Dumka

This article is about the city in Jharkhand, India. For its namesake district, see Dumka district. For its namesake subdivision, see Dumka Sadar subdivision. For its namesake community development block, see Dumka (community development block).

For other uses, see Dumka (disambiguation).

Dumka, the headquarters of the Dumka district and Santhal Pargana region, is a city in the state of Jharkhand, India. It was made the headquarters of the Santhal Pargana region, which was carved out of the Bhagalpur and Birbhum district after the Santal Hool of 1855. Dumka was carved out of the southern part of Bihar along with 18 other Districts on 15 November 2000 to form Jharkhand as 28th State of India. Dumka is a peaceful and green city and also sub-capital of Jharkhand. The nearest important cities are Suri and Deoghar.

Dumka
City
Terracotta Temples of Maluti, Entrance gate of Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka rural area, Massanjore Dam
Dumka Location in Jharkhand, India Show map of Jharkhand Dumka Dumka (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 24.42°N 87.34°E / 24.42; 87.34
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
District	Dumka
Division	Santhal Pargana
Government
• Type	Municipal governance in India
• Body	Dumka Nagar Parishad
• Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha	Nalin Soren (JMM)
• Member of Legislative Assembly, Jharkhand	Basant Soren (JMM)
Area
• Total	4,404.02 km2 (1,700.40 sq mi)
Elevation	137 m (449 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	47,584
• Density	300/km2 (800/sq mi)
Languages (*For language details see Dumka (community development block)#Language and religion)
• Official	Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Santali
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	814101
Telephone code	06434
Vehicle registration	JH-04
Sex ratio	974 ♂/♀
Website	dumka.nic.in

Etymology

There are two theories on how Dumka got its name. The first one suggests that Dumka's name derives from the Santali word sumk for "shunted" or "small," because during the British Raj, it was a small town compared to Rampurhat and Bhagalpur.

The other is that Dumka derives its name from the Persian word damin-i-koh, which means 'skirts (an edge, border or extreme part) of the hills'.

History

Early history

The earlier inhabitants of the present-day district of whom there is some record, it appears, were the Paharias (for example, the Maler and Sauria Paharias). The Greek traveler Megasthenes identified these people as Mallis. He referred to the Sauria Paharias as savars^{[what language is this?]} of Odisha. Medieval History: Due to inaccessibility of the area caused by the cliffs of the Rajmahal Hills, it was a place of strategic economic importance, with a fort at Teliagarhi. After the 1539 victory of Sher Shah Suri at Chousa, the area fell into the hands of the Afghans, but it was soon lost to the Mughals under Akbar when Hussain Quli Khan was made viceroy of Bengal.

British Raj

The English representative, Dr. Gabriel Bokgliton, procured a firman from Shah Jahan. Between 1742 and 1751 the area of Dumka close to Rajmahal witnessed frequent inroads by the Marathas under Raghoji Bhosle and Peshwa Balaji Rao. In 1745 Raghoji Bhosle entered Rajmahal via the hills and jungles of Santhal Pargana Division. The early stay of the English was spent in subduing the Paharias. In 1769 Dumka remained a Ghatwali police post under Birbhum District of Bengal. In 1775 Dumka was transferred to Bhagalpur Division. In 1865 Dumka was made an independent district after being carved out of Bhagalpur. In 1872 Dumka was made headquarters of the whole district of Santal Pargana. In 1889 Paul Olaf Bodding started his service in India (Dumka/Benagaria) after Lars Olsen Skrefsrud, and Bodding created the first alphabet for the Santhals. The NELC-church was created as a Lutheran Church in this area - before the Catholics had established a mission in this area at all. In 1902 the first municipality was established. Finally in 1920 Motor cars and buses were introduced.

Post Independence

Firstly in 1952 The Apostolic Prefecture of Malda was erected. In 1962, it was promoted to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumka. Then in 1983 Dumka was made the divisional headquarters of Santhal Pargana. On 15 November 2000 Dumka became the sub-capital of Jharkhand. In 2011 Dumka is connected with the newly built Jasidih-Dumka railway line. In 2012 Intercity express to Ranchi started via Jasidih. Later in 2017 Jharkhand opens pilot training center in Dumka. Finally in 2018 Four-lane road from Dudhani to Tata Showroom constructed.

