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{{Short description|Geographical and cultural region in central India}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Bundelkhand
| official_name = [[Chandelas of Jejakabhukti|Jejakabhukti]]
| native_name = Chedi
| native_name_lang =
| settlement_type = [[Historical region]] [[Proposed states and territories of India|Proposed state]]
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| perrow = 1/2/2/1
| align = right
| total_width = 320
| image1 = Kandariya Mahadev temple and Devi Jagadambi temple, Khajuraho Temple complex, UNESCO WHS, Madya Pradesh.jpg
| image2 = Chaturbhuj Temple and Raja Mahal, Orchha.jpg
| image3 = Ramparts of Jhansi Fort.jpg
| image4 = 0121921 Neelkanth temple, Kalinjar Fort, Uttar Pradesh 050.jpg
| image5 = Eran - Monolithic Varaha and ruined Vishnu Temple in background.jpg
| image6 = Raneh Falls.jpg
}}
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Top to Bottom; Left to Right: [[Khajuraho Group of Monuments]], [[Orchha Fort complex]], [[Jhansi Fort]], Neelkanth Temple at [[Kalinjar Fort|Kalinjar]], Varaha statue at [[Eran]] and [[Raneh Falls]]
| image_map = Bundelkhand.svg
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location of Bundelkhand in India
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|25.44|78.57|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint =
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{Flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of India|District(s)]]
|subdivision_name2 = #[[Sagar District]]
# [[Damoh District]]
# [[Panna District]]
# [[Chhatarpur District]]
# [[Tikamgarh District]]
# [[Datia District]]
# [[Niwari District]]
# [[Jhansi District]]
# [[Jalaun District]]
# [[Mahoba District]]
# [[Lalitpur District, India|Lalitpur District]]
# [[Chitrakoot District]]
# [[Banda District, India|Banda District]]
# [[Hamirpur District, Uttar Pradesh|Hamirpur District]]
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 = 70,747
| area_land_km2 =
| area_water_km2 =
| area_water_percent =
| area_note =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 250-300
| population_footnotes =
| population_total = 18,335,044
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = Bundelkhandi/Bundeli
| population_note =
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +05:30
| timezone1_DST = +05:30
| utc_offset1_DST =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Major languages
| demographics1_info1 = [[Bundeli language|Bundeli]], [[Hindi]]
| blank1_name_sec1 = Historical [[Capital (political)|capitals]]
| blank1_info_sec1 = [[Banda, Uttar Pradesh|Banda]], [[Ajaigarh]], [[Panna, India|Panna]], [[Orchha]] ,
| blank2_name_sec1 = Separated states
| blank2_info_sec1 = [[Banda, Uttar Pradesh|Banda]], [[Orchha]], [[Jhansi]], [[Panna, India|Panna]], [[Bijawar]], [[Ajaigarh]], [[Datia]], [[Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh|Hamirpur]], [[Charkhari]], [[Jaitpur, Kulpahar|Jaitpur]], [[Kulpahar]], [[Samthar]], [[Sarila]], [[Gursarai]], [[Barua sagar]], [[Moth, Uttar Pradesh|Moth]], [[Chirgaon]]
| footnotes =
}}
'''Bundelkhand''' ({{IPAc-en|'|b|ʊ|n|d|eɪ|l|ˌ|k|h|ʌ|n|d|}}, {{IPA|hi|bʊn.d̪eːl.kʰəɳɖ|lang}}) is a geographical and cultural [[List of regions in India|region]] and a [[Proposed states and union territories of India#Madhya Pradesh|proposed state]] and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the [[Vedic period|Post-Vedic]] '''Chedi''' kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]], with the larger portion lying in the latter state.

== Etymology ==
Bundelkhand means "[[Bundela]] domain".<ref>{{cite book |first=Ravindra K. |last=Jain |title=Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghQhiowlycC&pg=PA1 |year=2002 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2194-0 |page=1 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irHN2UA_Z7gC&pg=PA1 |title=The Early Rulers of Khajurāho |first=Sisirkumar |last=Mitra |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1977 |isbn=9788120819979 |pages=1–4 }}</ref>

==History==
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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Michell |first=George |author-link=George Michell |year=1990 |title=The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-008144-2 |page=327}}</ref> The Chandelas ruled over a vast territory, and their influence gradually diminished until their eventual fall in 1182 CE.

