A BRIEF HISTORY OF KORAPUT REGION AND ITS ADMINISTRATION

TCRC : Tribal Culture Research Centre

Koraput district was carved out of the district of Vizagapatam in Madras with the creation of the Province of Orissa on the 1st April 1936. According to the Government of India (Constitution of Orissa) Order, 1936, "the Jeypore (Impartible) Estate and so much of the Pottangi taluk as not included in that estate" was taken out from the Vizagapatam district of Madras to be included in Orissa which formed the district of Koraput in Orissa. The entire district was a Zamindary area belonging wholly to the Maharaja of Jeypore except for a few insignificant villages in Pachipenta Estate belonging to Zamindar of Pachi-penta and Rani of Kottam. So the history of Koraput is nothing but the history of the great and ancient family of the Maharaja of Jeypore otherwise known as the Raja of Nandapur. The family chronicles trace the history of the family from about the middle of the 15th century till the eventual abolition of the Zamindary on the 29th December 1952, under the provisions of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act. The ancient hoistory of Jeypore has been described in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district by W. Francis, i.c.s., which was published in 1907. Some information about the early history of the district is also available in D. F. Carmichael's Manual of the Vizagapatam district published in 1869. The relevant information has been substantially extracted in the Koraput District Gazetteer by R. C. S. Bell, i. c. s. Subsequently Orissa District Gazetters : Koraput by Sri Nilamani Senapati ICS (Retd.)et.al : 1966 was published. It is not necessary to repeat all the details. But a very brief history of the district may be given here to have a proper appreciation of the tenure of the district with which the settlement Department is chiefly concerned.

The history of Koraput is the history of the primitive tribes who have made it their home. The earliest inhabitants seem to be the wild Kolarian tribes who still inhabit the hilliest part of the district and are still most tenacious of their old customs. Later to arrive are the tribes of the Dravidian origin, particularly the Kondhs. With the coming of these strangers in increasing numbers, it is probable that the disafforestation of the district, which must at one time have been a vast jungle, began to proceed with increasing rapidity. Western Jeypore probably formed a part of the Kingdom of Naga family who ruled in Bastarinthe llth and 12th centuries. Inscriptions at Simahachalam and Kur-mam in Vizagapatam district tell of a line of rulers called the Silabamsi kings who held sway in Nandapur in the 14th and 15th centuries. From the 15th century untill the British period a line of Kings from whom is descended the family of Jeypore, ruled first at Nandapur and later at Jeypore. Legend says that Binayak Deo, a younger son of the Raja of Kashmir succeeded to the throne of Nandapur in A. D. 1443 after marrying the king's daughter. But Mr. Oram gives a more sober and convincing account of the origin of Jeypore house in the Circuit Committee Report of 1784 where he says that the family is descended of a Rajah who was a favourite of the ancient King of Jagannath (Orissa) and sovereign of the northern circars and who got the Nandapur kingdom as dowry by marrying the king's daughter. It appears that Nandapur Kingdom was conferred by Kapilendra Deva, the first of the Gajapatis, as a mark of favour on one of his favourites. There is no doubt that the kings of Nandapur were Oriyas although they were virtually independent of the Raja of Orissa by whom the kingdom was conferred. From the time of their arrival the spread of Oriya influence and language seems to have begun. Oriya castes such as Goudas, Ronas and Paikos, who are now settled cultivators in considerable numbers and who seem to have entered the district as Soldiers and servants of the earliest Rajas enjoyed prescriptive right to certain services under the Rajas of Jeypore till recently. The capital was transferred from Nandapur to the present town of Jeypore by Maharaja Sri Vira Vikram Deo who ruled from 1637 to 1699. The Gajapati kings of Orissa continued to rule, though nominally, until the last of the line, Mukund Deo, was overthrown in 1568 by Mohammadan invaders from Bengal. Three years before, the king of Vizianagram had been defeated by a confederacy of the Sultans of the Deccan at the battle of Talikota. (Thus the Hindu sovereignty over Orissa and Andhra came to an end to be succeeded by two centuries of Mohamma-dan rule.) Ibrahim, the 4th Padshah of the Kutab Sahi dynasty at Golkonda, had taken advantage of this opportunity to wrest back from the Hindus the ceded Province and to occupy in addition the entire country north of the Goda-vari as far as Chicacole. The Sultan of Golkonda recognised the sovereignty of Jeypore under him on payment of a small tribute to him and presenting the Maharaja \yith a sword, ensigns and Standards as emblems of sovereignty and presented him with a Copper plate grant recognising his title as Maharaja which is still preserved in Jeypore palace. In 1687 Aurangazeb, the emperor of Delhi overthrew the kingdom of Golkonda and brought the whole country under his direct rule, appointing toils charge an officer called the Subedar of the Deccan, who was afterwards commonly known as the Nizam of Hyderabad. The fouzdar at Chicacole continued to be the Chief Local Officer under the Subedar as he was under the Sultans of Golkonda. It was in the year 1682 that the English first established a factory at Vizagpatam. The death of Aurangzeb in the year 1707 was followed by great disorder in his southern possessions. In 1724 the Subedar of the Deccan made himself virtually independent and began appointing his own officers. In 1748 the Subedar of Deccan died and the French and the English took opposite sides in the disputed succession which followed. The events of this struggle belong to the history of the Southern districts of Madras. It is enough to mention here that eventually in November 1758 the French who had got in 1753 four of the Northern Circars including Chicacole from their protege Salabat Jang whose cause they espoused, were utterly routed by Colonel Ford in the batde near Rajahmundry with the help of Ananda Raja, the Raja of Vizianagram, who was then the most powerful Hindu Chief in the Chicacole Circar though nominally subservient to the Fouzdar of Chicacole and through him to the Subedar of the Deccan. As a result of this battle, Salabat Jang, the Subedar of the Deccan deserted the French and made a treaty with the English agreeing to cede to the English the Northern Circars except Guntur. This treaty of Salabat Jang was also confirmed by his brother Nizam Ali who murdered and succeeded him and this was also ultimately ratified by the Mughal Emperor's Firman, dated the 12th August 1765. Four years later Vizagapatam was made the headquarters ot the district. But many years ot disturbances were to follow betore settled Government was established in the plains and almost a century elapsed betore the British Government assumed administration of the Jeypore hills.

