Ranchi
District headquarters, 1834–1947
राँचीराञ्चीরাঁচিᱨᱟᱺᱪᱤ
Today Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. Same place, same name.
Key facts
- Historical name
- Ranchi
- Type
- District headquarters
- Coordinates
- 23.3556° N, 85.3347° E(seed dataset)
- Governance
- Directly administered
- Record confidence
- Medium confidence
- Identifiers
- Q174461
Directly administered by the Governor-General of India, and therefore part of British India in the statutory sense of the Interpretation Act 1889, s.18.
Location
Pin placed at the coordinates recorded for this place. Colonial-era boundaries are not drawn.
Description
Head-quarters of Ranchi District on the Chota Nagpur plateau, and summer seat of the Bihar and Orissa government after 1912.
Historical notes
Administrative centre of the South-West Frontier Agency created after the Kol insurrection of 1831-32; focus of the Birsa Munda ulgulan of 1899-1900. Capital of Jharkhand since 2000.
Administrative history
Administrative parenthood changed over time. Each row states the years it is recorded for, and the source it comes from.
| Years | Relation | Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1901 | Part of | Bengal PresidencyPresidency · Directly administeredSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Medium confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Part of | RanchiDistrict · Directly administeredSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Medium confidencesource |
Recorded names
Every documented spelling and transliteration held for this place. The historical name is canonical; modern names redirect to it.
| Name | Script | Type | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranchi | Latin | Historical English | — |
| Ranchi Town | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| राँची | Devanagari | Indigenous | — |
| राञ्ची | Devanagari | Indigenous | — |
| রাঁচি | Bengali | Indigenous | — |
| ᱨᱟᱺᱪᱤ | Other script | Indigenous | — |
Records and references
- Imperial Gazetteer of India
- Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31), Vol. 21 (21)
- Census of India
- Census of India, 1901, Vol. VI (6): Bengal
Sources
- Encyclopedia· generalCC BY-SA
Wikipedia: Ranchi, Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Database· identityCC0
Wikidata (Q174461), Wikimedia Foundation
Wikidata, CC0 1.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Gazetteer· administrativeLicence unverified
Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago — the 1908–31 text is public domain, but DSAL's digital presentation states no licence; link-out only
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Archive· descriptionPublic domain
Internet Archive scan: in.gov.ignca.30990, Internet Archive
Scanned volume of a pre-1929 publication (Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–31 / Census of India 1901); public domain. Digitisation courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Retrieved 2026-08-29
Sources tagged “Licence unverified” are linked to rather than reproduced. Scans and images are only displayed inline where the licence is confirmed permissive.