Ranchi district

Ranchi district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Ranchi (city) is the district headquarters and also the capital of the Jharkhand state.

Origin of name

The geographical area now comprising Ranchi district was formerly part of old Lohardaga district of the British India. In the year 1831-32, a part of old Lohardagga district was carved out and given the name of the "Non-regulation South-West Frontier", and in 1899 the name of the district was changed to Ranchi district. Ranchi was the name of a small tribal village which has since been assimilated into the city of Ranchi.

History

The geographical area currently comprising the district of Ranchi had remained under the control of the Munda and Oraon tribes since antiquity, and is believed to be even beyond the direct control of the kings of the epic period of the Mahabharata such as Jarasandh, the king of Rajgir. However Lord Krishna was believed to have a loose control over the territory.
Magadha Empire exercised indirect control over the territory, which lasted until the reign of the Ashoka. Kalinga rulers are believed to have passed through the region during their expeditions to Rajgir and Pataliputra. Armies of Samudra Gupta must have passed through the region on their expedition to Deccan. After the decline of the Guptas, Phanimukut established the Kingdom of Chhotanagpur. The legendary Phanimukut, which literally means the "crown of the cobra", was found by the side of a cobra ("Nag" in Hindi), and grew to be an industrious king, and founded the Nag Dynasty, which ruled Ranchi district and a larger part of Chota Nagpur Plateau as a sovereign king for almost next 1000 years.

With the expansion of the Mughal Empire, the sovereign status of the Nag Dynasty was technically affected, but they continued to rule and administer independently until the advent of the East India Company. During the period of the British Raj, adivasis and the local population of other ethnic backgrounds of Ranchi and other regions currently comprising the State of Jharkhand continued to oppose the subjugation by the British, and the region witnessed a number of uprisings and revolts.

Administrative divisions

Presently, Ranchi district is divided into 2 subdivisions and 14 administrative blocks. On September 12 2007, Khunti district was created by carving Khunti subdivision and its 6 blocks out of Ranchi district.

ubdivisions

*Bundu
*Ranchi

Administrative blocks

*Angara
*Bero
*Bundu
*Burmu
*Chanho
*Kanke
*Lapung
*Mander
*Namkum
*Ormanjhi
*Ratu
*Silli
*Sonahatu
*Tamar

See also

*Districts of Jharkhand
*Ranchi (city)

External links

* [http://www.ranchiinfo.com Welcome to the Portal of Ranchi & Jharkhand ]

* [http://ranchi.nic.in/welcome.htm District Administration website]