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{{Short description|Administrative division of British India}}
{{For|disambiguation|Chota Nagpur (disambiguation)}}
{{For|disambiguation|Chota Nagpur (disambiguation)}}
{{Primary sources|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
{{Infobox former subdivision
|native_name = छोटा नागपुर
| native_name           =
|conventional_long_name =Chota Nagpur Division<br>South-West Frontier
| conventional_long_name = Chota Nagpur Division
|common_name =Chota Nagpur Division
| common_name           =  
|nation = [[British India]]
| nation                 = [[British India]]
|status_text = [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|Division of British India]]
| status_text           = [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|Division of British India]]
|era =  
| capital                = [[Ranchi]]
|year_start = 1854
| era                   = Modern Period
|date_start =  
| year_start             = 1854
|event_start= Creation of the division
| date_start             =  
|year_end = 1947
| event_start           = Creation of the division
|date_end =  
| year_end               = 1912
|event_end= [[Independence of India]]
| date_end               =  
|event1 =  
| event_end             = Bifurcation
|date_event1 =  
| event1                 =  
|p1 =Bihar and Orissa Province
| date_event1           =  
|s1 =Odisha
| p1                     = South-West Frontier Agency
|flag_p1 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| p2                    =
|flag_s1 = Flag of India.svg
| s1                    = Bihar and Orissa Province
|image_flag =British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| flag_p1               = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
|image_coat =  
| flag_p2                = Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg
|image_map =Bengalpresidency 1858.jpg
| flag_s1               = Blue Ensign of British Bihar and Orissa Province.jpg
|image_map_caption = 1858 map of the Bengal Presidency with the 'South-West Frontier States' in the SW
| image_flag            = Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg
|stat_area1 =70161
| image_flag2            = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
|stat_year1 =1901
| image_coat             =  
|stat_pop1 = 4900429
| image_map             = Bengalpresidency 1858.jpg
|footnotes =  
| image_map_caption     = 1858 map of the Bengal Presidency
| stat_area1             = 70161
| stat_year1             = 1901
| stat_pop1             = 4900429
| footnotes             =
| today                  = [[Bihar]]<br/>[[Jharkhand]]<br />[[Odisha]]<br/>[[Chhattisgarh]]<br/>[[West Bengal]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Chotanagpur Plateau |url=https://www.asianagrihistory.org/pdf/research/ak-singhs-paper-16-4.pdf}}</ref>| government_type        =
| title_leader          = [[Indian Political Department|Commissioner]]
| year_leader1          = 1854-1859
| leader1                = Mr. J. H. Crawford
| year_leader2          = 1853-1854
| year_leader3          = 1866
| year_leader4          = 1878
| year_leader5          = 1878- 1882
| year_leader6          = 1882
| year_leader7          = 1882-1885
| year_leader8          = 1879
| year_leader9          = 1888
| year_leader10          = 1885-1889
| year_leader11          = 1896
| year_leader12          =
| leader2                = Mr. W. J Allen
| leader3                = [[Edward Tuite Dalton]]<ref name="T">{{cite journal |last1=Dasgupta |first1=Sangeeta |title=The Oraons of Chhotanagpur: A journey through colonial ethnography |journal=Modern Asian Studies |date=September 2022 |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=1375–1415 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X21000597 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/oraons-of-chhotanagpur-a-journey-through-colonial-ethnography/C390EC9CF90CF023354939702D626135 |language=en |issn=0026-749X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|1385}}
 
(Commissioner)
| leader4                = Mr. A. C. Mangles (Commissioner)
| leader5                = Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt
| leader6                = Mr. John Edgar
| leader7                = Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt
| leader8                = Babu Rakhal Dass (special Commissioner)
| leader9                = F. W. R. Cowley (Judicial Commissioner)
| leader10              = Mr. Charles Cecil Stevens (Commissioner)
 
