Vikram Dev

Malkangiri was in the southern region of Jeypore kingdom. In 1760, the troops of the French East India Company infiltrated this region with an intention of attacking the Marathas. They came as far as the town and were halted by the zamindar of Malkangiri who further informed the king about the confrontation. Evidently, Vikram Dev arrived with his army and drove out the French troops who retreated beyond the river, Godavari.[3]

Jeypore excluded from the Maratha Empire

The rising prowess of the Marathas led them to conquer much of India and establish an empire. The eastern kingdoms lying in the region of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bengal were all conquered by the forces of the Maratha Empire. The neighbouring kingdoms of Bastar and Kalahandi State were taken over by the Maratha Generals who wanted control over Jeypore to consolidate their position and battle the British.

The Maratha army began invasion from the Umerkote belt and soon faced the army of Jeypore led by Vikram Dev. Evidently, the Marathas were defeated and driven out of the region and Jeypore remained independent from the Maratha Empire.[3]

The ruler of Vizianagaram failed to maintain good relations with the French and joined the British camp in order to usurp the neighbouring kingdoms of Jeypore and Paralakhemundi. In 1765, the British acquired the Northern Circars and three years later Viziaram Raz II wrote to the Madras Presidency stating that the whole kingdom of Jeypore was granted to him by Salabat Jung, Mughal Governor of Deccan on an annual payment of 24,000 rupees. The Madras Government considering the past services of Viziaram Raz, in 1769, granted three important territories of the Jeypore Rajya called Kasipatnam, Nandapur and Madugula to the Raja of Vizianagaram.[2]

In 1775, the kingdom of Paralakhemundi was under an attack by the British which propelled Vikram Dev to assemble a large force in the fort of Rayagada valley. Meanwhile, the British troops along with the army of Vizianagaram attacked Jeypore in the absence of the king. The guarding troops of the fort and the people of Jeypore fought valiantly against much formidable opponents. The description of their brave defense was written by Captain Richard Matthews on 14 February 1775 where he mentioned that his troops came through the pass with great difficulty as the enemies continuously fought with his army when they were only a few miles away from Jeypore.[1]

However, the British took over the capital of Jeypore and the fort was demolished under the instructions of Captain Richard Matthewse. He writes in his memoir:

I took possession of the fort on the 11th March. It is a square of about one thousand yards built of mud. The wall 20 feet high, the bastions very good, the rampart tolerable, and a ditch 20 feet wide and as many deep; I have ordered it to be destroyed.[4]

— Tara Dutt, Koraput, Odisha District Gazetteers

Vikram Dev prepared for the battle in Rayagada against the British and Vizianagaram but failed against a superior army. Seeing that the defeat was inevitable, he eloped to the neighboring kingdom of Kalahandi. Meanwhile, Viziaram Raz did acquire Jeypore but faced a serious revolt and protests from the denizens who pledged their loyalty to the former dynasty. The protests got violent when the Vizianagaram troops began using force to control the civilians. Therefore, the British government of Madras agreed to return the territories to Vikram Dev under an annual settlement of 40,000 rupees. The kingdom was annexed to the British territories as a Zamindari or tributary baronial estate and Vikram Dev was granted the title of 'Raja' like other zamindars.[2]

In 1777, Raja Daryao Deo of Bastar was ousted by his brother Raja Ajmer Singh and the former absconded to Jeypore seeking shelter in the fort of Vikram Dev. Essentially, Raja Daryao was accompanied by Vikram Dev to the capital of Bastar with one hundred cavalry, one hundred swordsmen, twelve thousand infantry, twenty canons and fifteen war elephants and was further joined by thousands of rebel soldiers. The defense of Ajgar Singh collapsed in a day and Daryao Deo was reinstalled on the throne of Bastar. The pargana of Kotpad was presented to Vikram Dev for his services, this pargana had five forts - Umerkote, Churchunda, Raigarh, Kotpad and Podagada.[2]