MyrnaAcuna04 at 14:25, 1 November 2025

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{{Short description|East Indian district during the British Raj}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| common_name = Manbhum
|nation = [[British India]]
|subdivision = Former [[Districts of British India|district]]
| today = [[West Bengal]] ([[Purulia district|Purulia]]) [[Jharkhand]] ([[Dhanbad district|Dhanbad]], [[Bokaro district|Bokaro]], [[Ranchi district|Ranchi]], [[Saraikela Kharsawan district|Saraikela Kharsawan]], [[East Singhbhum district|East Singhbhum]])
| event_start = Formation
| year_start = 1833
| event_end = Disestablished by [[Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum)|bifurcation]]
| year_end = 1956
| date_event2= 1846
| event2 = [[Dhalbhum]] curved out and merged with [[Singhbhum district|Singhbhum]]
| date_event3 = 1879
| event3 = [[Khatra subdivision|Khatra, Raipur and Simlapal]] area merged with [[Bankura district|Bankura]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Banerji |first=Amiya Kumar |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.08792/page/12/ |title=West Bengal District Gazetteers: Bankura |date=1968 |publisher=Calcutta, Saraswaty Press |pages=12 |quote=In 1879, Khatra, Raipur and Simlapal police stations corresponding to the parganas of Supur, Ambikanagar, Raipur, Syamsundarpur, Phulkusma, Simlapal and Bhalaidiha were transferred from the Manbhum district}}</ref>
| date_event4 = 1912
| event4 = Became part of [[Bihar and Orissa Province]]
| date_event5 = 1937
| event5 =Became part of [[Bihar Province]]
| event_post =
| date_post =
| capital = {{ubl|[[Manbazar]] {{small|(1833)}}|[[Purulia]] {{small|(1838)}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TWsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA116 |title=The Calcutta Review |date=1869 |pages=116 |language=en}}</ref>}}
| image_map = 19s Bengal province map.jpg
| image_map_caption = District map of Bengal administration, 1912
| stat_year1 =1833
| stat_area1 =20449
| stat_pop1 =
| stat_year2 = 1872<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beverley |first=H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5Y7AQAAMAAJ |title=Report of the Census of Bengal 1872 |date=1872 |publisher=Bengal Secretariat Press |pages=6–7 |language=en}}</ref>
| stat_area2 = 12726
| stat_pop2 = 995570
| stat_year3 = 1901<ref name=Census1901>{{Cite book|last=Gait|first=E. A.|author-link=Edward Albert Gait|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06YJAAAAIAAJ|title=Census of India – 1901, Vol- VIA – The lower probinces of Bengal and their Feudatourie (Part II, The Imperial Tables)|publisher=Bengal Secretariat Press|year=1909|pages=2–3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715063025/https://books.google.com/books?id=06YJAAAAIAAJ|archive-date=15 July 2023|access-date=8 July 2023}} [https://indianculture.gov.in/rarebooks/census-india-1901-vol-vi-lower-provinces-bengal-and-their-feudatories-part-ii Alt URL]</ref>
| stat_pop3 = 1,301,364
| stat_area3 = 10741
| stat_year4 = 1931
| stat_pop4 = 1,810,890
| stat_area4 = 10606

}}

'''Manbhum District''' was one of the districts of the [[East India]] during the [[British Raj]].<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Manbhum |volume=17 |page=542}}</ref> After [[Partition of India|India's independence]], the district became a part of [[Bihar State]]. Upon the reorganization of the Indian states in the mid-1950s, the Manbhum district was [[Partition (politics)|partitioned]] based on language. The Bengal-speaking areas were included in [[West Bengal]], while the rest were kept with [[Bihar]] (present-day [[Jharkhand]]).

==Etymology==

Manbhum gets its name from the 16th century military general [[Man Singh I]] who is known for his conquests Of Bihar, Odisha and parts of Bengal. He later also served as the governor ([[Subahdar]]) of this region during the reign of King [[Akbar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roy |first=B. C. |title=Raja Mansingh and the Final Conquest of Orissa by the Mughals |date=1950 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44140922 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=13 |pages=243–253 |jstor=44140922 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref>

In other versions, the district name derived from [[Manbazar]] or Manbhum ''khas [[pargana]]s''. The headquarters of Jangal mahal region from around 1833 to 1838, when the district was formed.{{sfn|Coupland|1911|p=1–2}}

==History==
[[File:Southwest Bengal, 1776, by Rennell.jpg|thumb|The jurisdiction of Panchet and Medinipur in Rennell's map (1776), decades after the region was ceded by the EIC, the region later formed as Manbhum district.]]