In 1752 Salabat Jang, the Subedar of Deccan, had granted the Jeypore country as a Jagir to Viziarama Raju, the then Raja of Vizianagram estate on -annual payment of Rs. 24,000. It appears that Jeypore family was in possession mot only of the country comprising in the limits of the Jeypore Estate but of all the hill Zamindaries which lay at the base of the Ghats. The Madras Government confirmed this grant in September 1768 to the Rajah of Vizianagram in consideration of his past services to them in defeating the French on condition that he remained obedient to the Company's authorities and exerted himself in promoting their influence in the Circar. Soon after this under the pretence of settling a disputed succession between Lala Krishna Deo and Vikrama Deo, the sons of the last Raja of Jeypore, Sitarama Raju, the elder brother, Dewan and the defacto Raja of Vizianagram, marched into the hills and after driving out Lala Krishna Deo compelled Vikram Deo in return for his assistance to make over to him the hill Zamindaries of Madgol, Kashipur (Andhra), Salur, Pachi-penta, Chemudu, Sangam Valasa, Kurupam and Meringi, which were all fiefs of the Jeypore Raja. Owing to the appressive rule of Sitarama Raju, these various Zamindars under the encouragement and leadership of Vikram Deo formed a strong confederacy to throw off the Vizianagram yoke. But Sitarama Raju pursuaded the English to regard this as a challenge to their newly constituted authority and with the aid of the Company's troops he defeated the insurgents one after the other. It was during the course of these disturbances that the company first asserted its authority over the hill country by sending a body of troops to Jeypore and obtaining the submission of the Raja. As a result of this campaign a major portion of Jeypore Estate was brought under the control of the Rajah of Vizianagram as the Company's protege. Sitatama Raju endeavoured to manage the country himself assigning a small taluk to Vikram Deo for his maintenance. But the constant revolts of the Jeyporeans proved so irksome to him that he was glad to restore the whole of it to its owner on annual peshcush ofRs. 40,000 of which not more than three-fourths was ever paid.

In the Circuit Committee Report of 1784 which was established by Madras Government to enquire into the state of the Northern Circars and the Revenue system there, a proposal was made to create Jeypore into a separate Zamindary on a Peshcush ofRs. 35,000. Nothing was done on this suggestion and Jeypore remained subordinate to Vizianagram till the year 1794 when with a view to rewarding the Jeypore Raja for holding aloof from the Vizianagram party in the disturbances which followed the death of Viziagrama Raju at the battle of Pad-manabham, Lord Hobert, the then Governor, forwarded a Sanad for the possession of his estate to Ramachandra Deo and his heris in perpetuity on payment of Peshcush of Rs. 25,000. This was 8 years bet ore. the permanent settlement of other zamindaries under Regulation XXV of 1802.

