Veer Surendra Sai led his war against the British from Debrigarh, which is a peak on the Barapahad Range. His fight against the British Raj particularly after the First War of Independence in 1857 was remarkable in the history of freedom struggle in India (Pasayat and Singh, 2009; Panda and Pasayat, 2009). Debrigarh today is a tiger sanctuary. Barabakhra (12 caves) used to be a secret meeting place during this period. Bargarh was a subdivision of old Sambalpur district until April 1992, when the then chief minister Mr. Biju Patnaik declared it as the headquarters of the newly formed district by the same name. Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India, Bargarh had a population of 83,651. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bargarh has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Other than Oriya speaking people who form the majority, the town has some Marwari community who have migrated and settled down. Within the Oriya speaking population, the major communities are Kuiltas, Dumals, Agharias, Bhulia/Meher, Teli, etc. Kuiltas and Dumals are presumed to be an offshoot of the original Chasa (agrarian) community and are synonymous with the Khandayats of the coastal region. This is evident by the striking similarity of rituals and the gods they pray. Bhulias were migrated to and settled in this region by some rulers, but the exact time period is controversial. Agraria's were migrated from the Mughal empire of Agra for establishing a cultivator community during the war when Kuiltas was assigned the duty of part-time Kshatriyas. Oriya is the language for communication, official purposes and for education. Culture Dhanu Yatra Bargarh is known for the annual festival, Dhanu Jatra which attracts a lot of tourists worldwide. Dhanu Jatra or Dhanuyatra celebrated every winter, is an open stage dramatisation of Krishna Leela with virtually the whole town as a stage. Spanning over a period of 11 days and a radius of 8 km, with the universal theme of 'Triumph of Good over Evil'. It depicts the mythological story of Krishna starting from the marriage of his parents (Devaki and Basudev) till the death of Kansha, the evil king. For this whole period, Bargarh town turns into the mythological city of Mathura, Jeera river turns into