After the decline of the [[Chandela]], 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.<ref name=Mittal2003>{{cite book |last=Mittal |first=J. P. |year=2003 |title=History of Ancient India: A New Version |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-8126906154 |pages=272}}</ref> The Khangar dynasty had its seat of power at Garh Kundar, a fort built by Khet Singh Khangar.<ref name=Mittal2003 /> Their rule over Jujhauti, a region in Bundelkhand, began after the fall of the Chandels in 1182 CE.<ref name=Mittal2003 />

By the 14th century, the [[Bundela]] dynasty emerged and supplanted the Khangar rulers.<ref name=WilsonBundela /> According to [[David Ludden]], ask it was shaped by Rajput conquests from the 10th century onward, the powerful Rajput clans of Bundelkhand became the raja rulers of the region, where they later submitted to the under the rule [[Mughal Empire]]. From that point onwards, they kept expanding east into the 19th century. Lesser Rajput branches (thakurs) were the main landlords, ruling villages of farming castes like Kurmis, Lodhis, Ahirs, and Gujars. Kurmis rose politically; some Ahirs married into Rajput families.Villages were linked by marriage, land, and labour migration. Officially, it was the land of Bundela Rajputs. Stronger Bundela clans dominated the east, leaving western thakurs more independent.The region was divided both by rival Rajput clans and by caste hierarchies. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Bundelas renounced the authority of the Mughal empire.<ref>{{Cite book
|author= David Ludden
|author-link=David Ludden
|title = India and South Asia: A Short History
|date = 2013
|publisher = Oneworld Publications
|isbn = 9781780741086
|quote=Bundelkhand... a region defined historically by ethnic patterns of residence, migration, and power relations... they were still expanding eastward in the early nineteenth century...lineage ruled over a specific... major subordinate farming castes: Lodhis, Kurmis, Kachhis, Ahirs, and Gujars... Kurmis rose up in the political ranks... Under the Mughals, Bundelkhand became known officially as the land of Bundela Rajputs
|language = en
|url = https://www.google.co.id/books/edition/India_and_South_Asia/pBq9DwAAQBAJ?hl=en
|access-date = 2025-12-08
}}</ref>

Before the advent of British colonial rule in India, the region of Bundelkhand also included several princely states, such as [[Orchha]], [[Datia]], and [[Samthar]].<ref name=WilsonBundela>{{cite book |last=Hunter |first=William Wilson |author-link=William Wilson Hunter |year=1885 |chapter=Bundelkhand |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/imperialgazettee03huntuoft/page/150/mode/2up |title=The Imperial Gazetteer of India |volume=III |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Trübner & Co. |page=150}}</ref> Also, kingdoms such as [[Damoh]], Ramgarh were ruled by [[Lodhi (caste)|Lodhi Rajputs]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bundela Uprising of 1842 |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?7299}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/unsung-heroes-detail.htm?314|title=Rani Avantibai of Ramgarh}}</ref>