| leader11              = Mr. Grimley (Commissioner)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roy |first1=Sarat Chandra |title=The Mundas And Their Country |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.125201/2015.125201.The-Mundas-And-Their-Country_djvu.txt |date=1912}}</ref>
}}
}}
[[File:Chota Nagpur area-IGI.jpg|thumb|265px|[[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] area. Political Divisions. 1909 [[Imperial Gazetteer of India]] map section.]]
The '''Chota Nagpur Division''' was one of the administrative divisions established under British rule. Under Act XX of 1854, the [[South-West Frontier Agency|South West Frontier Agency]] was renamed a Commissionary, with the Political Agent becoming the Commissioner and the Assistant Political Agent designated as the Deputy Commissioner. As a result, the head of the Agency became the Commissioner of Chota Nagpur Division, shaping its colonial administration.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tiwari |first1=Lalan |title=Issues in Indian Politics |date=1995 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-618-7 |pages=153 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Issues_in_Indian_Politics/d1nqYqBBf_IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=South-West+Frontier+Agency+headquarters&pg=PA152&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web |title=Courts District West SinghBhum, Government of Jharkhand India |url=https://chaibasa.nic.in/courts/}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=Gandhi |first1=Rajiv For |title=Indias Struggle For Freedom Vol. 3 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.98808/2015.98808.Indias-Struggle-For-Freedom-Vol-3_djvu.txt |date=1985}}</ref>
'''Chota Nagpur Division''', also known as the '''South-West Frontier''', was an administrative division of [[British India]]. It included most of the present-day state of [[Jharkhand]] as well as adjacent portions of [[West Bengal]], [[Orissa, India|Orissa]], and [[Chhattisgarh]].


==History==
==History==
===Background===
[[File:Map of present-day Jharkhand region by Rennell, 1779.jpg|thumb|Chota Nagpur region in the 1770s, map by [[James Rennell]].]]
Chota Nagpur division was a hilly and forested area. Part of [[Nagpur State]] in [[Maratha Empire]]. The region came under the control of the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and was annexed to the [[Bengal Presidency]], the largest province of British India. After the [[Kol rebellion]] of 1831-2, the division was exempted by Regulation XIII of 1833 from the general laws and regulations governing Bengal, and every branch of the administration was vested in an officer appointed by the supreme Government and called the Agent to the [[Governor-General of India]] for the South-West Frontier.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
===The Period of Commissionership (1854-1912)===
In 1854, under Act XX of 1854, the districts of the [[South-West Frontier Agency|Agency]] were reorganized into a [[Non-regulation province|Non-Regulation]] Division under the authority of a Commissioner.<ref name="auto" />
During this period, the South-West Frontier Agency was designated as the Commissioner, and the Principal Assistant Agents became Principal Assistant Commissioners. Other Assistant Agents were re-designated as Senior Assistant Commissioners.<ref name="auto1" /> The 31 rules, approved by the Government in Notification No. 615 of June 6, 1837, remained in effect as the governing laws for the division until they were gradually replaced by new legislative enactments.<ref name="auto" />
This reorganization also granted the Deputy Commissioner full executive and judicial powers, significantly enhancing the role’s authority. The region was formally restructured as the Chota Nagpur Division, with Ranchi as its headquarters and Hazaribagh, Chaibasa, and Purulia serving as subordinate district centers. These administrative changes played a pivotal role in shaping the governance of the region under British rule.<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="auto" />


Chota Nagpur division was a hilly and forested area. The region came under the control of the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and was annexed to the [[Bengal Presidency]], the largest province of British India. After the [[Kol rebellion]] of 1831-2, the division was exempted by Regulation XIII of 1833 from the general laws and regulations governing Bengal, and every branch of the administration was vested in an officer appointed by the supreme Government and called the Agent to the [[Governor-General of India]] for the South-West Frontier.
===Judicial Administration of Singhbhum===
Until March 8, 1910, Singhbhum was under the jurisdiction of the Sessions Judge of Bankura, who was appointed as Additional Sessions Judge for Chota Nagpur in 1904. He presided over Sessions Cases and Criminal Appeals from Singhbhum and Manbhum, with trials conducted at Purulia and appeals heard at Purulia or Bankura for faster resolution. The local Criminal Courts consisted of a Deputy Magistrate and four Honorary Magistrates, with three based in Chaibasa and one in Chakardharpur. Additionally, a Subordinate Judge oversaw both Singhbhum and Manbhum, while a Munsif handled cases for Purulia. The Deputy Commissioner also served as a Subordinate Judge.<ref name="auto1" />


