History of Ranchi

Ranchi: History

The History of Ranchi could be classified into four parts: the early period; the Mughal period; the British Raj and the Jharkhand Movement period. Ranchi is the district headquarters of the Jharkhand State now. 

In the Early period Ranchi was a part of tribal rule. The earliest mention of Ranchi is associated with the stories related to Mahabharata. This part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau belonged to the Munda and Oraon tribes. Later the Nagabansi rulers took over the region. Around 1585 Akbar invaded the region which was called as the region of Kokrahs then. 

After the Mughal period the British took over the administration of the Chota Nagpur plateau and the area comprising Ranchi and Palamu came to be known as Lohardaga district. In 1840 Ranchi was made a separate district and was called as Lohardaga district.  The area came under the South Western Frontier Agency established by the British. A battalion of Ramgarh force was put up at Ranchi which took part in the 1857 Sipoy Mutiny. During the British Period a cry for separate identification was raised by the Munda tribes. Birsa Munda, a leader of Munda tribe had given voice to the revolt. But, the movement was suppressed by the local authorities. Lohardaga district was renamed as Ranchi in 1899. 

Ranchi witnessed the meeting of Gandhiji with Edward Gait and the Indigo agitation campaign during pre-independence movement. In the post independence period the area witnessed the agitation for a separate state that culminated in forming a separate Jharkhand State in 2000. Ranchi is now, part of Jharkhand State. The Government of India has marked the area under the Red Corridor project to take care of the regions that are vulnerable to Naxalite attacks.