by the Gond ruler Sangram Shah between 1480 and 1540. There is also the Mala Devi Mandir which was built in the 12th century.
The Chausat Yogini Temple situated on the top of a hillock is a 10th century structure and gives an all new dimention to the History of Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh. It has some of the best carved stone figures of deities belonging to the period of the Kalachuris. A local Legend says that the ancient temple is connected to the palace of Queen Durgavati through an underground passage.
An important event in the History of Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh was the holding of the Tripuri Congress session of 1939 which was presided by Subhas Chandra Bose. After the country attained independence in 1947 Jabalpur or the Central Province and Berar was turned into the Stayte of Madhya Pradesh.
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