The history of Manbhum region predates the 18th century. Before its formation, the [[Panchet]] estate was established through the consolidation of smaller zamindaris, including [[Patkum estate|Patkum]], Barabhum, Sikharbhum, and [[Telkupi]]. Historical records of these region's previous rulers or chiefs are sparse for the period before [[Company rule in India|British East India Company rule in India]]. The company formed [[Jungle Mahals|Jungle-Mahal]] district in 1805, incorporating the Panchet estate and other forested areas into a single administrative unit, with headquarters nearby present-day [[Bankura]] town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bengal (India) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBImAQAAIAAJ |title=Bengal District Gazetteers |date=1911 |publisher=Bengal Secretariat Book Depot |pages=215 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Chatterjee |first=Kalyan |title=Representations of Manbhum and Purulia in Orientalist texts and the task of salvaging the past of the region |date=2021-06-17 |work=Rethinking the Local in Indian History |pages=71–86 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003094395/chapters/10.4324/9781003094395-5 |access-date=2025-01-09 |edition=1 |place=London |publisher=Routledge India |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781003094395-5 |isbn=978-1-003-09439-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:The Sketch Map Showing Provincial and District Divisions to Accompany the Administration Report, 1872–73 (Cropped to Bihar, Chota Nagpur, and Odisha).jpg|thumb|Manbhum District as part of the [[Chota Nagpur Division]], [[Bengal Presidency]], 1872]]
In 1833, the [[East India Company]] formed the Manbhum district with its headquarters in [[Manbazar]], covering an area of 7,896 square miles (chiefly Panchet and half of its adjacent [[Midnapore district|Midnapore region]]), by dividing the [[Jungle Mahals|Jungle-Mahal]] region to enhance administrative efficiency. In 1838, the headquarters shifted to [[Purulia]], and over the following years, the district underwent several divisions. These divisions occurred in 1845 ([[Dhalbhum]] curved out with 1,183 square miles area and merged with [[Singhbhum district]]{{sfn|Bhattacharya|1985|pages=7, 102}}), 1846, 1871, and finally, in 1879, reducing its size to 4,112 square miles. In 1901, the district area was 4,147 square miles, inhabited by a population of 1,301,364.<ref name=Census1901/> In 1912, Manbhum became a part of the [[Bihar and Orissa Province]].

[[File:Manbhum highlight.png|thumb|Manbhum in [[Bihar and Orissa Province]] of [[Bengal Presidency]], 1912.]]
On 1 April 1936, the Bihar and Orissa Province was [[Partition (politics)|partitioned]] into two separate provinces [[Bihar Province|Bihar]] and [[Orissa Province|Orissa]] based on language, though Manbhum continued to remain a part of Bihar. [[Post-independence History of India|Post-independence]], [[Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum)|linguistic tensions]] emerged in the district due to [[Hindi imposition|imposition of Hindi language]] over the native [[Bengali-speaking]] majority. This led to the establishment of the [[States Reorganisation Commission|State Reorganization Commission]] on December 23, 1953. The commission recommended the creation of a new district named Purulia, primarily for Bengali speakers, by carving it out of the former Manbhum district in Bihar. The proposed Purulia district included 19 police stations from Manbhum, while 10 police stations from the Dhanbad sub-division and 2 police stations from the Purulia sub-division of Manbhum remained in Bihar.