In the year 1802 permanent settlement was introduced throughout the district of Visakhapatnam under the Regulation XXV of 1802 (the circumstances leading to the introduction of the permanent settlement on the lines of the Bengal permanent Settlement Regulation of 1793 and thereafter are too well known to be repeated here) and Jeypore estate was conferred upon Shri Ramachandra Deo, with a reduced peshcush of Rs. 16,000 as per the Sanad, as it was then decided by the Government that an amount of Rs. 9,000 should be deducted from the Peshcush of the estate as compensation for the resumption of the Sayer duties in Jeypore. From the period of the permanent settlement till the Jeypore disturbances of 1848, the affairs of Jeypore Zamindary remained entirely unknown to the officers of Vizagapatam district. On one occasion when the Raja grew slack in his payments and there seemed no prospect of bringing him to allegiance without resorting to arms the then Government proposed to transfer the zamindary to Nagpur State but the offer was declined.

In the year 1848 great complaints reached Vizagapatam of the imbecility of the Maharaja Shri Vikram Deo and the tyrany and mis-rule of his Managers. There were two contending factions in the Zamindary and the faction opposed to the old chief was headed by his eldest son (a youth of 13 who was afterwards Ramachandra Deo III) and his mother the Patta Mahadevi and their following comprised the most influential Sardars of the country. Their avowed object was to remove the ruling chief. The Agent to Governor, Mr. Smollett intervened in the matter and quelled the disturbances by military force and by attaching one talluk after another in the lower division. At last the old Raja, allowed his son to administer all affairs on his behalf from Jeypore and he himself remained at Narayanapatna, "deserted by his servants, given up to the most besoted sensuality and subsisting on the charity of the villagers who were heartily tired of his residence among them.'' Mr. Smollett had proposed that a Police Officer with a suitable retinue should be placed at Gunupur to prevent further disturbances. The then Government appears not wholly to have approved the measures of the Agent in quelling the disturbances. They altogether refvised to accept the proposal to locate a Police Officer in the country on the ground that "we never had exercised police control in the Zamindary", that "it was cursed with a pestilential climate" and that "it would be sufficient if without meddling in the internal dissentions of such a tract, we repelled all incursions into the low country". These views were refuted by Mr. Smollett in his last letter at considerable length. He thought it discreditable that things should be left as they were in a country forming nominally a portion of "this Zilla". In 1855 Jeypore affairs again attracted attention owing to the existence in the Zamindary of the practices of Sati and Meriah sacrifice (the rite of human sacrifice among the Kondhs to propitiate their gods for good harvest) which were admitted by the Raja. When threatend with intervention, the Raja quickly promised measures to eradicate them. He once replied to the Agent that he directed its (the practice of Satee) discontinuance by beat of drum but added that as Jeypore "is a hilly country and the people are rather savage, the rules will not take effect but slowly". The Meriah Agency which was established by Act XXI of 1845 for the suppression of Meriah sacrifices within Bengal and Madras Territories visited the Jeypore Country several times between 1851 and 1862 and ultimately succeeded in putting a stop to this savage practice in the district (Two interesting facts about the practice of Suttee prevalent in the family of Jeypore itself are worth mentioning here. Biswanath Deo who ruled in 1527-71 built an enormous red fort at Rayagada which he made his headquarters. In emulation of the God Krishna he thought proper to marry one hundred and sixteen wives. The site of the self immolation of those ladies on the occurrence of his death is still pointed out. Biswambara Deo who ruled in 1713-1752 made Narayanapatna the capital of his kingdom. The spot locally called "Satigarbha' where his numerous wives and mistresses committed 'sati' at his death is also still pointed out.) A severe fight took place between Raja's two sons over the seizure of Gunupur wherein several parties were wounded by Musketry, as a result of which Gunupur was attached. Ultimately on the 10th July 1855 Government authorised the Agent to assume"the control, both police and Revenue of the tracts above the ghats, the taluks below being managed by the Agent direct". Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General who was then camping at Ootakamund objected to such a step on the ground that "it would involve the British Government in a protracted jungle and hill war such as that ofGhumusur" and so the direction of 1855 to assume Police and Revenue control in Jeypore was withdrawn, but it was ordered that as attachment of Gunupur had already been made it need not be withdrawn. Mr. Smollett protested that the two cases were in no way parallel, but no further action was taken until Vikram Dec's death in 1860. The Agent Mr. Fane then revived Mr. Smollett's proposal which was ultimately sanctioned. In January 1863, Leiutenant Smith was located at Jeypore as Assistant Agent and Captain Galbraith as Assistant Superintendent of Police. Thus the British Government assumed direct administration of the areas held under Jeypore Maharaja with effect from January 1863. After this the history of Koraput district has been chequered only by a number of petty risings by the Hill people which are locally called as "Pituries".

