West Singhbhum or Pashchimi Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district (then in Bihar) was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarters.[1]

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West Singhbhum district
District of Jharkhand
Location of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
Division	Kolhan
Headquarters	Chaibasa
Government
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Singhbhum (shared with Seraikela Kharsawan district)
• Vidhan Sabha constituencies	5
Area
• Total	7,224 km2 (2,789 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	1,502,338
• Density	210/km2 (540/sq mi)
Demographics
• Literacy	59.54 per cent
• Sex ratio	1001
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	JH-06
Average annual precipitation	1422 mm
Website

The district is bounded on north by Khunti district, on the east by Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, on the southeast by Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, on the south by Kendujhar district of Odisha, and on the west by Simdega district of Jharkhand and Sundergarh district of Odisha.

History

Several Iron slags, microlith, Potsherds have been discovered from Singhbhum district which are from 1400 BCE according to Carbon dating age.[2]

West Singhbhum is one of the oldest districts of Jharkhand. After the British conquest of Kolhan in 1837, a new district was consequently constituted to be known as Singhbhum with Chaibasa as its headquarters. Subsequently, three districts, namely East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan have been carved out of erstwhile Singhbhum district.[1]

West Singhbhum district came into existence when the old Singhbhum District bifurcated in 1990. With 9 community development blocks the Eastern part became East Singhbhum district with Jamshedpur as its headquarters and with remaining 23 blocks the larger Western part became West Singhbhum district with Chaibasa as its headquarters. In 2001 West Singhbhum again divided into two parts. With 8 blocks Saraikela-Kharsawan district came into existence. At present West Singhbhum remains with 18 blocks and three administrative sub-divisions.[1]

There are several accounts relating to the origin of the name of the district:

• According to one the name Singhbhum, or the land of "Singhs" has been derived from the patronymic of the Singh Rajas of Porahat, the junior branch of whom went on to found the ruling "Singh Deo" family of Saraikela State.[3]
• A second account suggests that the name is a corrupt form of the 'Singh Bonga' the principal deity of the district's tribal Bhumij-Munda population.[4]

It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.[5]

Geography

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2017)

"The Singhbhum region is possibly Earth's earliest continental land exposed to the air...." Priyadarshi Chowdhury, a geologist at Australia's Monash University is an interesting recent discovery.

West Singhbhum district forms the Southern part of the newly created Jharkhand state and is the largest district in the state. The district spreads from 21.97°N to 23.60°N and from 85.00°E to 86.90°E. The district is situated at an average height of 244 metres above sea level and covers an area of 7629.679  km².

The district is covered with hills alternating with valleys, steep mountains, and deep forests on the mountain slopes. It contains some of the best Sal tree forests and the famous Saranda forest. There are plenty of waterfalls and a large variety of wild life like elephants, bison, tigers, leopards, bear, wild dogs and wild boars. Sambar Deer and spotted deer are also found but their numbers are decreasing in the forests adjoining inhabited areas.

Rivers

Following are some of the rivers flowing in the West Singhbhum District: Koel, Karo-Koina, Kuju, Kharkai, Sanjai, Roro, Deo, and Baitarini.[6]

Mines and minerals

The greater part of West Singhbhum district is covered with deposits of iron-ore used for iron and steel industry. Other industrially important minerals including the following:

• Chromite
• Magnetite
• Manganese
• Kainite
• Limestone
• Iron Ore
• Asbestos
• Soap-stone

Politics

No.	Constituency	Name	Party		Alliance		Remarks
52	Chaibasa	Deepak Birua		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		UPA
53	Majhgaon	Niral Purty		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		UPA
54	Jaganathpur	Sona Ram Sinku		Indian National Congress		UPA
55	Manoharpur	Joba Majhi		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		UPA	Cabinet Minister
56	Chakradharpur	Sukhram Oraon		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		UPA	|} Administration Blocks/Mandals West Singhbhum district consists of 18 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in West Singhbhum district: Chaibasa Chakradharpur Khuntpani Jhinkpani Tonto Kumardungi Tantnagar Jagannathpur Manjhari Manjhgaon Noamundi Bandgaon Manoharpur Goilkera Sonua Gudri Anandpur Hatgamharia Demographics Religion in West Singhbhum district Religion Percent Others   62.96% Hinduism   28.22% Christianity   5.83% Islam   2.54% Not Stated   0.45% According to the 2011 census West Singhbhum district has a population of 1,502,338,[7] roughly equal to the nation of Gabon[8] or the US state of Hawaii.[9] This gives it a ranking of 335th in India (out of a total of 640).[7] The district has a population density of 209 inhabitants per square kilometre (540/sq mi) .[7] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 21.69%.[7] Pashchimi Singhbhum has a sex ratio of 1004 females for every 1000 males,[7] and a literacy rate of 59.54%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 3.8% and 67.3% of the population respectively.[7] According to the 2011 census, 28.22% of the population was made up of Hindus, 5.83% Christians and 2.54% Muslims. Other religions (mainly Sarna) made up 62.96% of the population.[7] Languages of West Singhbhum district (2011)   Ho (54.37%)   Odia (18.74%)   Mundari (9.16%)   Hindi (4.64%)   Sadri (2.53%)   Kurmali (2.08%)   Urdu (1.96%)   Bengali (1.80%)   Kurukh (1.15%)   Santali (1.03%)   Others (2.54%) At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 54.37% of the population in the district spoke Ho, 18.74% Odia, 9.16% Mundari, 4.64% Hindi, 2.53% Sadri, 2.08% Kurmali, 1.96% Urdu, 1.80% Bengali, 1.15% Kurukh and 1.03% Santali as their first language.[10] The majority of the population of West Singhbhum consists of Ho tribals. Historical population Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 356,991 —     1911 398,590 +1.11% 1921 421,587 +0.56% 1931 515,137 +2.02% 1941 614,298 +1.78% 1951 667,390 +0.83% 1961 765,128 +1.38% 1971 879,564 +1.40% 1981 922,491 +0.48% 1991 1,080,780 +1.60% 2001 1,233,945 +1.33% 2011 1,502,338 +1.99% source:[11] Flora and fauna West Singhbhum district is full of dense forests and hills and harbors a variety of flora and fauna. References "About District | District West SinghBhum, Government of Jharkhand | India". Retrieved 2020-05-06. Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 220. ISBN 9788131711200. "NationStates | The Rajah of Singhbhum | Factbook". www.nationstates.net. Retrieved 2022-11-07. "Saraikela Chhau Kendra | Art & Culture". jharkhandculture.com. Retrieved 2022-11-07. "83 districts under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme". IntelliBriefs. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2011-09-17. "West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand". River Systempublisher = District administration. Retrieved 2010-04-20. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2011-10-01. Gabon 1,576,665 "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Hawaii 1,360,301 2011 Census of India, Population By Mother Tongue Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901 External links West Singhbhum District Administration website

На других языках

[de] Pashchimi Singhbhum

[it] Distretto del Singhbhum Occidentale

[ru] Западный Сингхбхум