princely state · Indian princely states

Dhenkanal State

1529 CE – 1948 CE (approx.) · capital Dhenkanal

A princely state in central Odisha, remembered for the killing of the twelve-year-old boatman Baji Rout during the Praja Mandal movement of 1938.

Origins

Tradition holds that Hari Singh Vidyadhar, a commander of the Gajapati Kingdom, defeated a local chief named Dhenka and founded the state in 1529. The capital was the town of Dhenkanal.

Rule and society

Dhenkanal was a large inland state on the Brahmani, with rice fields, forest and Adivasi communities. It was tributary to the Marathas and from 1803 one of the Orissa Tributary Mahals. In October 1938 state police fired on villagers at Bhuban, and the young ferryman Baji Rout was shot for refusing to take them across the river.

Decline and legacy

Dhenkanal merged into Orissa on 1 January 1948 and is now a district of Odisha.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Dhenkanal StateDominion of India 1947 CE – 1950 CE

Connections (2)

Dhenkanal State was a protectorate of Company rule in India1803 CE – 1858 CE
Dhenkanal State was a protectorate of British Raj1858 CE – 1947 CE

More states of Indian princely states →

Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Dhenkanal State. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dhenkanal-state
MLA: “Dhenkanal State.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dhenkanal-state. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Dhenkanal State.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dhenkanal-state.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Dhenkanal State’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dhenkanal-state (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