Subsequently, three police stations of [[West Bengal]]—[[Ichagarh block|Ichagarh]], [[Chandil block|Chandil]], and [[Patamda block|Patamda]]—were transferred to Bihar upon a special request from [[Tata Steel|TISCO, Jamshedpur]]. The "[[States Reorganisation Act, 1956|Bengal-Bihar Border Demarcation]]" Bill was passed in [[Parliament of India|Parliament]] on August 17, 1956, and in [[Rajya Sabha]] on August 28, 1956, ultimately receiving the signature of the [[President of India]] on September 1, 1956. Consequently, on November 1, 1956, [[Purulia district|Purulia]] officially became a part of West Bengal, comprising 16 police stations, covering an area of {{convert|2007|sqmi|km2}}, and hosting a population of 1,169,097. However, other areas, including Ichagarh, Chandil, and Patamda, continued to remain under the jurisdiction of Bihar, with the former two became part of Saraikela, while Patamda (an area used to under the Barabhum police station) became part of Dhalbhum (presently East Singhbhum district). Furthermore, on November 15, 2000, South Bihar was bifurcated to form a separate state called [[Jharkhand]] due to demographic disparities between North Bihar and South Bihar. Today, these areas form parts of the [[Dhanbad district|Dhanbad]], [[Bokaro district|Bokaro]], [[Ranchi district|Ranchi]], [[Saraikela Kharsawan district|Saraikela Kharsawan]] and [[East Singhbhum district]]s in Jharkhand.

==Demographics==
{{Historical population
|1872|820521
|1881|1058228
|1891|1193328
|1901|1301364
|1911|1547576
|1921|1548777
|1931|1810890
|1941|2032146
|1951|2279259
|source=Census of India<ref>{{Cite book |title=District Census Reports, 1891 Chota Nagpur Division, Bihar |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/30101/download/33282/20061_1891_DCR.pdf |access-date=15 February 2012 |at=Sec. Manbhum}} [http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/785/1/20061_1891_DCR.pdf Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Tables, Volume-VII, Bihar - Census 1941 |publisher=Director of Census Operations, Bihar |year=1941 |page=10 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/32416/download/35597/20761_1941_TAB.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208062921/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/32416/download/35597/20761_1941_TAB.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2024 |access-date=8 December 2024 }}</ref><ref name=censusnote>{{cite web |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/28119/download/31301/43944_1911_LIN.pdf |title=A Not on The Linguistic Tables Census of Bihar - Census 1951 |year=1954 |publisher=Director of Census Operations, Bihar |page=14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208063125/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/28119/download/31301/43944_1911_LIN.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2024 |access-date=8 December 2024 }}</ref>
}}
{{Pie chart
|caption=Languages of Manbhum (1931)
|value1 = 67.52
|label1 = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|color1 = dodgerblue
|value2 = 17.76
|label2 = [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]
|color2 = orange
|value3 = 13.37
|label3 = [[Santhali language|Santhali]]
|color3 = green
|other= yes
|other-color = DeepPink
}}
As of the [[1931 Census of India|1931 census]], the Manbhum district recorded a total population of 1,810,890, with 940,009 males and 870,881 females. In terms of linguistic diversity, [[Bengali language|Bengali]] constituted the majority with 1,222,689 individuals, followed by [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] speakers at 321,690 (including [{{approx}} 51,176]<ref name=censusnote/>{{rp|19}} [[Kurmali language|Kurmali]] and [[Panchpargania]])<ref name=Census1931a>{{Cite book |last=Lacey |first=W. G. |url=https://language.census.gov.in/eLanguageDivision/struts/viewFlipBook?book_type=eArchive&folder_name=40831_1931_REA&title=Census%20of%20India%201931,%20Vol-%20VII%20Bihar%20and%20Orissa%20Part%20I%20Report%20by%20W%20G%20Lacey#page/266/mode/1up |title= Census Of India 1931 – Bihar and Orissa |volume=VII |others=Part I, Report |date=1933 |page=233 |publisher=Superintendent, Government printing |jstor=saoa.crl.25797116}} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56026/page/n278/ Alt URL] : "In addition to the Munda and Dravidian languages, there are a number of distinctive dialects spoken by various primitive tribes, which in one sense might be called "tribal languages". But they have not been included in the present list, because they are little else than corrupt forms of the main Ariyan languages current in the locality. Kurmali and Panch Pargania are examples of this type, to which some reference has already been made. Both of these have been treated as Hindustani."</ref> and the [[Santhali language|Santhali]] at 242,091. Other noteworthy linguistic groups encompassed [[Koda language|Koda]] (4,623), [[Bhumij language|Bhumij]] (2,918), [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] (1,912), [[Kharia language|Kharia]] (1,995), [[Marwari language|Marwadi]] (1,774), [[Odia language|Odia]] (1,563), [[Karmali language|Karmali]] (1,568), [[Telugu language|Telegu]] (1,332), [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]] (946), [[Khas Kura|Naipal]] (662), [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (661), [[Mundari language|Mundari]] (789), [[Tamil language|Tamil]] (525), [[Mahali language|Mahali]] (312), and [[Ho language|Ho]] (57).<ref name=Census1931b>{{Cite book |last=Lacey |first=W. G. |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/28208/download/31390/20779_1931_BIH.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127025459/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/28208/download/31390/20779_1931_BIH.pdf |archive-date= 27 January 2024 |title= Census Of India 1931 – Bihar and Orissa |volume=VII |others=Part II, Tables |date=1932 |pages=114–118, 136–160}} [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56027 Alt URL]</ref>

