Manbhum

Manbhum
1833–1956
District map of Bengal administration, 1912
Capital	Manbazar (1833) Purulia (1838) [1]
Area
• 1833	20,449 km2 (7,895 sq mi)
• 1872 [2]	12,726 km2 (4,914 sq mi)
• 1901 [3]	10,741 km2 (4,147 sq mi)
• 1931	10,606 km2 (4,095 sq mi)
Population
• 1872 [4]	995,570
• 1901 [3]	1,301,364
• 1931	1,810,890
History
• Formation	1833
•  Dhalbhum curved out and merged with Singhbhum	1846
•  Khatra, Raipur and Simlapal area merged with Bankura [5]	1879
• Became part of Bihar and Orissa Province	1912
• Became part of Bihar Province	1937
• Disestablished by bifurcation	1956
Today part of	West Bengal (Purulia) Jharkhand (Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ranchi, Saraikela Kharsawan, East Singhbhum)

Manbhum District was one of the districts of the East India during the British Raj. ^[6] After 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 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. ^[7]

In other versions, the district name derived from Manbazar or Manbhum khas parganas . The headquarters of Jangal mahal region from around 1833 to 1838, when the district was formed. ^[8]

History

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, Barabhum, Sikharbhum, and Telkupi. Historical records of these region's previous rulers or chiefs are sparse for the period before British East India Company rule in India. The company formed 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. ^{[9] [10]}

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 region), by dividing the 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 ^[11] ), 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. ^[3] In 1912, Manbhum became a part of the Bihar and Orissa Province.

Manbhum in Bihar and Orissa Province of Bengal Presidency, 1912.

On 1 April 1936, the Bihar and Orissa Province was partitioned into two separate provinces Bihar and Orissa based on language, though Manbhum continued to remain a part of Bihar. Post-independence, linguistic tensions emerged in the district due to imposition of Hindi language over the native Bengali-speaking majority. This led to the establishment of the 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, Chandil, and Patamda—were transferred to Bihar upon a special request from TISCO, Jamshedpur. The "Bengal-Bihar Border Demarcation" Bill was passed in 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 officially became a part of West Bengal, comprising 16 police stations, covering an area of 2,007 square miles (5,200 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, Bokaro, Ranchi, Saraikela Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts in Jharkhand.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1872	820,521	—
1881	1,058,228	+29.0%
1891	1,193,328	+12.8%
1901	1,301,364	+9.1%
1911	1,547,576	+18.9%
1921	1,548,777	+0.1%
1931	1,810,890	+16.9%
1941	2,032,146	+12.2%
1951	2,279,259	+12.2%
Source: Census of India [12] [13] [14]

Languages of Manbhum (1931)

   Bengali (67.52%)

   Hindustani (17.76%)

   Santhali (13.37%)

   Koda (0.26%)

   Bhumij (0.16%)

  Other (0.93%)

As of the 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 constituted the majority with 1,222,689 individuals, followed by Hindustani speakers at 321,690 (including [approx. 51,176] ^{[14] : 19} Kurmali and Panchpargania) ^[15] and the Santhali at 242,091. Other noteworthy linguistic groups encompassed Koda (4,623), Bhumij (2,918), Gujarati (1,912), Kharia (1,995), Marwadi (1,774), Odia (1,563), Karmali (1,568), Telegu (1,332), Kurukh (946), Naipal (662), Punjabi (661), Mundari (789), Tamil (525), Mahali (312), and Ho (57). ^[16]

In terms of social demographics, the Kudmi Mahato comprised the largest percentage at 17.84%, followed by Santal at 15.59%. Other significant caste groups include Bauri (6.7%), Bhumij (5.74%), Brahman (4.58%), Kumhar (3.15%), Jolha (3.12%), Teli (2.68%), Goala, Ahir and Yadav (2.26%), Rajwar (2.15%), Kamar (1.95%), Bhuiya (1.86%), Rajput (1.7%), Hajam/Nai(1.38%), Dom (1.36%), Hari (1.15%), Ghatwar (0.98%), Mochi (0.94%), Kora (0.86%), Kayastha (0.8%), Dhobi (0.79%), Kahar (0.78%), Tanti (0.65%), Mahli (0.6%), Bania (0.56%), Koiri (0.54%), Chamar (0.51%), and Kewat (0.5%). ^[16]

See also

• Jungle Mahals
• Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum)
• Bihar and Orissa Province

References

1. The Calcutta Review. 1869. p. 116.
2. Beverley, H. (1872). Report of the Census of Bengal 1872. Bengal Secretariat Press. pp. 6–7.
3. Gait, E. A. (1909). Census of India – 1901, Vol- VIA – The lower probinces of Bengal and their Feudatourie (Part II, The Imperial Tables). Bengal Secretariat Press. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023. Alt URL
4. Beverley, H. (1872). Report of the Census of Bengal 1872. Bengal Secretariat Press. pp. 6–7.
5. Banerji, Amiya Kumar (1968). West Bengal District Gazetteers: Bankura. Calcutta, Saraswaty Press. p. 12. 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
6. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Manbhum"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 542.
7. Roy, B. C. (1950). "Raja Mansingh and the Final Conquest of Orissa by the Mughals". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 13: 243–253. ISSN   2249-1937. JSTOR   44140922.
8. Coupland 1911, p. 1–2.
9. Bengal (India) (1911). Bengal District Gazetteers. Bengal Secretariat Book Depot. p. 215.
10. Chatterjee, Kalyan (2021-06-17), "Representations of Manbhum and Purulia in Orientalist texts and the task of salvaging the past of the region", Rethinking the Local in Indian History (1 ed.), London: Routledge India, pp. 71–86, doi:10.4324/9781003094395-5, ISBN   978-1-003-09439-5 , retrieved 2025-01-09
11. Bhattacharya 1985, pp. 7, 102.
12. District Census Reports, 1891 Chota Nagpur Division, Bihar (PDF). Sec. Manbhum. Retrieved 15 February 2012. Alt URL
13. Tables, Volume-VII, Bihar - Census 1941 (PDF), Director of Census Operations, Bihar, 1941, p. 10, archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2024
14. "A Not on The Linguistic Tables Census of Bihar - Census 1951" (PDF). Director of Census Operations, Bihar. 1954. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2024.
15. Lacey, W. G. (1933). Census Of India 1931 – Bihar and Orissa. Vol. VII. Part I, Report. Superintendent, Government printing. p. 233. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25797116. 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."
16. Lacey, W. G. (1932). Census Of India 1931 – Bihar and Orissa (PDF). Vol. VII. Part II, Tables. pp. 114–118, 136–160. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2024. Alt URL

Source

• Coupland, H. (1911). Bengal District Gazetteers Manbhum. The Bengal Secretariat Book Depot Calcutta. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Alt URL
• Mukhopadhyay, Subhash Chandra (1983). Glimpses of the History of Manbhum. S.C. Mukhopadhyay. OCLC   13013416.
• Bhattacharya, Birendra ku. (1985). Bengal District Gazetteers (Purulia) (PDF). Narendra Nath Sen, State editor, West Bengal district gazetteers. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2016.
• B.K. Gokhale (1928). Final report of the survey and settlement operations in the district of Manbhum, 1918-1925. Patna, Superintendent, Government Printing. Alt URL

23°20′N86°22′E / 23.333°N 86.367°E / 23.333; 86.367