Jharkhand

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Jharkhand

Jharkhand (Hindi: झारखंड, Bangla: ঝাড়খন্ড,IPA: / /) is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar state on 15 November 2000. Jharhkand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east.

The industrial city of Ranchi is its capital. The other major cities and indurstrial centres are Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Giridih, and Dhanbad.

Jharkhand is also popularly known as Vananchal (vana plus anchal, meaning wooded area). Jharkhand is known for its mineral wealth and forestry products together with its excellent human resources.

History

The demand for a separate Jharkhand state can be traced back to the early 1900s, when Jaipal Singh, an Indian Hockey captain and Olympian, suggested the idea of a separate state consisting of the southern districts of Bihar. The idea did not become a reality, however, until August 2nd, 2000, when the Parliament of India passed the Bihar Reorganisation Bill to create the state of Jharkhand, carving 18 districts out of Bihar to form Jharkhand state on 15th November, 2000. It became the 28th state of India.

However, according to some historians there was already a distinct geo-political, cultural entity called Jharkhand even before the period of Magadha Empire. According to a legend, Raja Jai Singh Deo of Orissa was accepted as the ruler of Jharkhand by its people in the 13th century. The Singh Deo's of Orissa have been very instrumental in the early history of Jharkhand. The local tribal heads had developed into barbaric dictators who could govern the province neither fairly nor justly. Consequently, the people of this state approached the more powerful rulers of Jharkhand's neighbouring states who were perceived to have a more fair and just governance. This became the turning point in the history of the region wherein rulers from Orissa moved in with their armies and created states that were governed for the benefit of the people and involved their participation, thus ending the barbarism that had marked the region for centuries. The good tribal rulers continued to thrive and were known as the Munda Rajas, and exist to this day. (These are regions which are still semi- autonomous, the degree of autonomy depending on the size of each specific Munda Raja's domain.) Later, during the Mughal period, the Jharkhand area was known as Kukara. After the year 1765, it came under the control of the British Empire and became formally known under its present title, "Jharkhand" - the Land of "Jungles" (forests) and "Jharis" (bushes). Located on Chhota Nagpur Plateau and Santhal Parganas, has evergreen forests, rolling hills and rocky plateaus with many places of keen beauty.

The subjugation and colonization of Jharkhand region by the British East India Company resulted in spontaneous resistance from the local people. Almost one hundred years before India’s First War of Independence (1857), adivasis of Jharkhand were already beginning what would become a series of repeated revolts against the British colonial rule:

1772-1780 Paharia revolt
1780-1785 Tilka Manjhi led the tribal revolt and managed to injure the British army Chief. In 1785, Tilka Manjhi was hanged to death in Bhagalpur
1795-1800 Tamar revolt
1795-1800 Munda revolt under the leadership of Vishnu Manaki
1800-1802 Munda revolt under the stewardship of Dukhan Manaki of Tamar
1819-1820 Munda revolt in Palamu under the leadership of Bhukan Singh
1832-1833 Khewar revolt under the leadership of Bhagirath, Dubai Gosai and Patel Singh
1833-1834 Bhumji revolt under the leadership of Ganga Narain of Birbhum
1855 Santhals waged war against the permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis
1855-1860 During late 1850s Sidhu had accumulated about ten thousands Santhal to run parallel government against British rule. The basic purpose was to collect taxes by making his own laws. British Government had announced an award of Rs. 10,000 to arrest Sidhu and his brother Kanhu
1856-1857 Martyr Sahid Lal, Vishwanath Shahdeo, Sheikh Bhikhari, Ganpatrai and Budhu Veer led a movement against the British Government during India’s First War of Independence, 1857, also called Sepoy Mutiny
1874 Kherwar Movement shot into fame under the leadership of Bhagirathi Manjhi
1895-1900 Movement against the British raj led by Birsa Munda (born 15th November, 1875). Birsa Munda was captured by British forces and declared dead on 9th June, 1900 in Ranchi Jail, due to Cholera, according to records of the British colonial government.

All of these uprisings were quelled by the British through massive deployment of troops across the region.

In 1914 the Tana Bhagat resistance movement started, which gained the participation of more than 26,000 adivasis, and eventually merged with Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience movement.

Geography and climate

Most of the state lies on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which is the source of the Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Kharkai, and Subarnarekha rivers, whose upper watersheds lie within Jharkhand. Much of the state is still covered by forest. Forest preserves support populations of tigers and Asian Elephants.

Soil content of Jharkhand state mainly consist of soil formed from disintegration of rocks and stones, and soil composition is further divided into:

Red soil, found mostly in the Damodar valley, and Rajmahal area
Micacious soil (containing particles of mica), found in Koderma, Jhumeritilaiya, Barkagaon, and areas around the Mandar hill
Sandy soil, generally found in Hazaribagh and Dhanbad
Black soil, found in Rajmahal area
Laterite soil, found in western part of Ranchi, Palamu, and parts of Santhal Parganas and Singhbhum

Flora and fauna

Weather remains cool in most areas of jharkhand, especially Ranchi, Gumla, Netarhat, etc. Jharkhand has a rich variety of flora and fauna. The National Parks and the Zoological Gardens located in the state of Jharkhand present a panorama of this variety.