In 1854 the designation of South-West Frontier Agency was changed to Chota Nagpur and it began to be administered as a [[Non-regulation province]] under the Lieutenant Governor of the then Bihar. In 1855-56 there was the great uprising of the Santhals against the British but was brutally suppressed. was changed to Chota Nagpur by Act XX of that year, and was administered thereafter as a [[non-regulation province]] under the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal Presidency. The title of the chief administrative officer was changed from Agent to Commissioner, and the officers in charge of the districts became Deputy Commissioners. The Commissioner exercised general control over the [[Chota Nagpur States]]. The present Divisional Commissioner is Shri. Surendra Singh Meena of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
In 1910, the Manbhum-Sambalpur Judgeship was established, comprising Sambalpur, Singhbhum, and Manbhum. Under this new judicial system, cases from Singhbhum and Manbhum were heard at Purulia, while those from Sambalpur were handled at Sambalpur. This reorganization streamlined the judicial process, improving legal administration in the region.<ref name="auto1" />


Chota Nagpur Division became part of the new province of [[Bihar and Orissa]] when it was created in 1912. In 1936 the province was split into the separate provinces of [[Bihar Province|Bihar]] and [[Orissa Province|Orissa]], and the princely states were placed under the authority of the [[Eastern States Agency]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://princelystates.com/ArchivedFeatures/fa-02-01.shtml |title=Rice, Ron (2001). New Indian States, ''Princely States Report'', January 2001. |access-date=2006-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321223204/http://www.princelystates.com/ArchivedFeatures/fa-02-01.shtml |archive-date=2006-03-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
=== Reorganization and judicial reforms ===
Chota Nagpur Division became part of the new province of [[Bihar and Orissa]] when it was created in 1912 to 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://princelystates.com/ArchivedFeatures/fa-02-01.shtml |title=Rice, Ron (2001). New Indian States, ''Princely States Report'', January 2001. |access-date=2006-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321223204/http://www.princelystates.com/ArchivedFeatures/fa-02-01.shtml |archive-date=2006-03-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1936, the province was divided into two separate entities: [[Bihar Province|Bihar]] and [[Orissa Province|Orissa]]. Following this division, Sambalpur district was incorporated into Orissa, while Manbhum district remained in Bihar. As a result, a new judicial division, the Manbhum-Singhbhum Judgeship, was established to oversee legal matters in the region, with court sittings held at Purulia for cases from Manbhum and Singhbhum, ensuring efficient judicial administration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Courts {{!}} District West SinghBhum, Government of Jharkhand {{!}} India |url=https://chaibasa.nic.in/courts/}}</ref>


==Administration==
==Administration==
[[File:The Sketch Map Showing Provincial and District Divisions to Accompany the Administration Report, 1872–73 (Cropped to Bihar, Chota Nagpur, and Odisha).jpg|thumb|Chota Nagpur Division of the [[Bengal Presidency]], 1872]]
The administrative headquarters of the division was at [[Ranchi]]. The total area of the division was {{convert|27,101|sqmi|sqkm}}, and the population was 4,900,429 in 1901. In 1901 [[Hinduism|Hindus]] constituted 68.5% of the total population, [[animism|animists]] 22.7%, [[Islam|Muslims]] 5.7%, [[Christianity|Christians]] 2.9%, and 853 [[Jainism|Jains]]. The [[Chota Nagpur States]], a group of [[princely state]]s, was under the political authority of the division's commissioner.<ref>Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al. (1908). ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', Volume 12. 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford.</ref>
{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable defaultleft col2right col4right"
|+ District of Chota Nagpur Division
! District !! Area (1872)<br>{{nobold|(sq miles)}}  !! District !! Area (1901) <br>{{nobold|(sq miles)}}
|-
| [[Hazaribagh district|Hazaribagh]]
| 7,021
| [[Hazaribagh district|Hazaribagh]]
| 7,029
|-
| rowspan=2|[[Lohardaga district|Lohardaga]]
| rowspan=2|12,044
| [[Ranchi district|Ranchi]]
| 7,128
|-
| [[Palamu district|Palamu]]
| 4,914
|-
| [[Manbhum]]
| 4,914
| [[Manbhum]]
| 4,147
|-
| [[Singhbhum district|Singbhum]]
| 4,503
| [[Singhbhum district|Singbhum]]
| 3,753
|}


