Singhbhum district

It is bounded with Ranchi District in the north, with the Saraikela and Kharsawan princely states in the east, with Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar in the south as well as with Bonai and Gangpur in the southwest.[2] Singhbhum District had an area of 10,078 square kilometres (3,891 sq mi) and a population of 613,579 in 1901.[3]

The Singhbhum area was never invaded by either the Marathas or the Mughals. The first relationships between the Raja of Singhbhum and the British were established in 1767 when he approached the Resident at Midnapore requesting protection. In 1820 the Raja became a feudatory of the British. The state was under the political control of the Commissioner of the Bengal Presidency until 1912,[2] under the Bihar and Orissa Province until 1936 and then under Chhota Nagpur Division until the end of the British Raj.

Following the independence of India Singhbhum District became part of the Indian Union as a district of Bihar. The 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 Hindi, Bengali, Odia, Kurmali and many tribal languages.

The literal meaning of Singhbhum or Singhbhumi is Land of lions: Singh in Hindi 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.