Manbhum was a district in eastern India during the period of British rule, situated in what is now the border region between the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The district was a part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency, and later of the province of Bihar after the partition of Bengal-related reorganisations. Manbhum is historically significant for its tribal population, its role in the coalfields of eastern India, and its eventual partition along linguistic lines in 1956.
| Name | Manbhum |
|---|---|
| Type | District (British India) |
| Region | Chota Nagpur, eastern India |
| Headquarters | Purulia |
| Division | Chota Nagpur Division |
| Status | Dissolved in 1956 |
| Successor units | Purulia district (West Bengal); portions retained in Bihar (later Jharkhand) |
Manbhum lay on the eastern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau, a region of undulating uplands, forested hills, and river valleys. The Damodar, Kasai (Kangsabati) and Subarnarekha river systems drain parts of the area. The district was bordered by Bankura and Burdwan to the east, Singhbhum to the south-west, Hazaribagh to the north-west, and the Santal Parganas region to the north. The terrain made the area rich in minerals, particularly coal in its northern tracts, which formed part of the Raniganj and Jharia coalfields.
Manbhum was constituted as a district under the British administration in the 19th century, formed from earlier units associated with the Jungle Mahals. The district headquarters was established at Purulia (then also rendered as Puruliya). Administratively it formed part of the Chota Nagpur Division.
Under colonial rule, Manbhum was governed through the standard apparatus of a Bengal Presidency district, with a Deputy Commissioner and subdivisional officers. The subdivisions of the district included Purulia, Dhanbad, and Sadar areas associated with the principal towns. Several zamindari estates, including those of the Panchet and Kashipur Rajas, exercised local influence under colonial overlordship.
Manbhum had a substantial tribal and semi-tribal population, including Santhals, Bhumijs, Kurmis and Mundas, alongside Bengali and Hindi-speaking communities. The Bhumij rebellion led by Ganga Narain Singh in 1832–33 took place in the territory that later became Manbhum, reflecting long-standing tensions over land, forests, and revenue.
During the Indian freedom movement, Manbhum was active in Congress-led campaigns, including the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Quit India movements. Local Congress workers operated through institutions such as the Shilpashram at Purulia and ashrams oriented towards constructive work and the promotion of the Bengali language.
After Indian independence in 1947, Manbhum became part of the state of Bihar. A sustained language movement grew in the Bengali-speaking areas of the district, demanding their inclusion in West Bengal. The agitation included long padayatras and prolonged civil resistance organised by the Lok Sevak Sangh and other bodies.
Following the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission, the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 dissolved the district of Manbhum. Its predominantly Bengali-speaking areas were transferred to West Bengal to form the new district of Purulia, while the predominantly Hindi-speaking and mining areas, including Dhanbad, remained in Bihar. With the creation of Jharkhand in 2000, the Bihar portions are today within that state.
The economy of Manbhum combined subsistence agriculture on the plateau with mining, forestry and small-scale industry. The northern fringes lay within the coal belt, and the district was traversed by railways linking Calcutta with the interior, including lines that became part of the Bengal Nagpur Railway and East Indian Railway networks. Lac cultivation, sal forests, and rice cultivation in the lowlands were among the principal rural activities.
Manbhum is significant in modern Indian history for three principal reasons: as a centre of tribal resistance and agrarian unrest in the 19th century; as part of the mineral-rich Chota Nagpur belt that powered industrial India; and as the site of one of the earliest successful linguistic reorganisation movements after independence, which directly influenced the redrawing of state boundaries in eastern India in 1956.