This in a nut-shell is the ancient history of Jeypore estate which also partly covers the history of other estates in the district such as Kotpad Paragana, Sali-mimutha and Pachipenta further details of which will be found in the subsequent paragraphs. It may be stated in this connection that although they were not technically parts of Jeypore Estate, still owing to long and continued possession of the Maharaja of Jeypore over them, they were for all practical purposes considered as integral parts of the estate of Jeypore and no separate account or administration was maintained for any of them apart from Jeypore except for the purpose of furnishing land cess account to the Agent.

A new chapter in the history of the Jeypore.country was begun when the district of Koraput was formed and incorporated Jn the new Orissa Province on the 1st April 1936. Jeypore Estate was ultimately abolished with effect from the 29th December 1952, in Government notification No. 8231-R., dated the 29th December 1952 under the provisions of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951 along with other estates in the district.

Administrative set-up-past and present

Before Jeypore estate was taken under direct administration in 1863 in the district of Vizagapatam it was in charge of a Collector who was called Agent to the Governor for the area covered by the Ganjam and. Vizagapatam Act XXIV of 1839. He was assisted by two assistants with their Headquarters at Parvati-pur and Narsapatnam who were according to official history of that time designated as the Principal and the Senior Assistant Collector, respectively. They were also gazetted as Assistant Agents in those parts of their jurisdiction where the Act of 1839 had application. On the assumption of the administration of Jeypore affairs in. 1863 the thanas of Gunupur, Rayagada, Alamanda and Narayanapatna together with the feudal estates of Kalyansingpur and Bissam-cuttack were assigned to the jurisdiction of the Principal Assistant Agent at Parvatipur. Two Sub-Magistrates each with administrative control over a taluk were appointed to assist him at Gunpur and Rayagada. A new Assistant to the Agent designated as the Special Assistant Agent was placed in charge of the remainder together with the hill portions of the Maharaja's Madgole and Pachi-penta estates with his headquarters at Jeypore. Sub-Magistrates were appointed at Jeypore, Nowrangpur, Padwa and Mahadevputi (7 miles from Koraput). But owing to prevalence of Malaria at Jeypore the headquarters of the Special Assistant Agent was shifted to Koraput in 1870 and that of the Jeypore Sub-Magistrate to Kotpad where he remained, until about 1882. Certain minor changes were made in the organisation of the subordinate staff. First the Sub-Magistrate at Mahadevputi was moved to Koraput and the Padwa charge was abolished and a new one was created at Malkangiri. In 1883, two new taluks each under a Deputy Tahsildar were created with headquarters at Paderu and Pottnagi and in the following year the Bissamcuttack taluk came into existence. Agaia in 1893 the Paderu taluk was abolished and the Padwa taluk created in its place. Thus Koraput division came eventually to consist of six taluks namely, Koraput, Jeypore, Nowrangpur, Malkangiri, Padwa and Pottangi whereas the Revenue Divisional Officer at Parvatipur had three purely agency taluks namely, Gunupur-Rayagada and Bissamcuttack and a fourth taluk, namely, Parvatipur which contained the Narayanapatna agency.