The administrative headquarters of the division was at [[Ranchi]]. The total area of the division was 27,101 square miles (70,161&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.), and the population was 4,900,429 in 1901. In 1901 [[Hinduism|Hindus]] constituted 68.5% of the total population, [[animism|animists]] 22.7%, [[Islam|Muslims]] 5.7%, [[Christianity|Christians]] 2.9%, and 853 [[Jainism|Jains]]. The [[Chota Nagpur States]], a group of [[princely state]]s, was under the political authority of the division's commissioner.<ref>Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al. (1908). ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', Volume 12. 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford.</ref>
==Gallery==
<gallery>


===Districts===
File:BengalPartition1905 Map.png|Chota Nagpur area in 1905
The division included five districts:
File:Chota Nagpur area-IGI.jpg|[[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] area. Political Divisions. 1909 [[Imperial Gazetteer of India]] map section.
* [[Hazaribagh District|Hazaribagh]]
*[[Ranchi District|Ranchi]]
*[[Palamu District|Palamu]]
*[[Manbhum]]
*[[Singhbhum]]


{| align=right
</gallery>
|
|}


==See also==
==See also==

Latest revision as of 17:10, 9 October 2025


For disambiguation, see Chota Nagpur (disambiguation).
Chota Nagpur Division
Division of British India
1854–1912
Flag of
Flag

1858 map of the Bengal Presidency
CapitalRanchi
Area 
• 1901
70,161 km2 (27,089 sq mi)
Population 
• 1901
4900429
History
Government
Commissioner 
• 1854-1859
Mr. J. H. Crawford
• 1853-1854
Mr. W. J Allen
• 1866
Edward Tuite Dalton[1]:1385 (Commissioner)
• 1878
Mr. A. C. Mangles (Commissioner)
• 1878- 1882
Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt
• 1882
Mr. John Edgar
• 1882-1885
Mr. J. F. K. Hewitt
• 1879
Babu Rakhal Dass (special Commissioner)
• 1888
F. W. R. Cowley (Judicial Commissioner)
• 1885-1889
Mr. Charles Cecil Stevens (Commissioner)
• 1896
Mr. Grimley (Commissioner)[2]
Historical eraModern Period
• Creation of the division
1854
• Bifurcation
1912
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
South-West Frontier Agency
Bihar and Orissa Province
Today part ofBihar
Jharkhand
Odisha
Chhattisgarh
West Bengal[3]

The Chota Nagpur Division was one of the administrative divisions established under British rule. Under Act XX of 1854, the South West Frontier Agency was renamed a Commissionary, with the Political Agent becoming the Commissioner and the Assistant Political Agent designated as the Deputy Commissioner. As a result, the head of the Agency became the Commissioner of Chota Nagpur Division, shaping its colonial administration.[4][5][6]

History[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

Chota Nagpur region in the 1770s, map by James Rennell.

Chota Nagpur division was a hilly and forested area. Part of Nagpur State in Maratha Empire. The region came under the control of the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and was annexed to the Bengal Presidency, the largest province of British India. After the Kol rebellion of 1831-2, the division was exempted by Regulation XIII of 1833 from the general laws and regulations governing Bengal, and every branch of the administration was vested in an officer appointed by the supreme Government and called the Agent to the Governor-General of India for the South-West Frontier.[citation needed]

The Period of Commissionership (1854-1912)[edit | edit source]

In 1854, under Act XX of 1854, the districts of the Agency were reorganized into a Non-Regulation Division under the authority of a Commissioner.[6]

During this period, the South-West Frontier Agency was designated as the Commissioner, and the Principal Assistant Agents became Principal Assistant Commissioners. Other Assistant Agents were re-designated as Senior Assistant Commissioners.[5] The 31 rules, approved by the Government in Notification No. 615 of June 6, 1837, remained in effect as the governing laws for the division until they were gradually replaced by new legislative enactments.[6]

