Gumla district at a glance

During British rule GUMLA was under LOHARDAGA district .In 1843 it was brought under BISHUNPUR province that was further named RANCHI .In fact Ranchi district came into existence in 1899. In 1902 Gumla became Sub-division under Ranchi district. Blessed with natures beauty , the district of Gumla is covered by dense forests, hills and rivers. It is situated in the southwest portion of the Jharkhand State. The District was carved out of Ranchi District on 18th May 1983. The district lies between 22 35 to 23 33 north. Blessed with nature’s beauty , the district of Gumla is covered by dense forests, hills and rivers. It is situated in the southwest portion of the Jharkhand State. The District was carved out of Ranchi District on 18th May 1983. Previously it was a sub-division of old Ranchi district. The district lies between 22′ 35″ to 23′ 33″ north latitude and 84′ 40″ to 85′ 1″ east longitude. Till 30th April 2001, Gumla district consisted on 2 sub-divisions viz Gumla and Simdega. But after the creation of Jharkhand State , a new district of Simdega was carved out of Gumla district on 30th April, 2001. Now, Gumla district consists of three sub-division namely Gumla, Chainpur and Basia.

The various legends are in currency regarding its name . The most popular one ascribes to its word ‘Gumla’ in Mundari language, which relates to the occupation of the local Tribes in rice processing work (dhan-kutna). The second legend ‘Gau-mela’ relates to cattle fair. Cattle fair was weekly held in Gumla town every Tuesday. In rural areas, Nagpuri and Sadri people still call it ‘gomila’.

Total area of the district is about 5327 sq. km. As per 2011 census of India, Gumla District has a population of 1,025,213 in 2011 out of which 514,390 are male and 510,823 are female. Population of Gumla in 2022 is estimated to be 1,353,282 inhabitants. Literate people are 559,720 out of 321,795 are male and 237,925 are female. People living in Gumla District depend on multiple skills, total workers are 487,508 out of which men are 264,774 and women are 222,734. Total 196,517 Cultivators are depended on agriculture farming out of 122,451 are cultivated by men and 74,066 are women. 33,161 people works in agricultural land as labor, men are 18,103 and 15,058 are women. Gumla District sex ratio is 993 females per 1000 of males. Since obvious that the district has a total of 69% of tribal population, therefore ,it comes within scheduled area .