The above arrangement remained practically unchanged until 1936 when the Koraput district was created from the old Vizagapatam district and redistri bution of charges was found necessary. The Parlakhimidi taluk was included in Koraput district for 7 months but was then again restored to Ganjam. The district was placed in charge of a Collector and a Magistrate who was also known as the Agent to the Governor. It was at first divided into two subdivisions with headquarters at Nowrangpur and Rayagada, each under a Deputy Collector designated as Special Assistant Agent. Narayanapatna agency was detached from Parvatipur taluk and was included in Rayagada taluk. Nowrangpur subdivision comprised 5 taluks, namely, Koraput, Jeypore, Nowrangpur, Malkangiri and Pottangi and Rayagada subdivision contained 3 taluks namely, Rayagada, Gunpur and Bissamcuttack. In 1941 Koraput subdivision was created on the model of subdivisions in North Orissa and the taluks of Koraput and Pottangi were abolished. The areas of these ex-taluks and of the Narayanapatna agency which was separated from the taluk of Rayagada constituted Koraput sub-division with effect from the 1st March 1941. The remaining taluks of the former Nowrangpur subdivision, namely, Jeypore, Malkangiri and Nowrangpur continued as Nowrangpur subdivision, the taluks remaining in tact. With effect from 1st March 1941 Rayagada subdivision consisted oTtwo taluks, namely, Gunpur and Rayagada, the latter comprising the areas included in the taluks of Bissamcuttack and Rayagada before the 1st March 1941 excluding the Narayanapatna Agency. The above arrangement continued till the 1st August 1953 when with the abolition of the estates in Koraput further redistribution of charges was found necessary as the entire burden of collection of land revenue had fallen on the State. The taluks were redesignated as Anchals but the jurisdiction of the revenue divisions remained in tact. The Taluk Officers were designated as Anchal Adhikaries. New Anchals were formed at Umerkote from Nowrangpur taluk, at Borigumma from Jeypore taluk, at Pottangi and at Koraput from Koraput subdivision, at Bissamcuttack from Rayagada taluk. With the abolition of the Anchal sasan after passing of the Orissa Estates Abolition (Amendment Act 1957) Act 23 of 1957 the management of the estates which had vested in the \State Government was brought on par with that of the Government ryotwari areas. The nomenclature of the Anchals and Anchal Adhikaries were changed to Tahsils and Tahsildars, respectively. As Malkangiri tahasil with an area of 2,283 square miles was found unwieldy it has now been divided into two tahsils with their
headquarters at Motu and Malkangiri and these two tahsils have formed a separate subdivision in Government notification No. 57264-II-J-15/61, dated the 23rd December 1961. A new tahsil at Kotpad has since been created in Government notification No. 30097-II-E (A)-84/62-R., dated the 27th June 1962 out of the old Borigumma tahsil. Rayagada subdivision was also split up into two subdivisions, one at Rayagada and another at Gunupur in Government notification No. 32272-II-J-7/62-R., dated the llth July 1962 and to Rayagada subdivision has been added the newly constituted tahsil of Kasipur from Kalahandi district. Under the Tahsildars there are non-gazetted Revenue Supervisors and below them are the Revenue Inspectors for collection of revenue and other miscellaneous revenue works. The above is the administrative set-up under the Government of the day since January, 1863 when the British Government assumed, direct admini stration of the estate. While taking charge of Civil and Criminal administration from the Maharaja the revenue administration was entirely left in the hands of the Zamindar till the abolition of the estate on the 29th December 1952 subject, of course, to the limitations imposed by the Madras Estates Land Act I of 1908. The working of this Madras Estates Land Act which governed the relationship between the land-holder and the ryots so far as the district of Koraput
is concerned is discussed in paragraph 32. For the purpose of land revenue administration the Maharaja divided the estates under his charge into portions with headquarters at Jeypore and Gun pur and later at Jeypore and Rayagada with an Assistant Dewan in charge of each. The posts of Assistant Dewans were later converted to Divisional Managers. About 1941, there were three Divisional Managers, one each at Nowrangpur, Koraput and Rayagada. The Dewan was in overall charge of the administration. The charge of each Divisional Manager was further subdivided into revenue tanas each in-charge of an Amin whose rank was similar to that of a Tahsildar. There were 11 tanas in upper division, namely, Jeypore Division and 7 tanas in the lower division, namely, Rayagada division. Under the tana Amins, there were revenue Inspectors for collection of rent. Each tana office was a rent collecting centre and had a strong room to receive payment of rent made in cash. There were wooden granaries built for storage of rent in kind in all tanas. As the Maharaja of Jeypore was also the land-holder for Pachipenta and Madgole estates ( a portion of Pachipenta estate and the entire Madgole estate remained in Andhra on creation of Orissa on the 1st April 1936), the jurisdiction of the tanas on border were not necessarily confined to the villages remaining in Orissa. The Tana Amins had also revenue jurisdiction over the villages in Madgole and Pachipenta estates remaining in Andhra. Before 1920 the post of the Dewan was not being occupied by efficient persons. In 1920 the Agent to Governor persuaded the Maharaja to entrust the management of the estate to persons of better qualifications. Since then the Maharaja borrowed officials of the rank of a Collector from Government service to administer his affairs. This continued till 1941. Again in 1950 Government insisted on his taking a Government Officer as Dewan and so Sri Gopinath Behera, the then District Magistrate, Ganjam, was appointed as Dewan. After abolition of the estate on the 29th December 1952 the revenue Administration of the Maharaja was abolished and the Anchal arrangement came into force.

