Bihar and Orissa District Gazetteers: Cuttack

Before Independence, British administrators in India published imperial district gazetteers, including those for Angul, Balasore, Cuttack, Koraput, Puri and the ‘Feudatory States of Orissa’. This gazetteer, published in 1933, describes various aspects of Odisha’s Cuttack district. It surveys the district’s economy, society, politics and administrative setup, as well as its history, geography, climate, biodiversity and natural resources. The gazetteer says that the district was divided into two valleys by three big rivers: the Mahanadi to the south, the Baitarni to the north, and the Brahmani between the two. Its principal town Cuttack, located along the Mahanadi, was the administrative headquarters of the district and the Orissa Division. The district was spread over 3,644 square miles (over 9,437 square kilometres) and had a population of 2.17 million (2,176,707 persons), according to the 1931 Census. The gazetteer says that indigenous tribes such as the Khond in the south, the Gond in the west, the Ho, and Bhumij and Santal settlers in the north, probably migrated to Orissa (now Odisha) in historic times. Others like the Savar, the Juang and the Pan were most likely indigenous to the region...