==Proposed Bundelkhand state==

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1921363201.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329163935/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1921363201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 March 2015 |title=Mayawati's proposal to divide Uttar Pradesh into four States goes far beyond disturbing the State's politics ahead of the elections |work=The Hindu |access-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1921363201.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329163935/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1921363201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-03-29 |title=Mayawati-kind-of-Bundelkhand not acceptable: Bundela |access-date=2015-03-30}}</ref> [[Uma Bharati]] of [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] has promised separate state of Bundelkhand within three years if her party voted to power, during campaign for [[2014 Indian general election|Loksabha Election, 2014]] at [[Jhansi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/uma-bharti-promises-separate-bundelkhand-to-voters-in-jhansi/ |title=Uma Bharti promises separate Bundelkhand to voters in Jhansi |work=The Indian Express|date=2014-04-10 |access-date=2015-03-30}}</ref> Similar promise was made by Congress leader [[Pradeep Jain Aditya]] during [[2014 Indian general election|Loksabha Election, 2014]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/videos/uttar-pradesh/ls-polls-pradeep-jain-aditya-uma-bharti-promise-separate-bundelkhand-state-401373.html |title=LS polls: Pradeep Jain Aditya, Uma Bharti promise separate Bundelkhand state |publisher=News18.com |access-date=2015-03-30}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/MP-BHO-demand-for-seperate-bundelkhand-reignited-ahead-of-assembly-polls-4226793-NOR.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107023426/http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/MP-BHO-demand-for-seperate-bundelkhand-reignited-ahead-of-assembly-polls-4226793-NOR.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 November 2014 |title=Demand for separate Bundelkhand reignited ahead of assembly polls separate |publisher=Daily.bhaskar.com |date=2013-04-05 |access-date=2015-03-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Atiq Khan |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/nod-for-telangana-fuels-the-demand-for-bundelkhand/article63277.ece |title=Nod for Telangana fuels the demand for Bundelkhand |work=The Hindu|date=2009-12-10 |access-date=2015-03-30}}</ref> The agrarian crisis and farmers' suicides are also cited as reasons for separate statehood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epw.in/states/farmers-suicides-and-statehood-demand-bundelkhand.html |title=Farmers' Suicides and Statehood Demand in Bundelkhand | Economic and Political Weekly |publisher=Epw.in |date=2011-07-09 |access-date=2015-03-30}}</ref>

In November 2011, the [[Uttar Pradesh]] Council of Ministers proposed to split the state into four parts, with one part being Bundelkhand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/mayawati-wants-to-divide-up-into-4-states-other-parties-cornered-566270 |title=Mayawati wants to divide UP into 4 states, other parties cornered; NDTV |publisher=ndtv.com |date=2011-11-16 |access-date=2015-08-04}}</ref>

==Religion==
{{Pie chart| thumb = center
|label1=[[Hindu]]|value1=93.17|color1=Orange
|label2=[[Muslim]]|value2=5.58|color2=green
|label3=Others|value3=1.25|color3=grey
|caption=Religion in Bundelkhand (2011)<ref name="censusindia.gov.in">{{cite web |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510061218/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ |archive-date=10 May 2006 |title=Census of India}}</ref>
}}

