Gumla

Gumla is a city which is the district headquarters in the Gumla subdivision of the Gumla district in the state of Jharkhand, India.

History

Gumla began as a hamlet. A week-long "Cow Fair" (''Gau-Mela'') took place every year, where items in daily use (utensils, ornaments, grain and sometimes cattle) were sold or bartered. Since these items were only available at the fair, people would keep lists during the year of what they needed. The hamlet's population grew, and it became a village named "Gumla" (a derivative of ''Gau–Mela'').

During the medieval era, the Chhotanagpur region was ruled by the kings of the Nagvanshi dynasty and Baraik Devenandan Singh ruled the Gumla region.

During British rule in India Gumla was in Lohardaga district, and in 1800 there was a revolt against the Raj. In 1807, the Oraons of Barway (west of Gumla) murdered their landlord from Srinagar, and the uprising spread throughout Gumla. In 1818, Bakhtar Say reportedly played a prominent role. In 1843, Gumla became part of Bishunpur province. The province, which was abolished in 1899, was later named Ranchi; in 1902, Gumla became a subdivision of Ranchi district.

Ganga Maharaj, who built the Kali Temple at Sri Ramnagar, was active in the Quit India Movement in 1942; for his contribution to Indian independence, he received a pension from the government.

On 18 May 1983 Gumla District was established by Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra. Dwarika Nath Sinha was appointed the first deputy commissioner of the new district.

Geography

Location

Gumla is in the southern part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which forms the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau.

Climate

Gumla has a temperate, sub-tropical climate, with an average high of in summer and an average low of in winter. Average annual rainfall is about .

Area overview

The map alongside presents a rugged area, consisting partly of flat-topped hills called ''pat'' and partly of an undulating plateau, in the south-western portion of Chota Nagpur Plateau. Three major rivers – the Sankh, South Koel and North Karo - along with their numerous tributaries, drain the area. The hilly area has large deposits of Bauxite. 93.7% of the population lives in rural 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.

Infrastructure

According to the ''District Census Handbook 2011, Gumla'', Gumla covered an area of . Among the civic amenities, it had of roads with both closed and open drains, the protected water supply involved uncovered well, tap water from treated sources, overhead tank. It had 7,747 domestic electric connections, 649 road lighting points. Among the medical facilities, it had 2 hospitals (with 100 beds), 2 dispensaries, 2 health centres, 1 family welfare centre, 8 maternity and child welfare centres, 1 maternity home, 1 nursing home, 1 charitable hospital/ nursing home, 11 veterinary hospitals, 20 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities it had 10 primary schools, 9 middle schools, 6 secondary schools, 5 senior secondary schools, 1 general degree college. It had 2 recognised short hand, type writing and vocational training institutions, 1 non-formal education centre (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). Among the social, cultural and recreational facilities it had 1 orphanage home, 1 working women's hostel, 1 old age home, 3 stadiums, 1 cinema theatre, 3 auditorium/ community halls, 1 public library, 1 reading room. Important commodities it produced were detergent, timber, steel items (gate, grill). It had the branch offices of 9 nationalised banks, 1 private commercial bank, 1 cooperative bank, 4 agricultural credit societies, 3 non-agricultural credit societies.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Gumla had a total population of 51,264, of which 26,252 (51%) were males and 25,012 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 6,373. The total number of literate persons in Gumla was 40,101 (89.33% of the population over 6 years).

Hindus were 45.93% of the population, while Muslims were 20.35%. Christians were 18.26% and other religions (mainly Sarna) were 14.95%. At the time of the 2011 census, 51.74% of the population spoke Hindi, 14.96% Sadri, 14.57% Kurukh and 12.55% Urdu

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