Chatra is the headquarters of Chatra district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Chatra was the “headquarters” of Ramgarh district in the 18th-19th century. The renowned reformer, Raja Rammohan Roy, was sheristadar in the Ramgarh district, in 1804-05, and used to function from both Ramgarh and Chatra. Subsequently, Ramgarh district became part of North-western Frontier Agency and Hazaribagh district came up. Chatra became a subdivision of Hazaribagh district in 1914. It became a full-fledged district in 1991.