| Singhbhum District | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of theBengal Presidency | |||||||||
| 1820–1990 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
 Singhbhum district (incl.Dhalbhum) in a 1909 map ofThe Imperial Gazetteer of India | |||||||||
| Capital | Chaibasa | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• 1872 | 11,660 km2 (4,500 sq mi) | ||||||||
• 1901 | 10,078 km2 (3,891 sq mi) | ||||||||
• 1931 | 10,050 km2 (3,880 sq mi) | ||||||||
• 1961 | 13,445 km2 (5,191 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1872 | 415,023 | ||||||||
• 1901 | 613,579 | ||||||||
• 1931 | 929,802 | ||||||||
• 1961 | 2,049,911 | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• The Raja of Porahat becomes a feudatory of the British | 1820 | ||||||||
| 1837 | |||||||||
• Merger ofDhalbhum | 1846 | ||||||||
• Annexation of proper Porahat estate | 1859 | ||||||||
• Merger ofSaraikela andKharsawan State | 1948 | ||||||||
| 1956 | |||||||||
• Bifurcation | 1990 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Kolhan division ofJharkhand | ||||||||
Singhbhum was a district of India during theBritish Raj, part of theChota Nagpur Division of theBengal Presidency.[1] It was located in the present-day Indianstate ofJharkhand.Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern limit of theChota Nagpur Plateau, Singhbhum included theKolhan estate located in its southeastern part.[2] The district has been segmented into two smaller districts, East Singhbhum and West Singhbhum.
Singhbhum is aportmanteau ofSingh andBhum. "Singh" refers to the Singh raja of the greaterPorahat state, and "Bhum" signifies the land, thereby forming the land of Singh.[3]Manbhum, Barabhum,Dhalbhum, Bhanjbhum and other nearby areas follow similar nomenclature. However, its prominent inhabitants, theHo tribe asserts that Singhbhum derives its name from "Singbonga", the supreme god of the Adivasis in the region, primarily venerated by theKolarian ethnic tribes.[4]
The Singhbhum area was never invaded by either theMarathas or theMughals. The first relationships between the Raja of Singhbhum and the British were established in 1767 when he approached the Resident at Midnapore requesting protection. In 1820 the Raja became a feudatory of the British. In 1837, Captain Wilkinson established the Kolhan Government Estate afterKol uprising; comprising 26 pir, bounded byPorahat in the north,Khiching ofMayurbhanj in the south,Bonai in the west, andSeraikela in the east. Further,Dhalbhum region also incorporated into the district in 1846. The state was under the political control of the Commissioner of theBengal Presidency until 1912,[2] under theBihar and Orissa Province until 1936 and then underChhota Nagpur Division until the end of theBritish Raj.[citation needed]
Following theindependence of India Singhbhum district became part of the Indian Union as a district ofBihar. In 1990, for administrative convenience, the district was divided into two districts:East Singhbhum andWest Singhbhum. In 2000, South Bihar separated from North Bihar to form the state ofJharkhand. In 1956,Ichagarh,Chandil, andPatamda are merged with East Singhbhum district by curving out of erstwhileManbhum district ofWest Bengal, viz State Reorganization Act. Subsequently, in 2001, the princely state regionSaraikela andKharsawan along with Inchagarh and Chandil was bifurcated from East Singhbhum district to formSaraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand.[citation needed]
It is bounded byRanchi District in the north, with theSaraikela andKharsawanprincely states in the east, withMayurbhanj andKeonjhar in the south as well as withBonai andGangpur in the southwest.[2] Singhbhum District had an area of 10,078 square kilometres (3,891 sq mi) and a population of 613,579 in 1901.[5]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1872 | 318,180 | — |
| 1881 | 453,775 | +42.6% |
| 1891 | 545,488 | +20.2% |
| 1901 | 909,655 | +66.8% |
| 1911 | 1,015,656 | +11.7% |
| 1921 | 1,074,254 | +5.8% |
| 1931 | 1,312,630 | +22.2% |
| 1941 | 1,565,306 | +19.2% |
| 1951 | 1,700,590 | +8.6% |
| 1961 | 2,049,911 | +20.5% |
| 1971 | 2,437,799 | +18.9% |
| 1981 | 2,861,799 | +17.4% |
| Post 1981 census, the district bifurcated intoEast andWest Singhbhum district, subsequentlySaraikela Kharsawan district. Note: The census data exhibit discrepancies at different sources owing to changes in areas of Singhbhum. The above table primarily based on1961 Singhbhum Gazzetters. Source: Census of India[6][7][8][9] | ||
According to the 1931 census, the total population of Singhbhum (includingDhalbhum but excludingSaraikela andKharsawan states) was 929,802 in 3,879 square miles (10,050 km2) area. The predominant communities in the region were theHo, comprising 32.39% of the population, followed by theSantal at 11.71%,Bhumij at 5.71%,Munda at 5.48%,Gaura at 5.04%,Tanti at 4.09%,Goala at 3.79%,Hajjam at 2.68%,Kurmi at 2.42%,Bhuiyan at 1.97%,Kamar at 1.87%,Brahman at 1.71%,Kumhar at 1.49%,Rajput at 1.4%,Teli at 1.31%,Oraon at 1.09%,Kayastha at 1.04%, and others such asKaran,Bania,Khandayat,Kewat,Gadaba,Dhobi,Kharia,Dom,Mahli,Chamar, Hari,Kahar, Jolaha, Mallah, Karmali,Bathudi, Savar,Korwa,Mochi, andBirhor.[10]
In terms of language, the Ho language was the most prevalent at 32.83%, followed by Odia at 18.49%, Bengali at 15.87%, Santali at 11.15%, Hindi and Urdu at 8.72%, Mundari at 5.85%, Bhumij at 3.25%, and other notable spoken languages such as Telugu, Panjabi, Tamil, Mahli, Gujurati, Nepali, Gondi, Marwari,Pashtu, and someEuropean languages.[10]
