History of Kanha

Kanha National Park, located in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India, was established in 1955. It later became a Tiger Reserve in 1973 under Project Tiger, a conservation initiative to protect the Bengal tiger. The park is named after the Kanha River, which meanders through the region. It covers an area of approximately 940 square kilometers and is renowned for its lush forests, rich biodiversity, and remarkable wildlife.
The Kanha National Park was originally a part of the Gondwanas or the “land of the Gonds”. The forest of the Kanha Tiger Reserve was inhibited by two indigenous tribes of Central India, the Gonds and the Baigas. The vicinity of the reserve is still occupied with the villagers of these tribes. Located in Mandla and Balaghat districts, the Kanha Tiger Reserve is being occupied by two major sanctuaries, the Hallon and the Banjar Sanctuaries. Respectively covering the area of 250 sq km and 300 sq km, the Kanha Reserve together forms a greater area of 1,949 sq km.

The chronology of the Kanha National Park makes it more simplified:

1800- Before 19th century, the area was being ruled by the Gond dynasty since many centuries and the Kanha Forest was little known since the slash and burn cultivation methods of both the Baiga and Gond tribes were being dominated at that area. They had good knowledge of the animals and their behaviors.

1862- It marks an important year during 19th century in the history of the Kanha National Park when the first forest management rules were instituted and cutting of various tree species like Sal, Teak, Saja, Shisham and Bija without official authorization were prohibited.

1857-1871 This period has a remarkable importance as the Kanha reserve area is best known to come into existence when Captain J. Forsyth wrote a classic “The Highlands of Central India”. This book (published in 1913) is a highly readable combination of ethnography, forest survey and personal memoir (with dashes of shikar diary thrown in for good measure). Captain J. Forsyth, an officer in the Bengal Staff Corps discovered Panchmarhi hill located in Satpura National Park in Central India.

1879- The Kanha Area was declared as a reserve forest.

1880- The year 1880 which was called the British era, made this region of Madhya Pradesh more valuable when the central provinces was made the center stage of Rudyard Kipling’s imaginations for “The Jungle Book” stories. The tremendous landscapes in the forest of Kanha and Pench are really magnanimous.

1923- The year when a landmark classic book published, entitled “Wild Animals in Central India” that completely focused on the Kanha region’s wildlife. The book was written by A. A. Dunbar Brander, a government official and a keenly observant amateur naturalist.

1933- The year when the Kanha forest area was declared as sanctuary.