General administration with reference to prevailing laws

As has been stated in paragraph 27 (/) (e) the entire administration in the district of Koraput including Civil, Criminal and Revenue was in the hands of the Maharaja of Jeypore till 1863. The reasons why the British Government did not like to interfere in the administration of the country seem to be that they did not like to involve themselves in a protracted warfare in a hilly and jungle country like Jeypore because their experience in Ghumsur showed that they would not very much profit by taking over the entire administration in such an undeveloped country. The policy of non-interference in Jeypore had been repeatedly insisted on by the Home authorities and by the Government of India. Although technically Koraput was subject to the Regulation of 1839 as being the agency tract of the district of Vizagapatam still no emblem of the British administration was established in the district. From the taking over of the northern sirkars by the English from 1765 to 1862 this was the state of affairs. From 1863 onwards there was a change of policy and there was the introduction of the police and the magistracy and extension of other enactments usually applied to the other agency tracts. In this connection it would be relevant to cite briefly the circumstances leading to the passing of the Act XXIV of 1839 under which Koraput district was administered for a pretty long time.

Towards the close up 1832 the disturbances in the Ganjam and Vizagapatam district became so serious that Mr. George Russel, first Member of the Board of Revenue, Madras was sent as a Special Commissioner to investigate into their causes and take measures for their suppression. He was invested with extraordinary powers including the power of proclaiming martial law, if necessary and was supported by a strong force of troops. Mr. Russel's report is dated the 18th November 1834. In the following year Sir Frederick Adam, Governor of Madras visited the sirkars and proposed the expediency of exempting the hill Zamindaries from the general regulations under which the country was then governed ; but probably no action would have been taken in the matter but for the Ghumsur disturbances in Ganjam which broke out at the close of 1835 and which formed a subject of Mr. Russel's further reports, dated the 12th August 1836, 3rd March and llth Mvy 1837. Towards the close cf his last report he recommended that a system which was adopted to districts where the authority of Government was paramount cannot fail to be in applicable to the mountainous tracts where the Government had no police and hence no power. As the regulations were a fruitful source of irritation to the hill Zamindars he finally proposed that the hill Zamindaries should be exempted from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts and placed exclusively under the Collector of the district in whom should be vested the entire administration of Civil and Criminal justice, under such rules for his guidance as might be prescribed by orders in Council. This proposal was approved by Government and formed the basis of Act XXIV of 1839. Among other ancient Zamindaries Jeypore and Pachipenta were exempted from the operation of the general regulations under this Act of 1839. It may be mentioned in this connection that though Kotpad Pargana and Salimi Mutha together with the two villages Aunli and Bansobeda were not included in the permanent settlement Sanad of Jeypore estate still owing to long continued possession of the Maharaja over these two tracts they were considered as part and parcel of Jeypore Zamindary and therefore they came under Regulation XXIV of 1839. The Scheduled Districts Act of 1874 was also passed onthe lines of Ganjam-Vizagapatam Act of 1839. Under the latter Act the enactments passed by the Central and Provincial Legislatures would not apply to the areas mentioned therein unless so notified under the Act or declared by executive order to be so in force. The agency tract of the district of Vizagapatam under which Koraput was included came under the purview of this Act. A special rules of administration called the Agency Rules were framed under section 6 of the Scheduled Districts Act and Agency Standing Orders were also framed by the Agent to the Governor for the administration of the agency tracts. The procedure according to which Civil Courts would try suits and cases were prescribed in the agency rules.