In terms of social demographics, the [[Kudmi Mahato]] comprised the largest percentage at 17.84%, followed by [[Santal people|Santal]] at 15.59%. Other significant caste groups include [[Bauri (caste)|Bauri]] (6.7%), [[Bhumij people|Bhumij]] (5.74%), [[Brahmin|Brahman]] (4.58%), [[Kumhar]] (3.15%), Jolha (3.12%), [[Teli]] (2.68%), [[Gowala (caste)|Goala]], [[Ahir]] and [[Yadav]] (2.26%), [[Rajuar|Rajwar]] (2.15%), [[Kamar (caste)|Kamar]] (1.95%), [[Bhuiya]] (1.86%), [[Rajput]] (1.7%), [[Nai (caste)|Hajam/Nai]](1.38%), [[Dom (caste)|Dom]] (1.36%), [[Hari caste|Hari]] (1.15%), Ghatwar (0.98%), Mochi (0.94%), [[Kora (tribe)|Kora]] (0.86%), [[Kayastha]] (0.8%), [[Dhobi]] (0.79%), Kahar (0.78%), [[Tanti]] (0.65%), [[Mahli]] (0.6%), [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] (0.56%), [[Koeri|Koiri]] (0.54%), [[Chamar]] (0.51%), and [[Kewat]] (0.5%).<ref name=Census1931b/>

When the fragmented parts of Manbhum district, which are present in multiple states, are added together, the percentage of Bengali and Santali population in 2011 stood at 47.52 and 10.38 respectively. Various policies of the then Bihar government and the subsequent Jharkhand government alongwith the large influx of people from other places into the region are believed to be responsible for this demographic change.<ref>https://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/bihari-influx-altering-jharkhand-demography-congress-mla/amp_articleshow/112089595.cms</ref>{{fv|date=November 2025}}

==See also==
*[[Jungle Mahals]]
*[[Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum)]]
*[[Bihar and Orissa Province]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Source ===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last1=Coupland |first1=H. |title=Bengal District Gazetteers Manbhum |publisher=The Bengal Secretariat Book Depot Calcutta |year=1911 |url=https://www.indianculture.gov.in/gazettes/bengal-district-gazetteers-manbhum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529111107/https://www.indianculture.gov.in/gazettes/bengal-district-gazetteers-manbhum|url-status=live|archive-date=29 May 2022}} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.206875 Alt URL]
* {{Cite book |last=Mukhopadhyay |first=Subhash Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4QeAAAAMAAJ |title=Glimpses of the History of Manbhum |date=1983 |publisher=S.C. Mukhopadhyay |language=en |oclc=13013416}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Birendra ku. |title=Bengal District Gazetteers (Purulia) |publisher= Narendra Nath Sen, State editor, West Bengal district gazetteers |year=1985 |url=http://purulia.nic.in/services/downloadforms/distgazetprl.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115161915/http://purulia.nic.in/services/downloadforms/distgazetprl.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=15 November 2016}}
* {{Cite book |last=B.K. Gokhale |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.csl.4175 |title=Final report of the survey and settlement operations in the district of Manbhum, 1918-1925 |date=1928 |publisher=Patna, Superintendent, Government Printing}} [https://www.indianculture.gov.in/final-report-survey-and-settlement-operations-district-manbhum-1918-1925 Alt URL]
{{refend}}
{{Bihar topics}}
{{West Bengal topics}}
{{Historical districts of India}}

{{coord|23|20|N|86|22|E|display=title|region:IN_type:dist}}

[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Former districts of Bihar]]

Manbhum - Revision history

MyrnaAcuna04 at 14:25, 1 November 2025