The early history of the greater part of the Chotanagpur Plateau is shrouded in mystery and that of Dhanbad district is particularly so.

Details of even later periods are difficult to trace as the present district formed but a small and insignificant part of Manbhum.

It was a small village of the erstwhile district of Manbhum which had its headquarters in Purulia (now in West Bengal).

Manbhum in turn, derived its name from Raja Man Singh, who was gifted this territory by Emperor Akbar, following his victory in a certain battle.

The district being extremely vast and far-flung soon got divided into Birbhum, Manbhum and Singhbhum, for administrative purposes.

However, on 24 October 1956 Dhanbad was declared a District on the Recommendation of the State Reconstitution Commission vide notification 1911.

As per the 1991 Census, the total population of the districts stands at 19,49,526 of which the number of males have been recorded as 10,71,913 along with 8,77,613 females.

The district can be divided into three broad natural divisions, namely, (I) the north and north western portions consisting of the hilly region, (ii) the uplands containing coal mines and most of the industries and (iii) the remaining uplands and plains lying to the south of the Damodar river consisting of cultivable flat lands.

In the south, these hills extend from Pradhankhanta to Govindpur, reaching a maximum altitude of 1,256 feet at Dhangi.

Further north, a branch of the Parasnath hill runs through Topchanchi and Tundi, the highest point of 1,500 feet being reached at Lalki.

The general slope is from west to east, the direction followed by the two major rivers, Damodar and Barakar.

Further east, the Damodar is joined by the Katri River which rises in the foothills below Parasnath and traverses through the Coal-field Area.

With the setting in of rains, the temperature falls and humidity rises; July to October are the rainy months.

Dhanbad has one of the oldest and largest markets in the region and is also a centre of large scale industries.

DH According to the 2011 census Dhanbad district has a population of 2,684,487,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[8] or the US state of Nevada.