| West Singhbhum district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Jharkhand |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Chaibasa |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Jharkhand |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kolhan |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Chaibasa |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Area Total Km2: | 7,224 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 1,502,338 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographic |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy rate |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 67.70 % |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 958 |
| Demographics Type2: | Language |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics2 Info1: | Hindi and English |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Regional |
| Demographics2 Info2: | Ho, Mundari, Odia and Santali |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Singhbhum (shared with Seraikela Kharsawan district) |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | 5 |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Registration Plate: | JH-06 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Average annual precipitation |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 1422 mm |
West Singhbhum or Pashchimi Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district (then in Bihar) was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarters.[1]
The district is bounded on north by Khunti district, on the east by Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, on the southeast by Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, on the south by Kendujhar district of Odisha, and on the west by Simdega district of Jharkhand and Sundergarh district of Odisha.
See main article: Singhbhum district. Several Iron slags, microlith, Potsherds have been discovered from Singhbhum district which are from 1400 BCE according to Carbon dating age.[2]
Remains of a large city was excavated by Archaeological Survey of India in the village of Benisagar in West Singhbhum, suggesting continuous habitation in the region from 5th to the 16th-17th century.[3]
West Singhbhum is one of the oldest districts of Jharkhand. After the British conquest of Kolhan 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 Seraikela 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 headquarters and with remaining 23 blocks the larger Western part became West Singhbhum district with Chaibasa as its headquarters. In 2001 West Singhbhum again divided into two parts. With 8 blocks Saraikela-Kharsawan district came into existence. At present West Singhbhum remains with 18 blocks and three administrative sub-divisions.
There are several accounts relating to the origin of the name of the district:
It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.[6]
"The Singhbhum region is possibly Earth's earliest continental land exposed to the air...." Priyadarshi Chowdhury, a geologist at Australia's Monash University is an interesting recent discovery.
West Singhbhum district forms the Southern part of the newly created Jharkhand state and is the largest district in the state. The district spreads from 21.97°N to 23.60°N and from 85.00°E to 86.90°E. The district is situated at an average height of 244 metres above sea level and covers an area of 7629.679 km2.
The district is covered with hills alternating with valleys, steep mountains, and deep forests on the mountain slopes. It contains some of the best Sal tree forests and the famous Saranda forest. There are plenty of waterfalls and a large variety of wild life like elephants, bison, tigers, leopards, bear, wild dogs and wild boars. Sambar Deer and spotted deer are also found but their numbers are decreasing in the forests adjoining inhabited areas.
Following are some of the rivers flowing in the West Singhbhum District: Koel, Karo-Koina, Kuju, Kharkai, Sanjai, Roro, Deo, and Baitarini.[7]
West Singhbhum district is full of dense forests and hills and harbors a variety of flora and fauna.Asia's largest Sal Forest Lies in This District
The greater part of West Singhbhum district is covered with deposits of iron-ore used for iron and steel industry. Other industrially important minerals including the following:
West Singhbhum district consists of 18 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in West Singhbhum district:
According to the 2011 census West Singhbhum district has a population of 1,502,338,[8] roughly equal to the nation of Gabon[9] or the US state of Hawaii.[10] This gives it a ranking of 335th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 209PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 21.69%. Pashchimi Singhbhum has a sex ratio of 1004 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 58.63%. 14.51% of the population lives in urban areas. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes collectively account for 71.1% (3.79% SC and 67.39% ST) of the district's total population. The prominent communities in this group, in terms of the district's total population, are Ho (51.52%), Munda (9.33%), Oraon (2.15%), Bhuiya (1.36%), Santal (1.01%), Gond (0.91%), Ghasi (0.8%), Bhumij (0.71%), Pan (0.51%), Mahli (0.29%), Dhobi (0.25%), Dom (0.25%), Lohra (0.22%), Chamar/Muchi (0.19%), and Kora (0.13%). Additionally, other notable communities include Kharia, Chik Baraik, Bhogta, Turi, Birhor, Kol, Hari/Mehtar/Bhangi, Pasi, Savar, and Lalbegi have populations ranging between one thousand to a hundred.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 54.37% of the population in the district spoke Ho, 18.74% Odia, 9.16% Mundari, 4.64% Hindi, 2.53% Sadri, 2.08% Kurmali, 1.96% Urdu, 1.80% Bengali, 1.15% Kurukh and 1.03% Santali as their first language.[11]