CHHATTISGARH PLAIN

plain, central India, forming the upper Mahanadi River Basin. About 100 miles (160 km) wide, it is bounded by the Chota Nagpur plateau (north), the Maikala Range (west), the Raigarh hills (northeast), the Raipur Upland (southeast), and the Bastar plateau (south). A vast, undulating tract, it consists of rich rice fields and grainfields. Bilaspur, Raipur, Raigarh, and Durg are the chief towns. The name Chhattisgarh (Thirty-six Forts) was formerly applied to the territory of the Haihaya dynasty of Ratanpur, founded c. 750, and the plain long remained an isolated protected area. Under British rule the Chhattisgarh states consisted of a subagency of 14 feudatory princely kingdoms under the Eastern States Agency. Raipur was the agency headquarters.