Ghatshila

the census town in Jharkhand

Ghatshila is a census town in the Ghatshila CD block in the Ghatshila subdivision of the East Singhbhum district, in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

According to legends, the royal family of the Kingdom of Dhalbhum ware originally the members of the primitive Bhumij race, who was selected by the other Bhumij chiefs as their feudal ruler. The zamindars later became Hinduised, and adopted the title 'Dhal' or 'Dhabal Deo'. These families kept up a sort of semi royal state and dignified their heir apparent and those in immediate succession with title of honor, which denotes precedence. Thus, in the Dhal dynasty of Dhalbhum, the oldest son of the ruling king (Rajah) took the title of Jubraj (Yuvraj), the second that of Hikkim, the third of Bara Thakur, the fourth that of Kuar, the fifth that of Musib and the rest Babu. The area of the kingdom of Dhalbhum was approximately 1200 square miles (3,108 km2). Raja Jaganath constructed the Rankini Mandir at Galudih. But due to some problem, he shifted the Kali temple along with all the associates and other people to Ghatsila and built up a temple of goddess Kali, beside Ghatshila police station which is known as Rankini Mata. Ghatshila was the administrative capital of Dhalbhum. Ghatshila has several palaces, schools and administrative buildings constructed by the rulers of Dhalbhum zamindari.

After several attempts in 1765, the British invaded the Dhalbhum and Ghatshila areas in 1767. The Raja of Ghatshila resisted along with his countrymen, but was later arrested and his nephew Jagannath Dhal was appointed as the new ruler. In 1767, Jagannath Singh Patar, a zamindar of Dampara (Ghatshila) in Dhalbhum, revolted against the enhanced revenue taxes of the British East India Company. This revolt is well known as Chuar rebellion, the first revolt against British East India Company in Bengal Presidency. Inspired by the Dampara zamindar Jagannath Patar, the Raja declared himself as an independent ruler of Dhalbhum and refused to pay taxes to the British. Captain Morgan was sent to Ghatshila, Raja Jagannath was removed from his throne and made Baikunth Dhal (Nemu Dhal) the king. Unhappy with the decision, Raja Jagannath Dhal revolted. In which the Rajah of Jhargram and Dampara sardar Jagannath Patar, assisted him. The English Company sent Lieutenant Rook and Charles Magan to suppress the rebellion. In 1777, the British re proclaimed Jagannath Dhal as the king, after which the rebellion was quelled.

Ghatshila is located at It has an average elevation of
It is 45 km from Jamshedpur. The town is located on the bank of the Subarnarekha River, and it is situated in a forested area. It contains a railway station on the main line of the South Eastern Railway. Ghatsila was formerly the headquarters of the kingdom of Dhalbhum. Ghatsila has its diversity with dams, falls, rivers, forest, mountains and valley. The scenes are breathtaking especially at sunset. It has a township as well as a village touch. There are areas where people still do farming for a living; these areas are untouched and unexplored. There is a community development block named Ghatshila block, which has its headquarters at Ghatshila. This block was established on 4 May 1962.

The area shown in the map “forms a part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau and is a hilly upland tract”. The main rivers draining the district are the Subarnarekha and the Kharkai. The area lying between Jamshedpur and Ghatshila is the main industrial mining zone. The rest of the district is primarily agricultural. In the district, as of 2011, 56.9% of the population lives in the rural areas and a high 43.1% lives in the urban areas. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the district. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

There is a police station at Ghatshila.

Hinduism is the dominant religion in Ghatshila, followed by 76.66% of the population. Islam is a significant minority, followed by 11.56% of the population. Other religions with a significant number of adherents include Sikhism (2.28%) and Christianity (1.62%).

According to 2011 census, Bengali was the most spoken language in Ghatshila town with 20,572 speakers followed by Hindi at 9,215, Urdu at 3,085, Santali at 2,602 and Odia at 2,130.

According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Purbi Singhbhum, Ghatshila covered an area of It has an annual rainfall of Among the civic amenities, it had of roads with both closed and open drains, the protected water supply involved hand pump, tap water from treated sources, overhead tank. It had 8,153 domestic electric connections, 116 road lighting points. Among the medical facilities, it had 1 hospital (with 70 beds), 20 dispensaries, 20 health centres, 1 family welfare centre, 1 maternity and child welfare centre, 2 nursing homes, 1 veterinary hospital, 25 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities it had 16 primary schools, 5 middle schools, 4 secondary schools, 3 senior secondary schools, the nearest general degree college at Jamshedpur, away. It had 1 non formal education centre (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan), Among social, cultural and recreational facilities, it had 1 stadium, 1 cinema theatre, 1 auditorium/ community hall, 2 public libraries, 2 reading rooms. An important commodity it produced was copper. It had the branch offices of 3 nationalised banks, 1 private commercial bank, 1 cooperative bank, 1 agricultural credit society.

Hindustan Copper Limited is located at Moubhandar, a mile away. This is the chief employer or indirect source of income for the people of Ghatshila, Moubhandar, Musabani and nearby villages. Ghatshila is best known for these mines because they are Asia's first copper mines and the world's second deepest mines.

Radio Station: 100.1 MHz (Akashvani Ghatshila)