Jagdalpur is a city and a municipality in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bastar District and Bastar Division, and was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Bastar. Jagdalpur and its surrounding area comprise a major part of the Bastar District. The area is famous for age old wooden handicrafts. These are in high demand among both local as well as foreign tourists. As of 2011 India census, Jagdalpur had a population of 103,123. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Jagdalpur has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 68%. In Jagdalpur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. The history of Jagdalpur (Bastar) takes us as deep into the past as Valmiki's Ramayana. It was the famous Dandakaranya through which Lord Rama is supposed to have passed. Scholars have also identified Valmiki's ashram here. The Bastar...
