Bonai

Bonai was a forested hill state of the Garjat country west of Orissa, ruled from Bonaigarh by the Kadamba dynasty. Its Rathore Rajput rajas long acknowledged the suzerainty of Sambalpur.

According to court tradition, founder Pratap Bhanu Deo established the state with the help of Bhuyan landlords, whose clans retained influence at court. Bonai was ceded to the British in 1803, returned to the Marathas in 1818 and placed under British protection in 1826, becoming a Chota Nagpur tributary state under Bengal.