The Kandhmal district was created on 1 April 1993 from the former Boudh-Kandhmal district as a result of district reorganization in the state of Odisha.
Communal unrest and insurgency
On 25 December 2007, unrest broke out between Christians and Hindus and Kandha tribe and Pana caste people.
On 23 August 2008, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati - a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad - was murdered by Maoist gunmen along with four others, including a boy. Maoist rebels took responsibility for the multiple murders, and incentivized religious conversions of Hindu tribal’s by Christian missionaries. As most Maoist extremists in Odisha are Pana-caste Christians, Maoist groups have proclaimed Hindu nationalist organizations to be their "natural enemies". This led to large scale riots between the indigenous Hindu Kandha tribe tribal’s and the converted Christian communities. The underlying causes are complex and cross political, religious and ethnic boundaries. Land encroachment perceived or otherwise being a particular source of tension between the communities. In April 2010, a special "fast track" court in Phulbani convicted 105 people. Ten people were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
It is currently a part of the Red Corridor of India, an area with significant Maoist insurgency activity. Suspected Maoist rebels detonated a roadside land mine on 27 November 2010, blowing up an ambulance. A patient, a paramedic, and the vehicle's driver were killed
