Gumla district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Gumla.

Gumla district
District
Bottom: Fields in Gumla district
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
Administrative Division	South Chotanagpur division
Headquarters	Gumla
Government
• District Commissioner	Karn Satyarthi, IAS
Area
• Total	5,327 km2 (2,057 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	1,025,213
• Density	193/km2 (500/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Sadri, Kurukh, kharia
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-JH
Vehicle registration	JH 07
Lok Sabha	Lohardaga (shared with Lohardaga district)
Website	gumla.nic.in

Gumla district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Gumla town is the administrative headquarters of this district.

Etymology

For centuries, the place was a meeting center for people from the hinterland who flocked here to exchange goods using the barter system and the place was called Gaw-Mela. Gumla is believed to derive its name from Gaw-Mela, which consists of two words of Hindi (also used in several local dialects), namely, Gaw (cows and the cattle) and Mela, that is, a fair. The place became known as Gaw-mela, and then the word transformed itself into Gumla. ^[1]

Politics

This section is transcluded from 5th Jharkhand Assembly. (edit | history)

District	No.	Constituency	Name	Party		Alliance		Remarks
Gumla	67	Sisai	Jiga Susaran Horo		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		Mahagathbandhan (Jharkhand)
	68	Gumla	Bhushan Tirkey		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		Mahagathbandhan (Jharkhand)
	69	Bishunpur	Chamra Linda		Jharkhand Mukti Morcha		Mahagathbandhan (Jharkhand)

Administration

District Commissioner: Sushant Gaurav (IAS)

Administrative Units

Sub Divisions

There are 3 subdivisions in gumla district:

1. Gumla
2. Basia
3. Chainpur

Blocks/Anchals

Gumla district consists of 12 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in Gumla district:

1. Basia block
2. Bharno block
3. Bishunpur block
4. Chainpur block
5. Dumri block
6. Ghaghra block
7. Gumla block
8. Kamdara block
9. Palkot block
10. Albert Ekka (Jari) block
11. Raidih block
12. Sisai block

Panchayats

There are 159 Panchayats in the district.

Villages

There are 952 Villages in the District.

History

During regin of the Nagvanshi dynasty Navratangarh was one of the capital of Nagvanshi. ^{[2] [3]}

Navratangarh fort

During British rule Gumla was under Lohardaga district. In 1843 it was brought under Bishunpur province that was further named Ranchi. In fact Ranchi district came into existence in 1899. In 1902 Gumla became Sub-division under Ranchi district. On 18 May 1983 Gumla District came into existence. Sri Jagannath Mishra then ruling Chief Minister of Bihar inaugurated it and Sri Dwarika Nath Sinha acquired the post of first deputy commissioner of the newly created district.

Gumla is considered to be the birthplace of the Hindu God Hanuman. A temple a few kilometers away from the city off the Gumla-Ghaghra road is dedicated to him and his mother. The district contains mountains named Risyamook, which are mentioned in the Ramayana.

The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor. ^[4]

Geography

Gumla is located at 23°00′N84°30′E / 23°N 84.50°E / 23; 84.50 . Geographically, Gumla is located on southern part of the Chota Nagpur plateau which forms the eastern edge of the Deccan plateau system.

There are three major rivers, which flow through the Gumla district viz. the South Koel, the North Koel and the Sankh. There are various streams/ tributaries to the main rivers on which there are some picturesque waterfalls, as for example Sadni Falls.

The terrain is highly undulating and there are existence of many rivers and streams. The forest cover of the district is 1.35 lakh hectares out of the total 5.21 lakh hectares of land i.e. round 27% of the total area of the district.

Climate

Gumla district enjoys a good climate characterized by a pleasant cold and temperate weather conditions. Gumla has a sub-tropical climate. Temperature ranges from maximum 40 to 20 °C during summer, and minimum 21 to 3 °C during winter. The annual rainfall is about 1450 mm. From June to September the rainfall level is about 1,150 mm.

Economy

Gumla district has rich natural and mineral resources. There are 23 bauxite mines and 68 stone mines in Gumla district. Besides these there is good number of brick makers. In Gumla District the important minerals like bauxite and laterite (aluminium ore) are found in villages of Amkipani, Langdatanr, Chirodih, Jalim, Narma, Bahagara and Gurdari of Bishunpur block, Langatanr, Lupungpat and Chota-Agiatu in Chainpur block and Harup, Serengdag and Jalim in Ghaghra block. Beside these china clay is also found in some part of the district. Other mining activities like stone crusher, Brick kiln and stone chip mining lease are also available in different part of the district.

