Varsha PandeyAbout Muria Darbar
The Bastar Dussehra is the world’s longest-running Dussehra, lasting for a total of 75 days.
Known for its various primitive customs and Rath Yatra, it is famous all over the world.
For six hundred and fifty years, the Bastar royal family played a prominent role in the entire ritual of Bastar Dussehra.
In a way, the king of Bastar was the pivot of this festival.
Over time, this tradition of democracy merged into democracy.
After this, the public representatives elected by the voters started joining the Dussehra Committee.
A very interesting program called Muria Darbar was organized during the Bastar Dussehra.
The Darbar takes place in the evening at Sirasar Bhawan of Jagdalpur after Kachin Jatra on the day of Ashwin Shukla Dwadash.
Muria Darbar
In Bastar, there was an exchange of ideas between the king and the people in this Darbar.
Every Manjhi Chalaki used to present the problems of his area before the king, and there were open discussions to resolve problems and complaints.
The main attraction of Bastar was the this Darbar, which encouraged democracy.
In Bastar, the use of the word Muria was prevalent for everyone, irrespective of which community the tribals belonged to.
This word is the identity of Bastar.
That is why this event is known as Muria Darbar and not Tribal Darbar.
History of this Darbar
In 1876, the Darbar organization was founded.
At the time, Bhairamdev was the king of Bastar, ruling from 1853 AD to 1891 AD. During his reign, the tribals of Bastar rebelled against the British rule, which was also in place at the time.
This uprising is known as the Muria rebellion in the history of Bastar.
Hiralal Shukla’s account of the organization of the Muria Darbar during Bastar’s Liberation War is one of the earliest historical records. Following the Muria rebellion of 1876, McGeorge – the then Deputy Commissioner of Sironcha – organized the first Muria Darbar on March 8th, 1876, in Jagdalpur.
This was done to bring about reconciliation between the king and his subjects.
The establishment of the Muria Darbar became a significant democratic attraction during Dussehra celebrations in Bastar.
Since then, the Darbar has been organized annually during Dussehra
The picture is of Darbar, in which the present young Maharaja of Bastar Kamalchandra Bhanjdev ji is seated in Muria Darbar.
Since 1947, along with the king, public representatives have also been attending the Darbar.
After the assassination of Bastar’s Maharaja Praveer Chandra Bhanjedav in 1966, members of the royal family did not attend the Darbar.
Kamalchandra Bhanjdev has been attending Muria Darbar since 2015.
Maharaj Kamalchandra Bhanjdev is the Chairman of the State Youth Commission.
He is very soft-spoken and a role model and inspiration for the youth.