In the district of Koraput the criminal justice was being administered in the same manner as in the plains. The Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code with slight modifications were in force. The District Collector and the District Magistrate was also the District and Sessions Judge. He could dispense with assessors and there was no trial by Sessions Judges. The powers of the High Court were in no way fettered. The two Special Assistant Agents were Subdivisional Magistrates with powers under Section 30 of the Criminal Procedure Code . All the Taluk Officers were invested with powers of the second class or third class Magistrates and were ordinarily empowered to take cognisance of complaints of offences committed within their jurisdiction. There were two Stationary Sub-Magistrates with 2nd Class powers at Jeypore and Gunupur and later on at Nowrangpur and Rayagada who tried bulk of the cases arising in these four taluks. The Taluk Officers and Sub-Magistrates were also designated as Agency Munsifs. They were empowered to try suits up to Rs. 500 in value and the Special Assistant Agents, those between 500 and 5,000, and the Agent those above the latter sum in value. A Sub-Judge who was a member of the Provincial Judicial Service was stationed at Jeypore and the bulk of the suits and appeals filed before the Special Assistant Agents and the Agent were transferred to him for disposal. The above arrangement continued till the repeal of the Ganjam and Vizagapatam Act by the Koraput and Ganjam Agency Repeal and Extension of Laws Regulation 1951 (Regulation V of 1951) which came into force on the 1st January 1953. After coming into force of this regulation the designations of 'Agent' and 'Special Assistant Agent' were abolished. The Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil Courts Act and the Civil Procedure Code were introduced and the same rules of administration which were in force in the remaining areas of the State were introduced.

The Madras Estates Land Act which governed the relationship between the land-holder and the tenant came into force in the district from the 1st July 1908. The circumstances which led to the passing of the Madras Estates Land Act, namely, the oppression of the land-holders on their ryots, rack-renting and frequent eviction due to absence of a codified right were not present in the district of Koraput. The Zamindar filed suits under this Act for rent due to him from the tenants in villages where he had appointed no mustajars, and as such villages were not many as stated in paragraph 31(m) rent suits were few and. far between. In the greater part of the estate where the Mustajari system was in force the Zamindar had to sue a defaulting mustajar in the Civil Court. The Mustajar in the capacity of an agent to the Zamindar had to sue defaulting ryots in the revenue courts under the Estates Land Act. Such suits by Mustajars were, however, rare.

Another very important enactment was passed for safeguarding the interests of the Adivasis in the agency tracts of Ganjam, Vizagapatam and Goda-vari district and this Act was applicable to the district of Koraput and it came into force in this district on the 14th August 1917. This was passed with a view to preventing transfer of lands from adivasis to non-Adivasis which was taking place rapidly in the agency tracts. But the bulk of the transfers in the district of Koraput had already taken place before this Act was passed. People also could not take the advantage of the passing of this Act as they were uneducated and ignorant, even for transfers made after that date. The estate officials remained completely indifferent in the matter and mutated the names of the transferees in the estate records. So there was practically no documentary evidences for proving transfer of the lands of the Adivasis to non-Adivasis. Further this Act did not affect the relinquishment of lands by adivasis in favour of the landholder. So in several cases the Act was dodged by the Adivasis relinquishing his lands in favour of the Jeypore Estate and the shrewd non-Adivasi transferees in obtaining the same from the estate employees. To enquire about the evasion of the Act the Madras Government had appointed a Special Deputy Tahasildar in 1929 who set aside several transfers. After the creation of the Orissa Province a similar Officer was appointed in 1948 and the Act was amended so as to apply to reiinquishments in favour of the land-holder. But this attempt did not prove quite successiui owing to the inability of the adivasis in safeguarding their own interest and in the absence ol documentary evidences. The effect of the passing of the Agency Tracts Interest and Land Transfer Act of 1917 and its successor Regulation II of 1956 on preparation of R. O. Rs. has been more fully described in paragraph 65.

Under the Government of India, Act 1919 the district was treated as a backward tract and was excluded in a modified degree from the operation of the laws as envisaged in that Act. Under the 1935 Act this was classed as a Partially Exculded area under which the enactments passed by the Provincial and Federal Legislatures could not automatically come into force in this district without being specifically extended. Under this 1935 Act hill tribes were defranchised and were represented in the Legislative Assembly by four nominees of the Government. Under the Constitution of India which came into force on the 26th January 1950 Koraput was declared as "Scheduled area" under which the enactments passed by the State and Union legislatures would automatically come into force in this area unless specifically barred by the Government or the legislature. After coming into force of the Constitution and repeal of the Ganjam-Yizagapatam Act 1839 from the 1st January 1953 almost the entire body of Jaws which are in force in the rest of the State have come into force in the district of Koraput.

compiled by TCRC :(Tribal Culture Research Centre)
Sabara Srikhetra, Koraput - 764020, India