Panna - City Of Diamonds :

The only Diamond City in India is Panna. Panna is beautifully calm and serene : roll-on meadows dotted with evergreen trees, rocks, hills, forests Panna is famous for its temples which strikes a very fine blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture. Panna is the most sacrosanct pilgrimage for the followers of the Pranami sect world over. With a sanctuary for rare wild life and avifauna & a diamond mine, Panna has transformed a royal past into a vibrant and lively present. Panna is famous for its diamond mines located in a belt of about 80 kms across the town. Panna district is entirely dependent on road transport. Panna is picturesque place lying strategically in a valley amidst forest covered by lofty hills.

Historical Facts:

Steeped in the splendour of the royal legacies of its past, Panna is infectious, reverentially mysterious, enveloping and holy. The oldest reference to Panna is in the Ramayan and various Purans. The ancient name of Panna was Padmawati-Puri, mentioned in Vishnu Puran and Bhavishya Puran. In the 41st sarg of Valmiki Ramayan it is described as Kilkila-Khand by Sugriv and Shrimad Bhagwat calls it Kilkila Pradesh. According to local believes, it was the capital of Raja Dadhichi and also of Raja Padmavat during satyug. That was Swami Pran Nathji who told Raja Chhatrasal Bundela, a great medieval warrior regarding Diamond mines of Panna and thus strengthened his financial position. He also persuaded Chhatrasal to make Panna his capital and arranged his coronation there. Panna district of today has been carved mainly out of former princely states of Panna and Ajaigarh. Originally a Gond settlement up to the thirteenth century, it was raised to importance by Raja Chhatrasal Bundela who made it his capital. From explorations, it is proved that the district was inhabited by primitive men in the earlier pre-historic period. During the Ramayan period the Panna region seems to have been included in the great Dandkaranya. The district was the part of the vast empires of Mauryas, Shungas and Imperial Gupta's. From the middle of the 10th century AD to the second half of the 13th century, the Chandellas kingdom included Khajuraho, Kalingar and Ajaigarh. When the Bundelas came to power in the 17th century , the area came to be known as Bundelkhand.

Diamond mining :

A large group of diamond deposits extends North-East on a branch of the Vindhya Range for 150 miles (240 km) or so, and is known as the Panna group. They do not cover an area of more than 20 acres (81,000 m2). Great pits, 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter and, perhaps, 30 feet (9.1 m) in depth, are dug for the sake of reaching the diamond conglomerate, which, in many cases, was only a very thin layer. According to Valentine Ball, who edited the 1676 'Travels in India' of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Tieffenthaler was the first European to visit the mines in 1765 and claimed that the Panna diamonds could not compare in hardness and fire with other locations in India. No really large diamonds have come from this area. The most productive mines were in the 1860s and were found in Sakaria, around 20 miles (32 km) from Panna. Four classifications were given to the Panna diamonds: first, Motichul, clear and brilliant; 2nd, Manik, with a faint orange tint; 3rd, Panna, verging in tint towards green; 4th, Bunsput, sepia coloured. Mines is situated in the interior of Panna district. Diamond mines in Panna are managed under the Diamond Mining Project of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC Ltd) of Government of India.In other mines every year the land is leased to prospective miners by the government agency. The diamonds unearthed are all collected by the district magistrate of Panna and are auctioned in the month of January. Auctions are open to the public and require a R.s 5000 deposit. Upwards of 100 diamonds of different carat and shade are offered for auction.

Majhgawan Diamond Mines in Panna, MP, India, Asia’s only Diamond mine. It is a centre of a Volcano that erupted millions of years ago

Panna of today : Panna district is located in the north-eastern part of Madhya Pradesh. It forms the northern district of Sagar Commissionerate Division. The district extends from 23o45" N to 25o10" N and from 79o45' E to 80o40' E. The shape of district is roughly triangular. As per the 1991 census, the population of Panna district was 687945 out of which the rural population was 598378 and urban was 89567. The district is divided into five revenue blocks in which there are 1048 villages and 6 towns. Panchayat-wise, Panna has one Zila Panchayat and five Janpad Panchayats. Panna is famous for its diamond mines located in a belt of about 80 Kms across the town. Panna district is entirely dependent on road transport. Panna is picturesque place lying strategically in a valley amidst forest covered by lofty hills.