History
West Singhbhum is one of the oldest districts of Jharkhand. After the British conquest of Kolahan 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 Saraikela-Kharsawan have been carved out of erstwhile Singhbhum district.
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 capital city and with remaining 23 blocks the larger Western part became West Singhbhum district with Chaibasa as its capital city. In 2001 West Singhbhum again divided into two parts. With 8 blocks Saraikela-Kharsawan district came into existence. At present West Singhbhum remains with 15 blocks and two administrative sub-divisions.
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.
- A second account suggests that the name is a corrupt form of the Singh Bonga, the principal deity of the district's tribal population.
- Yet another origin of the name could be the literal meaning land of lions (from Singh for lion and Bhumi for land), referring directly to the animals.
It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.
Read more about this topic: West Singhbhum District
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