In 2006 the Indian government named Gumla one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). ^[5] It is one of the 21 districts in Jharkhand currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). ^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	269,183	—
1911	314,439	+1.57%
1921	302,516	−0.39%
1931	355,262	+1.62%
1941	379,804	+0.67%
1951	421,922	+1.06%
1961	484,924	+1.40%
1971	557,041	+1.40%
1981	613,331	+0.97%
1991	707,555	+1.44%
2001	832,447	+1.64%
2011	1,025,213	+2.10%
source: [6]

Religions in Gumla district (2011) [7]
Religion			Percent
Sarna			44.62%
Hinduism			30.19%
Christianity			19.75%
Islam			5.02%
Others			0.41%

According to the 2011 census Gumla district has a population of 1,025,213, ^[8] roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus ^[9] or the US state of Montana. ^[10] This gives it a ranking of 439rd in India (out of a total of 640). ^[8] The district has a population density of 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). ^[8] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 23.21%. ^[8] Gumla has a sex ratio of 993 females for every 1000 males ^[8] and a literacy rate of 65.73%. 6.35% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 3.17% and 68.94% of the population respectively. ^[8]

Languages

Languages of Gumla district (2011) ^[11]

   Sadri (50.75%)

   Kurukh (29.61%)

   Hindi (7.00%)

   Mundari (4.69%)

   Kharia (3.73%)

   Urdu (2.31%)

  Others (1.91%)

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 50.75% of the population in the district spoke Sadri, 29.61% Kurukh, 7% Hindi, 4.69% Mundari, 3.73% Kharia and 2.31% Urdu as their first language. ^[11]

Education

In 1986, Rakesh Popli and his wife, Rama (an expert in childhood education), founded the first Ekal Vidyalaya (one-teacher) schools to bring education to the tribes of the region. ^[12] From 2018, Deptt. of Higher and Technical Education, Govt. of Jharkhand is going to start Polytechnic College "Gumla Polytechnic".The Polytechnic college will be run and manage under "PPP" Mode by Gumla Educational Foundation.

Three colleges under Ranchi University:

• Kartik Oraon College
• Karunavati Devi Memorial College
• Women's College

Technical Institute

• Gumla Polytechnic
• IIST Computer Institute
• Media INFOTECH
• Wings IT

Schools in Gumla:

• Adarsh Vidya Mandir School, Pugu
• Chanchal Cygnus School, Dumerdih
• D.A.V. Public School, Neemtoli
• Don Bosco School, Bhamni
• Kendriya Vidyalaya Gumla
• Notre Dame School
• Oxford Public School
• S.S. High School
• Saraswati Shishu-Vidya Mandir
• Solitaire Educational Academy
• St. Ignatius School
• St. Patrick School
• St. Stephen's School
• Ursuline Convent School
• Wescott Public School
• Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Masaria Dam

St. Ignatius School, founded in 1935 and administered by the Jesuits, has produced international-level hockey players.

Culture

Gumla has a rich culture. The majority of people speak Nagpuri and Hindi.

• Karma - A holy festival celebrated by the people in almost all places of this district.
• Sarhul - A festival celebrated by the people and Jhankis and Rallies were organised around the main town Gumla. Ladies put flowers (Gulaichi Flower) on their hair and gents put it on their ears.
• Ramnavami - A holy festival celebrated with huge sound, and Jhankies and Rallies.

Tourist attractions

• Palkot Fort- Palkot Fort is a historic place which was one of the capital of the Nagvanshi dynasty. It is located in Palkot block of the district. ^[13]
• Palkot Wildlife Sanctuary
• Anjan - Small village about 18 km (11 mi) away from Gumla. The name of the village has been derived from the name of goddess Anjani, mother of Hanuman. Many objects of archeological importance obtained from this place have been placed at Patna Museum. It is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.
• Hapamuni - The ancient village Mahamaya temple that is the identity of this village. Hapamuni Mahamaya temple traces its origin to 11th century. It also has some ancient rock sculpture in front of temple dating to that period. Moreover, with the arrival of Hapamuni agro tech, the village economy has reached new dimensions. ^[14]
• Nagfeni - It is known for the Jagannath temple and there is a big rock in the shape of snake 'Nag'.
• Navratangarh- It was the seat of old Nagvanshi kings located in Sisai block of the district. ^[15]
• Tanginath - Tanginath Dham is located in Gumla's Dumri block. Several devotees during the month of Shravan come to shrine which goes back to seventh or ninth Century AD. ^{[16] [17]}

References

1. "About District | Gumla | India" . Retrieved 2020-05-03.
2. "Giant new chapter for Nagpuri poetry". www.telegraphindia.com.
3. "The Nagbanshis And The Cheros". archive.org.
4. "83 districts under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme". IntelliBriefs. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
5. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (September 8, 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
6. "Table A-02 Decadal Variation in Population Since 1901: Jharkhand" (PDF). census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
7. "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Jharkhand". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
8. "District Census Handbook: Gumla" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
9. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2011-10-01. Cyprus 1,120,489 July 2011 est.
10. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Montana 989,415
11. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Jharkhand". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
12. "Dr. Rakesh Popli, Nuclear Scientist & one of Ekal's Visionaries, passed away on September 15, 2007". Newsletter October 2007. Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
13. "Palkot fort among five heritage sites identified". timesofindia. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
14. "1100 साल पुराने इतिहास को समेटे बैठा है हापामुनी का 'महामाया मंदिर', कोल विद्रोह का रहा है गवाह". prabhatkhabar. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
15. "IN PICS : गुमला में नागफेनी की अद्भुत प्राकृतिक छटा का लें मजा". prabhatkhabar. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
16. "'Tanginath Dham developing into tourist attraction'". dailypioneer. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
17. "गुमला : प्राचीन धरोहर टांगीनाथ धाम की कलाकृतियां व नक्कासी बयां करती हैं देवकाल की कहानी". prabhatkhabar. Retrieved 3 September 2019.

External links

• Official district government website