Geography

16km
9.9miles

B

I

H

A

R

W

E

S

T

B

E

N

G

A

L

l

Mayurakshi River

k

Ajay River

j

Barakar River

D

Massanjore
Dam

CT

Rasikpur

CT

Purana
Dumka

CT

Dudhani

CT

Karmatanr

M

Mihijam

M

Jamtara

M

Basukinath

M

Dumka

M

Madhupur

M

Jasidih

M

Deoghar

R

Narayanpur

R

Nala

R

Kundahit

R

Fatehpur

R

Bindapathar

R

Basudih

R

Bagdahari

R

Tongra

R

Taljhari

R

Shikaripara

R

Saraiyahat

R

Ranishwar

R

Ramgarh

R

Masalia

R

Maluti

R

Kathikund

R

Jarmundi

R

Jama

R

Hansdiha

R

Gopikandar

R

Sarwan

R

Sarath

R

Palojori

R

Mohanpur

R

Margomunda

R

Karon

R

Devipur

R

Sonaraithari

R

Chitra

   

Cities, towns and locations in the Deoghar, Dumka and Jamtara districts in Santhal Pargana Division
M: Municipality, CT: census town, R: Rural/ Urban centre, D: Dam,
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Dumka is located at 24.27°N 87.25°E / 24.27; 87.25.^[1] It has an average elevation of 137 metres (449 feet).

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1911	5,629	—
1921	7,396	+31.4%
1931	9,471	+28.1%
1941	10,811	+14.1%
1951	13,582	+25.6%
1961	18,720	+37.8%
1971	23,338	+24.7%
1981	31,068	+33.1%
1991	38,096	+22.6%
2001	44,989	+18.1%
2011	47,584	+5.8%
Source: Census of India[2]

As of 2011^[update] India census,^[3] Dumka is a Nagar Parishad city in district of Dumka, Jharkhand. The Dumka city is divided into 23 wards for which elections are held every five years. The Dumka Nagar Parishad has population of 47,584 of which 25,364 are males while 22,220 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.

Population of children with age of 0-6 is 5371 which is 11.29% of total population of Dumka (Nagar Parishad). In Dumka Nagar Parishad, Female Sex Ratio is of 876 against state average of 948. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Dumka is around 891 compared to Jharkhand state average of 948. Literacy rate of Dumka city is 89.92% higher than state average of 66.41%. In Dumka, Male literacy is around 93.46% while female literacy rate is 85.87%. As per official census 2011, Hinduism constitutes 79.06% of Dumka's population, followed by Islam at 8.09% and Christianity with 6.54%.

Religion and Languages

Religion in Dumka (2011)
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			88.25%
Islam			8.46%
Christianity			2.70%
Jainism			0.04%
Others†			0.14%
Distribution of religions †Includes Sikhism (0.06%), Buddhism (0.08%). †† Follwers of Sari Dharam and Sarna are also covered under Hinduism owing to devoid of centrally recognized regious code.

Besides the national official language Hindi, Santali, Urdu and Bengali are mostly spoken followed by regional dialect Khorta.

Here the major religions are:

• Hinduism
• Sari Dharam
• Sarnaism
• Islam
• Christianity
• Jainism

The Catholic minority is served by its own Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumka.

Languages

Languages spoken in Dumka Town (2011)^[4]

1. Hindi (49.6%)
2. khortha (13.7%)
3. Bengali (12.1%)
4. Bhojpuri (6.42%)
5. Urdu (5.34%)
6. Santali (4.60%)
7. Others (8.55%)

Climate

Dumka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa), with warm, wet summers and mild winters.

Climate data for Dumka
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	33.3 (91.9)	35.6 (96.1)	42.8 (109.0)	46.3 (115.3)	48.3 (118.9)	45.2 (113.4)	41.5 (106.7)	38.6 (101.5)	38.1 (100.6)	37.6 (99.7)	35.8 (96.4)	31.2 (88.2)	48.3 (118.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	25.9 (78.6)	28.9 (84.0)	34.3 (93.7)	38.4 (101.1)	37.5 (99.5)	35.5 (95.9)	32.7 (90.9)	32.5 (90.5)	32.9 (91.2)	33.0 (91.4)	30.5 (86.9)	27.0 (80.6)	32.4 (90.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	10.2 (50.4)	13.2 (55.8)	17.4 (63.3)	22.3 (72.1)	23.9 (75.0)	24.7 (76.5)	24.1 (75.4)	23.7 (74.7)	23.6 (74.5)	21.0 (69.8)	16.0 (60.8)	11.1 (52.0)	19.3 (66.7)
Record low °C (°F)	1.7 (35.1)	1.8 (35.2)	5.8 (42.4)	13.8 (56.8)	14.5 (58.1)	17.8 (64.0)	13.4 (56.1)	16.8 (62.2)	13.8 (56.8)	11.8 (53.2)	4.8 (40.6)	2.8 (37.0)	1.7 (35.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	9.0 (0.35)	15.0 (0.59)	21.0 (0.83)	35.0 (1.38)	72.0 (2.83)	198.0 (7.80)	343.0 (13.50)	293.0 (11.54)	273.0 (10.75)	116.0 (4.57)	9.0 (0.35)	7.0 (0.28)	1,391 (54.77)
Average rainy days	1.5	2.3	2.2	2.8	6.3	11.3	18.9	16.9	14.1	5.7	1.1	0.8	83.9
Average relative humidity (%)	60	53	47	50	60	73	83	83	81	74	65	62	66
Source: NOAA (1971-1990)[5]