==Notable people==


* [[Avantibai]], (1831–1858) [[Lodhi (caste)|Lodhi]] Queen of estate of [[Dindori, Madhya Pradesh|Ramgarh]], one of the key figures in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
* [[Gopal Bhargava]], prominent [[BJP]] leader, Senior Most Legislator & Cabinet Minister of [[Madhya Pradesh]]
* [[Uma Bharti]], Prominent BJP politician and the former MLA from Charkhari in UP's Bundelkhand region.
* [[Raja Bundela]] - (Raja Rajeshwar Pratap Singh Judev) is an Indian actor, producer, politician and civil activist.
* [[Dhyan Chand]], (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) army Major and an Indian [[field hockey]] player, regarded by many as the greatest field hockey player in history.
* Maharaja [[Chhatrasal]] Chhatrasal Bundela was an early modern Indian Rajput king, who fought against the Mughal Empire, and established his own kingdom in Bundelkhand
* [[Phoolan Devi]], (1963–2001) popularly known as "Bandit Queen", was an Indian [[dacoit]] and later a politician.
* [[Raghunath Vinayak Dhulekar]] MCA & Member of Parliament 1952, MLC & Speaker Vidhan Parishad 1958, social leader
* [[Rani Durgavati]], Queen of Gondwana (born to [[Chandela]]s of [[Mahoba]] / [[Kalinjar]]) immortalised owing to her bravery in defending her kingdom against invasion by Mughal emperor [[Akbar]]
* [[Hari Singh Gour|Dr. Hari Singh Gaur]], Member of Constitution draft committee and founder of [[University of Sagar]], later named the [[Dr. Hari Singh Gour University]] by the state government in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/university-of-saugar-alumniin-celebration-mode/article2237756.ece |title=University of Saugar alumniin celebration mode |work=The Hindu|date=18 July 2011 |access-date=2015-08-04}}</ref>
* [[Maithili Sharan Gupt]], National Hindi poet
* [[Indeevar]], one of the leading Hindi film lyricists in 1960s and 70s{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
* [[Jhalkaribai]] (22 November 1830 – 1858) was an Indian [[Koli people|Koli]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7feHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA119|title=Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics|last=Narayan|first=Badri|date=2006-11-07|publisher=SAGE Publications India|isbn=9788132102809|language=en}}</ref> woman soldier who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 during the battle of Jhansi.
* [[Keshavdas]] (1555 – 1617), usually known by the mononym Keshavdas or Keshavadasa, was a Sanskrit scholar & Hindi poet
* [[Subodh Khandekar]], Olympian hockey player
* [[Tushar Khandker]], player on Indian national hockey team
* [[Mastani]] Second wife of Peshwa [[Bajirao I]], the prime minister. Daughter of [[Maharaja Chhatrasal]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/pulse/bajirao-mastani-and-the-history-of-bundelkhand/|title=Bajirao Mastani and the history of Bundelkhand|work=[[The Times of India]] Blog|access-date=2017-10-06|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Pankaj Mishra]], Indian essayist and novelist
* [[Joy Mukherjee]], Indian actor and director
* [[Ram Mukherjee]], Indian director
* [[Sashadhar Mukherjee]], producer of Hindi films
* [[Subodh Mukherjee]], director, producer, writer of Hindi cinema.
* [[Harishankar Parsai]] - a noted satirist and humourist of modern Hindi literature, known for his simple and direct style.
* [[Nathuram Premi]] (1881–1960), publisher of Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu and Jain literature. Independent scholar, Jain historian and editor of several Jain works.
* [[Rani of Jhansi]], (1828–1858) (AKA Lakshmibai Newalkar) [[Maratha]] Queen of princely state of [[Jhansi]], one of the key figures in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].
* [[Rajneesh]] - Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement
* [[Tatya Tope]], freedom fighter, fought in [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
* [[Taran Svami]], Jain Spiritual Leader
* [[Tulsidas]], the author of ''[[Ramcharitmanas]]'', born in [[Rajapur, Uttar Pradesh|Rajapur]]
* [[Vrindavan Lal Verma]], Hindi novelist (Mrig Nayani, Jhansi Ki Rani)
* [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]], of [[Transcendental Meditation]]



==In art and literature==
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835/Scene in Bundelkhund|'Scene in Bundelkhund', a poetical illustration by L. E. L.}}
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.<ref>{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Bzk_AAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA50|section=picture and poetical illustration|page=46|year=1834|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}</ref>

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]].

In another of Verne's novels, ''[[The Mysterious Island]]'', Captain Nemo of ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas]]'' identifies himself as Prince Dakkar, son of the Hindu raja of Bundelkhand.

==Gallery==

<gallery class="center" widths="250" heights="188">
File:Dhyanchand statue.jpg|Statue of Dhyan Chand on Sipri Hill
File:Rani Durgavati.jpg|Rani Durgavati
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Rajputana]]
* [[List of cities in Bundelkhand]]
* [[Jainism in Bundelkhand]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Bundelkhand}}
* [https://archive.today/20130414135107/http://www.dainet.org/livelihoods/checkdams4.htm Check dam project in Bundelkhand (Development Alternatives)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080709063336/http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2405/stories/20070323000106600.htm ''Historic Blend'', Frontline, Volume 24 – Issue 05 :: 10–23 March 2007]
* James Foote Holcomb, Helen Harriet Howe Holcomb, ''In the Heart of India, or, beginnings of missionary work in Bundela Land, with a short chapter on the characteristics of Bundelkhand and its people, and four chapters of Jhansi history''. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1905 [https://archive.org/details/heartofindia00holcuoft Text at archive.org]

{{Historical regions of North India}}
{{Proposed states and territories of India}}
{{Jhansi division topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bundelkhand| ]]
[[Category:Regions of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Regions of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Regions of India]]
[[Category:Proposed states and union territories of India]]

Bundelkhand - Revision history

Maryparker at 00:15, 4 February 2026