Rebellions

After several attempts in 1765, the British invaded the Dhalbhum and Ghatshila areas in 1767. The Raja of Ghatshila resisted along with his countrymen, but was later arrested and his nephew Jagannath Dhal was appointed as the new ruler. In 1767, Jagannath Singh Patar, a zamindar of Dampara (Ghatshila) in Dhalbhum, revolted against the enhanced revenue taxes of the British East India Company. This revolt is well known as Chuar rebellion, the first revolt against British East India Company in Bengal Presidency.^[2][3]

Inspired by the Dampara zamindar Jagannath Patar, the Raja declared himself as an independent ruler of Dhalbhum and refused to pay taxes to the British. Captain Morgan was sent to Ghatshila, Raja Jagannath was removed from his throne and made Baikunth Dhal (Nemu Dhal) the king. Unhappy with the decision, Raja Jagannath Dhal revolted. In which the Rajah of Jhargram and Dampara sardar Jagannath Patar, assisted him. The English Company sent Lieutenant Rook and Charles Magan to suppress the rebellion. In 1777, the British re-proclaimed Jagannath Dhal as the king, after which the rebellion was quelled.^[4][5]

Location

Ghatshila is located at 22.60°N 86.48°E / 22.60; 86.48.^[6] It has an average elevation of 103 m (338 ft).

It is 45 km from Jamshedpur. The town is located on the bank of the Subarnarekha River, and it is situated in a forested area. It contains a railway station on the main line of the South Eastern Railway. Ghatsila was formerly the headquarters of the kingdom of Dhalbhum.

Ghatsila has its diversity with dams, falls, rivers, forest, mountains and valley. The scenes are breathtaking especially at sunset. It has a township as well as a village touch. There are areas where people still do farming for a living; these areas are untouched and unexplored.

There is a community development block named Ghatshila block, which has its headquarters at Ghatshila. This block was established on 4 May 1962.

Area overview

The area shown in the map “forms a part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau and is a hilly upland tract”. The main rivers draining the district are the Subarnarekha and the Kharkai.^[7] The area lying between Jamshedpur and Ghatshila is the main industrial mining zone. The rest of the district is primarily agricultural. In the district, as of 2011, 56.9% of the population lives in the rural areas and a high 43.1% lives in the urban areas.^[8]

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.

Religion

Hinduism is the dominant religion in Ghatshila, followed by 76.66% of the population. Islam is a significant minority, followed by 11.56% of the population. Other religions with a significant number of adherents include Sikhism (2.28%) and Christianity (1.62%).^[12]

Languages

According to 2011 census, Bengali was the most spoken language in Ghatshila town with 20,572 speakers followed by Hindi at 9,215, Urdu at 3,085, Santali at 2,602 and Odia at 2,130.^[14]

Economy

Hindustan Copper Limited is located at Moubhandar, a mile away. This is the chief employer or indirect source of income for the people of Ghatshila, Moubhandar, Musabani and nearby villages. Ghatshila is best known for these mines because they are Asia's first copper mines^{[citation needed]} and the world's second deepest mines^{[citation needed]}.

Transport

Ghatshila is connected to most of the important stations in Bihar and Jharkhand through rail and road network. Jamshedpur is at a distance of 45 km (by road) and 37 km (by railroad) west of this town. Most of the trains running from Kharagpur that goes to west towards Jamshedpur, have a stoppage here. Distance between Ghatsila and Kharagpur is about 98 km.

Railway

It is a railway station on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of Howrah–Mumbai track, 215 km from Howrah. Notable trains which stop here are Ispat Express (train no. 12781/12782), Kurla–Howrah Express (train no. 18030/18029), Steel Express (train no. 12813/12814). It is well connected to 3 metros in India namely Mumbai (by Bombay Express), Kolkata (many trains starting from 6 o'clock in the morning by Steel Express to midnight at 1.15 by Samleshwari Exp) and New Delhi (by Neelachal Express, Purushottam Express and Utkal Express). There are many local Passenger trains connecting Jamshedpur and Kharagpur with Ghatshila.

Road

It is about 240 km from Kolkata. Those traveling from Kolkata first have to take NH 6 to Baharagora and then take the road to Jamshedpur. Buses plying between Kharagpur and Jamshedpur pass through Ghatshila. Buses plying from Bhubaneswar or Kolkata to Jamshedpur or Ranchi also pass through Ghatshila. By road Jamshedpur is 45 km away. There are many buses connecting Ghatsila to Jamshedpur daily, from morning 6 o'clock to evening 5 o'clock. There are two routes connecting Jamshedpur to Ghatsila, one route through NH33 and another route through Jadugoda.

Education

There are large number of schools and colleges which help a large number of youths to get their primary education in the town itself which has also helped in increasing the literacy rate of Ghatshila to 85.03%. Some of the prominent schools and colleges are listed below.

Schools

• Kendriya Vidyalaya Surda,Ghatshila
• Irvine Adventist School, Gopalpur
• Sant Nandalal Smriti Vidya Mandir
• St. Joseph's Convent School at Tumandungri, Musaboni
• Shivlal +2 High School, Musaboni
• St. Joseph's Convent School (Kashida)
• Gyandeep Public School
• J.C School at College Road
• Saraswati Shishu Vidyamandir
• Sri Sri Vidyamandir at Kasidah
• Marwadi Hindi High School
• St. Paul High School
• The Oxford Convent at Dahigora
• Loreto Convent Public School
• Holy Heart School

Colleges

• Ghatsila College
• Ghatsila Women's College at Kasidah