Economy

Industrial areas

Sl. No.	Name of Industrial Area	Land acquired (in hectares)	Land developed (in hectares)	Prevailing Rate Per sq. ft. (in Rs)	No. of plots	No. of allotted plots	No. of vacant plots	No.of units in production
1.	Industrial Area Dumka	6.088	6.088	19.00	13	13	03	10

Industry at a Glance

Sl. No.	Head	Unit	Particulars
1	Registered Industrial Unit	No.	2241
2	Total Industrial Unit	No.	2241
3	Registered Medium &Large Unit	No.	NIL
4	Estimated Avg. No. of daily Worker Employed in small scale industries	No.	38
5	Employment in large and medium Industries	No.	NIL
6	No of Industrial Area	No.	1

Culture

Dumka District contains many Hindu temples, such as Basukinath, Sirshanath, Maluti Mandir, Shiv Pahar and Dharamsthana. Crowds visit these places during the month of Sawan.^{[citation needed]} Hizla Mela (Fair)^[6] is organized every year in Hizla and continues for a week. It is a fair of great cultural importance, thousands of people visit during the fair.

Politics

The first Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Babulal Marandi, hailed from Dumka constituency. In 2000, when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, NDA came to power in Jharkhand with Marandi as the Chief Minister.

Shibu Soren is another politician who is considered to be one of the founders of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and has a temporary residence in Dumka. Hemant Soren, the current Chief Minister of Jharkhand is the son of Shibu Soren.

Education

There are various Higher Secondary schools in Dumka:

• St. Teresa Girls School
• Sido Kanhu High School^[7]
• +2 Zila School
• National School
• Govt. Girls School
• Dumka Central School

Some reputed schools which provide secondary level education are:

• Decent children school, Dumka (Phasiadangal, Dumka)
• North Valley International School,^[8]
• St. Joseph's High School
• Bal Bharti School

Other schools include Ananda Marg School (Kurwa), Modern Sainik School, Green Mount Academy and New Life Academy at Kathikund.

To improve academic performance in government schools District administration of Dumka launched Sampurna Shiksha Kavach^[9] for students of grade 9 to grade 12 in following schools:

• +2 HS KATHIKUND
• +2 HS MASALIYA
• +2 HS JAMA
• RANI SONAWATI HS
• EKALAVYA MODEL RES. SCH KATIJORIA
• +2 OBC RES. GIRLS HS
• CM School of Excellence Girls, Dumka
• +2 UHS BUNIYADI GANDO
• PLUS 2 ST HS INDERWANI
• +2 RK HS SARAIYHAT
• +2 HS RAGHUNATHPUR
• +2 UHS TALJHARI
• +2 HS BENAGARIA
• +2 HS THARIHAT KUSIAM
• +2 UHS CHAPAKANDAR
• KGBV KATHIKUND
• +2 UHS MOHANPUR
• KGBV SARAIYAHAT
• KGBV JAMA
• +2 RK HS SHIKARIPARA
• NATIONAL SCHOOL DUMKA
• MODEL SCHOOL MASALIYA
• MODEL SCHOOL SARAIYAHAT
• +2 HS SAHARA
• +2 RK HS JARMUNDI
• MODEL SCHOOL SHIKARIPARA
• +2 UHS PINDARI
• DISTRICT CM SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE, DUMKA

This program focuses on improving performance of students across above 28 government schools in the district. Teachers need to ensure that entire curriculum is covered in classroom via online teaching during the academic year. Students also have additional online learning support after school. High performing students are enrolled in additional classes to prepare for competitive exams such as IIT JEE and NEET.

For higher education Dumka offers many colleges e.g.- Sido Kanhu Murmu University was established in 1992 at Dumka and covers whole Santhal Pargana. Many colleges are affiliated or constituent to SKMU in the division.

St. Xavier's College, Dumka offers various courses. Others include Santhal Pargana College (S.P. college),^[10] A.N. College,^[11] and S.P. Mahila College, which offer undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate courses.