This reorganization also granted the Deputy Commissioner full executive and judicial powers, significantly enhancing the role’s authority. The region was formally restructured as the Chota Nagpur Division, with Ranchi as its headquarters and Hazaribagh, Chaibasa, and Purulia serving as subordinate district centers. These administrative changes played a pivotal role in shaping the governance of the region under British rule.[5][6]

Judicial Administration of Singhbhum[edit | edit source]

Until March 8, 1910, Singhbhum was under the jurisdiction of the Sessions Judge of Bankura, who was appointed as Additional Sessions Judge for Chota Nagpur in 1904. He presided over Sessions Cases and Criminal Appeals from Singhbhum and Manbhum, with trials conducted at Purulia and appeals heard at Purulia or Bankura for faster resolution. The local Criminal Courts consisted of a Deputy Magistrate and four Honorary Magistrates, with three based in Chaibasa and one in Chakardharpur. Additionally, a Subordinate Judge oversaw both Singhbhum and Manbhum, while a Munsif handled cases for Purulia. The Deputy Commissioner also served as a Subordinate Judge.[5]

In 1910, the Manbhum-Sambalpur Judgeship was established, comprising Sambalpur, Singhbhum, and Manbhum. Under this new judicial system, cases from Singhbhum and Manbhum were heard at Purulia, while those from Sambalpur were handled at Sambalpur. This reorganization streamlined the judicial process, improving legal administration in the region.[5]

Reorganization and judicial reforms[edit | edit source]

Chota Nagpur Division became part of the new province of Bihar and Orissa when it was created in 1912 to 1936.[7] In 1936, the province was divided into two separate entities: Bihar and Orissa. Following this division, Sambalpur district was incorporated into Orissa, while Manbhum district remained in Bihar. As a result, a new judicial division, the Manbhum-Singhbhum Judgeship, was established to oversee legal matters in the region, with court sittings held at Purulia for cases from Manbhum and Singhbhum, ensuring efficient judicial administration.[8]

Administration[edit | edit source]

Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency, 1872

The administrative headquarters of the division was at Ranchi. The total area of the division was 27,101 square miles (70,190 km2), and the population was 4,900,429 in 1901. In 1901 Hindus constituted 68.5% of the total population, animists 22.7%, Muslims 5.7%, Christians 2.9%, and 853 Jains. The Chota Nagpur States, a group of princely states, was under the political authority of the division's commissioner.[9]

District of Chota Nagpur Division
District Area (1872)
(sq miles)		 District Area (1901)
(sq miles)
Hazaribagh 7,021 Hazaribagh 7,029
Lohardaga 12,044 Ranchi 7,128
Palamu 4,914
Manbhum 4,914 Manbhum 4,147
Singbhum 4,503 Singbhum 3,753

Gallery[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Dasgupta, Sangeeta (September 2022). "The Oraons of Chhotanagpur: A journey through colonial ethnography". Modern Asian Studies. 56 (5): 1375–1415. doi:10.1017/S0026749X21000597. ISSN 0026-749X.
  2. ↑ Roy, Sarat Chandra (1912). "The Mundas And Their Country".
  3. ↑ "Chotanagpur Plateau" (PDF).
  4. ↑ Tiwari, Lalan (1995). Issues in Indian Politics. Mittal Publications. p. 153. ISBN 978-81-7099-618-7.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Courts District West SinghBhum, Government of Jharkhand India".
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Gandhi, Rajiv For (1985). "Indias Struggle For Freedom Vol. 3".
  7. ↑ "Rice, Ron (2001). New Indian States, Princely States Report, January 2001". Archived from the original on 2006-03-21. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
  8. ↑ "Courts | District West SinghBhum, Government of Jharkhand | India".
  9. ↑ Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al. (1908). Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 12. 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford.
  • Goswami Prodipto, Untold Story of Chota Nagpur: Its Journey with the Colonial Army 1767-1947, Chennai: Notion Press (2020)

External links[edit | edit source]

23°00′N 85°00′E / 23.000°N 85.000°E / 23.000; 85.000

Template:Districts of Jharkhand

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