Singhbhum district

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Singhbhum was once a large district in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters of the erstwhile Singhbhum district. In the 19th Century this area became a part of the Chota Nagpur Division of Bengal Presidency in British India.

That district has in recent decades been divided into three smaller districts, being East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela Kharsawan. All the three are currently part of Jharkhand state of India. The major Indian languages spoken in this region are Bengali, Kurmali and other tribal languages.

The name

The literal meaning of Singhbhum or Singhbhumi is Land of lions: Singh in Bengali means lion and Bhum or Bhumi indicates land. This appears to be apt as more than 50% area of the district is covered by dense forests and mountains, where wild animals once roamed freely. However, the lion is not found in these forests any more.

Singhbhum is known for its iron ore deposits and it provides for the iron ore requirements of the IISCO steel plants located at Hirapur, Kulti and Burnpur.

v t e Jharkhand

Capital: Ranchi

Divisions	Kolhan North Chotanagpur Palamu Santhal Pargana South Chotanagpur

Districts	Bokaro Chatra Deoghar Dhanbad Dumka East Singhbhum Garhwa Giridih Godda Gumla Hazaribagh Jamtara Khunti Koderma Latehar Lohardaga Pakur Palamu Ramgarh Ranchi Sahebganj Seraikela Kharsawan Simdega West Singhbhum

Major cities	Jamshedpur Dhanbad Ranchi Bokaro Hazaribagh Deoghar Chaibasa Medininagar Dumka

Coordinates: 22°30′N 85°30′E / 22.500°N 85.500°E / 22.500; 85.500

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