Chatra district

Ancient period In ancient period, the area covered by the present district and adjoining areas were ruled by a number of states, which were collectively known as the Atavika (forest) states. These states accepted the suzerainty of the Maurya Empire during Ashoka's reign ( BCE). Samudragupta, while marching through the present-day Chotanagpur region, directed the first attack against the kingdom of Dakshina Kosala in the Mahanadi valley. Medieval period During Muhammad bin Tughluq's reign, the territory which comprises the present district came in contact with the Delhi sultanate. Later, it became a part of the Bihar Subah of the Mughal empire. Daud Khan, the Mughal Subahdar of Bihar, during the reign of Aurangzeb occupied Kothi near Pokhri Fort on 5 May 1660, without much opposition, and then he moved towards the fort of Kunda which had a very strong fortification as it was situated on a hilltop. This fort was finally occupied by him and was completely destroyed on the 2 June 1660. Later, Kunda Fort was under the possession of the Raja of Ramgarh. In 1734, Aliwardi Khan advanced towards Kunda after defeating the rebel Zamindars of Tikari (Gaya). He mounted an attack on Chatra Fort and demolished it. == Administration ==

The territory covered by the present district was earlier known as Chatra sub-division of Hazaribagh district. Blocks/Mandals Chatra district consists of 12 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in Chatra district: ==Demographics==

According to the 2011 census Chatra district has a population of 1,042,886, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Rhode Island. This gives it a ranking of 434rd in India (out of a total of 640). At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 39.71% of the population in the district spoke Khortha, 39.21% Hindi, 12.47% Magahi, 5.47% Urdu and 1.72% Kurukh as their first language. ==Economy==

In 2006, the Indian government named Chatra one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). == Politics ==

Chatra has two assembly constituencies: Chatra and Simaria. Both are part of Chatra Lok Sabha constituency The MP from Chatra is Kalicharan Singh from Bharatiya Janata Party. ==Tourism==

The district of Chatra, gateway of Jharkhand has a number of picnic spots and fountains, waterfalls and flora and fauna. Some of the tourist spots of Chatra include: • Bhadrakali temple:- It is at Itkhori, 35 km on the East of Chatra and 16 km west of Chauparan connected with Grand Trunk Road. Along with the temple situated on the bank of river Mahanad (Mahane) surrounded by hill and forest, there is a water reservoir. • Kunda Cave:- The ruins of old Kunda palace are still found at a distance of about three-four miles from the present Kunda Village. The place might have been created either towards the end of 17th or beginning of the 18th century AD. • Tamasin:- Word tamasin is a sandhi of 'tam+asin' which means 'darkness prevails '. This area has mixed forest having high trees making the area dark even in the daylight. Tamasin has a waterfall. Besides these there are a number of waterfalls in Chatra. Maa Kauleswary Temple: - Maa Kauleswary Mandir is situated near Hunterganj block in Kedli kalan village. It is approx 10 km from Hunterganj and the temple is situated on the hill which has 650 feet height. A Budha temple is also situated on Kuleswary hill and every year thousands of visitor are coming to visit the temples and natural environment of this area also. ==References==