Phulo-Jhano Murmu College of Dairy Technology at Hansdiha, Dumka is Jharkhand's first Dairy Technology college established in 2019.^[12] It is affiliated by Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi.

GTRTC, Dumka (Government Tool Room and Training Centre) was established in 2007 by the Department of Industries, Government of Jharkahnd with the assistance of Ministry of MSME, Government of India.^[13] It offers various training programmes to meet need for technical manpower required in the manufacturing sector. Lahanti Institute of Multiple Skills was established by Evangelical Social Action Forum to provide skills training to unemployed youth in the remote regions of Santhal Pargana.^[14] Dumka also have a Govt. Polytechnic College, a Govt. Women's Polytechnic College and also a govt. ITI for technical education.

Dumka Engineering College was established as an institution under PPP model between the Government of Jharkhand and Techno India Group.^[15]

Phulo Jhano Murmu Medical College and Hospital was established in 2019 and it also contains hospitals for serving population of Dumka.^[16]

Tourist places

• Basukinath

Temples

• Maluti temple Village - Maluti is an ancient temple village of Dumka District under Shikaripara police station. It is near the border of West Bengal and Jharkhand State. There are many Shiva, Bishnu, Durga Terracotta temples.

• 
  Maluti terracotta temple
• 
  Maluti Temple
• 
  Malooti mandir
• 
  Malooti mandir
• 
  Malooti mandir
• 
  Malooti mandir
• 
  Malooti mandir
• 
  Malooti mandir

Tourist spots

Massanjore Dam at Dumka

• Masanjore is a picnic spot situated 30 km to Dumka. This small village is about 30 km south of Dumka. The Masanjore dam on the Mayurakshi River is a tourist draw.^[17] From the counterpart rupee fund created through supplies of wheat and other materials from Canada for use in India, Canada Govt. devoted those funds to further development of the Mayurakshi project and Massanjore Dam was commissioned in 1955. The Dam is still mentioned as Canada Dam. The dam is bounded by hills and forests. Mayurakshi Bhawan Bungalow and Inspection Bungalow, offer accommodation within the village.^[18] By road, Masanjore is connected with Vakreshwara (59 km), Sainthia (50 km), Tarapith (70 km), Rampurhat (62 km) and Deoghar (98 km).

• Chutonath - It is situated 20 km from the district headquarters. Chutonath is a religious place of Hindu god Lord Chutonath. This festival is celebrated mainly in the month of April. This area has become a tourist attraction.^[19]
• Dharmasthan - It is temple situated in Tin bazaar at the heart of Dumka Town, it is known for the Goddess Kali, during the Durga puja 7 days special puja is organised here.

Natural places

• Kurwa park (Shrishti Pahar) - It is a small picnic spot about 5 km to the east of Dumka. It has a park, facilities for boating and a small hill. A temple is also situated here.

Transport

Rail

Main article: Dumka Railway Station

v t e Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line
Legend
km km   Howrah–Delhi main line 000 130 Jasidih Junction Satsang nagar 005 124 0 Deoghar Baidyanathdham Deoghar 006 6 New Nawadih Mohanpur 114 Jharkhand Bihar Dumka–Bhagalpur line to Hansdiha 14 Chandan 22 Bhalua Sirsa Nunthar Halt 108 Sahibganj loop to Sultanganj (planned) Ghormara 102 30 Katoriya 40 Karjhausa Dhanpatdih 096 50 Kakbara Chandanpahari 088 to Betiah Road (planned) 55 Banka to Chitra (planned) 057 Banka Road Basukinath 079 Chandan River 061 Murahara Jama 070 066 Telia New Madanpur 061 70 Barahat Dumka 057 Dumka–Bhagalpur line Kurwa 051 Barmasia 040 Ambajora Shikaripara 033 Harinsing 026 Jharkhand West Bengal Pinargaria 019 Adalapahari 012 Rampurhat 000 Sahibganj loop     km km

In July 2011, Dumka was connected to Jasidih with the newly built Jasidih - Dumka railway line. Since then, the city has seen a growing number of three-wheelers on the road. in June 2015, Dumka Rampurhat Train service is also started.

Road

Dumka is connected by road to the neighboring cities such as Deoghar, Bhagalpur, Dhanbad, Rampurhat. Buses are the preferred mode of transport and are run by both government agencies and private operators. Dumka has good connectivity to neighboring districts with buses. There is a luxury night bus service between Dumka - Ranchi and Kolkata.^[17]

Air

Nearby airports are:

Deoghar Airport

• Kazi Nazrul Airport, Durgapur
• Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi
• Jay Prakash Narayan Airport, Patna
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata