Ghatsila

Ghatsila stands beside the Subarnarekha in the wooded country of Dhalbhum. It was a seat of the Dhal rulers and is associated with the goddess Rankini, whose shrine became an important local place of worship. Traditions differ on the origins of the ruling family, reflecting the region’s ties to both its local Bhumij communities and wider Hindu royal culture.

In 1767 Jagannath Singh, the Dhalbhum ruler, resisted the East India Company’s demand for increased revenue from his lands and their cultivators. Company forces entered Ghatsila and removed him, installing a rival from the ruling family. The conflict was part of the difficulties the Company encountered as it tried to extend its revenue authority across the forested estates of the Jungle Mahals.