Khunti is the headquarter of
Khunti district
Khunti district is one of the twenty-four districts in South Chotanagpur division of the Indian state of Jharkhand. The district of Khunti was carved out of Ranchi district on 12 September 2007. , it is the second least populous district of Jhark ...
in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
.
It is in South Chotanagpur division and one of the 24 districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The district of Khunti was carved out of Ranchi district on 12 September 2007. It is historically known as the centre of activity of the Birsa movement. As of 2011, it is the second least populous district of Jharkhand (out of 24), after Lohardaga.
The district is a part of the
Red Corridor
The red corridor, also called the red zone, is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India where the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency has the strongest presence. It has been steadily diminishing in terms of geographical cove ...
.
Geography
Location
Khunti is located at .
Climate
The climate is tropical rain forest. Maximum rainfall takes place during the months from July to September that accounts for more than 90% of total rainfall in the state.
Area overview
In the adjacent map the area shown is “undulating and covered with hills, hillocks and jungles (jungles/ forests are shown as shaded area in the map). The soil of the area is rocky, sandy and red loam upland. There are paddy fields only in the depressions. It has a gentle slope adjacent to the streams.” A major part of the district is in the altitude range of , with up to ± 200 m for some parts. In 2011, it had a density of population of 210 persons per sq km. Khunti is an overwhelmingly rural district with 91.5% of the population living in rural areas. Famous places in this area are
Ulihatu
Ulihatu is a village in the Arki CD block in the Khunti Sadar subdivision of the Khunti district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Geography
Location
Ulihatu is located at
The place is surrounded by hills providing great scenic beauty. It i ...
, the birth place of
Bhagwan Birsa Munda, and Dombari Buru, the central point of his activity.
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.
Demographics
India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, Khunti had a population of 36,390. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Khunti has an average literacy rate of 83.12%, higher than the national average of 73.00%: male literacy is 88.65%, and female literacy is 77.39%. In Khunti, 13.09% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Utility services
There is a lack of utility services of water supply due to which people dug open wells in every house or the use of hand pumps for water procurement. Postal services have proved to be much efficient.
Healthcare
There is a civil hospital at Khunti with facilities for providing medical facilities to the public.
Transport
By Air
Birsa Munda Airport in
Ranchi
Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...
is the nearest airport. It is around 33 km from Khunti.
By Rail
There is no railway station in Khunti. The nearest station to Khunti is
Hatia railway station
Hatia railway station, station code HTE, is the railway station serving the capital city of Ranchi in the Ranchi district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Hatia Station belongs to the Ranchi division of the South Eastern Railway Zone of the I ...
. Most people use bus or taxi services to reach Hatia Railway Station or Ranchi Railway Station.
Tourist attractions
Panchghagh Falls :
Panchghagh Falls
Panchghagh Falls is a waterfall located in Khunti district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Geography
Location
Panchghagh Falls is located at .
Area overview
In the adjacent map the area shown is “undulating and covered with hills, hilloc ...
is located around 15 km from Khunti in a place on way to Khunti-
Chaibasa
Chaibasa is a town and a municipality in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand, India. Chaibasa is the district headquarters of West Singhbhum district. It is also the headquarter of Singhbhum Kolhan division headed by the Divisiona ...
. These five falls originate from high altitudes and the foot of the falls is picnic spot, to have the experience of bath under the gushing water.
Deer Park : The park has a number of gardens, pathways and playing parks for children. The main attraction here is the park safari.
Angrabadi Temple : Angrabadi is a temple complex near Khunti. The temple was renamed as
Amreshwar Dham by the Sage Shankaracharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswathi. The temples enclose the Hindu Gods such as Lord
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, Lord
Ganesh
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
,
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
-
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
and
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
.
Perwaghag : One of the waterfalls in Jharkhand, located in the forest near Torpa block. In rainy season it is inaccessible. But, in winter around Christmas and New Year it is a common picnic spot.
St. Michael's Church, Khunti One of the oldest church in Khunti St. Michael's Church (german: Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis, colloquially called Michel, ) is one of Khunti's five
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
main churches (''Hauptkirchen'') and the most famous
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
in the city. St. Michaelis is a
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
of the city and it is considered to be one of the finest Hanseatic Protestant
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
churches. The church was purposely built
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
unlike many other Hamburg churches which were originally built by Roman Catholics and were converted to Protestantism during the Reformation. It is dedicated to the
Archangel Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
. A large
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
statue, standing above the
portal
Portal often refers to:
* Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel
Portal may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
of the church shows the archangel conquering the
devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
.
The 132-meter high Baroque spire totally covered with
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
is a prominent feature of Hamburg's skyline and has always been a landfall mark for ships sailing up the river
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
.
Festival and dances
Khunti is home to people of many castes, creeds and sects. Festivals are celebrated with pomp, glory and in harmony specially local festivals like Faghun, Sarhul, Dasain, Tusu,
Karam etc.
Jadur Susun, Karam Susun (dance)
Basically people are known Adiwasi dance but actually its name are Jadur Susun (Dance), Karam Susun (Dance) etc. these dances are dancing occasionally.
Economy
Majority of the population is tribal in the Khunti sub-division and they are dependent on agriculture and forests for their livelihood. Lack of food security from the land has compelled many tribal families to migrate out of their own villages. This is despite the fact that the existing landholdings can provide stable livelihoods to the tribal families. Lack of land development, irrigation, credit, know-how for improved agriculture, access to market etc. act as serious constraints leading to a large number of impoverished tribal families.
The area however is endowed with good rainfall - in most blocks the annual rainfall exceeds 1100 mm. There are numerous small rivers, rivulets and streams, which carry water up to the month of February or March. In spite of that, most cultivated lands do not have assurance of water for crops even during the monsoon. Inadequacy of water harvesting infrastructures and water use systems have allowed the rain water to run off through the streams to downstream areas beyond the State, leaving the lands here dry.
It has been long argued that ensuring water assurance to crops and improving land husbandry practices could go a long way in improving the livelihoods of poor families and impacting the local economy in rural areas. However, it has also been the experience that timely credit in adequate amount and know-how for improved agriculture are also essential along with water assurance to crops. For water assurance, the large irrigation schemes have not been successful in the district and other parts of Jharkhand.
The area is known for the Lac cultivation. A large part of the India's total lac production comes from this area. Lac, a natural polymer (resin) is produced by a tiny insect, Kerria lacca (Kerr), which is purposely cultured on shoots of several species of trees, mainly palas, kusum and ber. This agricultural profession of lac cultivation is a subsidiary source of income for a large number of families in the area.
A number of development agencies are active in the area, prominent among which is a national level development organization called PRADAN, with an office in Torpa road. Others are missionary organizations such as,
NBJK, and SGVS.
See also
*
Khunti district
Khunti district is one of the twenty-four districts in South Chotanagpur division of the Indian state of Jharkhand. The district of Khunti was carved out of Ranchi district on 12 September 2007. , it is the second least populous district of Jhark ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Khunti district