Betla National Park (Palamu), 25 km from Daltonganj covers an area of about 250 square kilometres. The national park has a large variety of wild life like tigers, elephants, bisons locally called gaurs, sambhars, hundreds of wild boar and 15 to 20 feet long python, herds of spotted deer (cheetals), rabbits and foxes. The mammalian fauna to be seen at Betla National Park also include langurs, rhesus, blue bull and wild boars. The lesser mammals are the porcupine, hare, wild cats, honey badgers, jackals, Malabar giant squirrel, mongoose, wolf, antelope, etc. In 1974, the park was declared Project Tiger Reserve.

Part of the reason for the variety and diversity of flora and fauna found in Jharkhand state may be accredited to the Project Tiger Reserve of Palamu, which is abode to hundreds of species of flora and fauna ^*, as indicated within brackets: mammal (39), Snakes (8), Lizards (4), Fish (6), Insects (21), Birds (170), seed bearing Plants and Tress (97) , Shrubs and Herbs (46), Climbers, Parasites and semi-Parasites (25), and Grasses and Bamboo (17).

The Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary, with scenic beauties, 135 km from Ranchi, is set in an ecosystem very similar to Betla National Park of Palamu.

One Zoological Garden is also located about 16 km from Ranchi, and a number of mammalian fauna have been collected there for visitors.

Demographics

Jharkhand has a population of 26.90 million, consisting of 13.86 million males and 13.04 million females. The sex ratio is 941 females to 1000 males. The population consists of 28% tribals, 12% Scheduled Castes and 60% others. There are 274 persons for each square kilometer of land. However, the population density varies considerably from as low as 148 per square kilometer in Gumla district to as high as 1167 per square kilometer in Dhanbad district.

Jharkhand has remained a home to a number of tribal communities since time immemorial. Infact, in some of the districts of Jharkhand, the tribal population predominates, the non tribal one. Jharkhand has 32 primitive tribal groups. These are the Asur, Baiga, Banjara, Bathudi, Bedia, Binjhia, Birhor, Birjia, Chero, Chick-Baraik, Gond, Gorait, Ho, Karmali, Kharwar, Khond, Kisan, Kora, Korwa, Lohra, Mahli, Mal-Paharia, Munda, Oraon, Parhaiya, Santal, Sauria-Paharia, Savar, Bhumij, Kol and Kanwar.

The geographical area now comprising Jharkhand was previously part of Bihar. The area has witnessed migration of people from the adjoining areas of Bihar and West Bengal for last several decades. Industrial and mining centres like Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Ranchi have attracted people from all parts of India.

Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are the three religions that came in through immigrants. The tribal comunities of Jharkhand have their own spiritual beliefs, commonly called Sarna. During the colonization process the tribal religious beliefs were looked down upon as pagan and inferior. Through overt and covert conversions and other influences at assimilation, the Christian missionaries have contributed much for the demolition of many of the tribal Sarna beliefs.

Economy

Jharkhand's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $14 billion at current prices. Born out of partition from old Bihar state in 2000, Jharkhand produces about 40% of the output of the old Bihar state.

Industry

Jharkhand is known as a rich state of poor but talented people. It has a concentration of some of the country’s highly industrialized cities such as Jamshedpur, Ranchi ,Bokaro and Dhanbad. It also has several firsts in India, including:

First Iron & steel factory at Jamshedpur
Largest Steel plant in Asia , Bokaro steel plant.
Largest fertilizer factory of its time in India (since shut down) at Sindri
Biggest explosives factory at Gomia
First methane gas well
On the other hand, it has several towns and innumerable villages with sub-standard civic amenities. Urbanization ratio is only 22.25% and the per capita annual income is only US$ 90.

Jharkhand also has immense mineral resources: minerals ranging from (ranking in the country within bracket) from iron ore (1st), coal (3rd), copper ore (1st), mica (1st), bauxite (3rd), Manganese, limestone, china clay, fire clay, graphite (8th), kainite (1st), chromite (2nd), asbestos (1st), thorium (3rd), yemenite (2nd), sillimanite, uranium (Jaduguda mines, Narwa Pahar) (1st) and even gold (Rakha mines) (6th) and silver and several other minerals. Large deposits of coal and iron ore support concentration of industry, in centers like Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Ranchi. Tata Steel, a S&P CNX 500 conglomerate has its corporate office in Jharkhand. It reported a gross income of Rs.204,910 million for 2005.

Government and politics

The state is headed by a Governor, who is appointed by the President of India. However, the real executive power rests with the Chief Minister and the cabinet. The political party or the coalition of political parties having majority in the Legislative Assembly forms the Government.

The administrative head of the State is called Chief Secretary, under whose jurisdiction a hierarchy of officials drawn from the Indian Administrative Service / State Civil Services function.

The judiciary is headed by a Chief Justice and Jharkhand has a separate High Court, located in Ranchi.

Administrative districts

The state was formed with 18 districts, which were formerly part of Bihar. Some of these districts were reorganized to form 4 new districts, namely, Latehar, Saraikela Kharsawan, Jamtara and Sahebgunj. Presently, the state has 22 districts Districts of Jharkhand:

See also:District-wise Map

Language, literature & culture

Jharkhand is home to a number of languages belonging to three major language families. Indo-Aryan languages include Angika, Nagpuri (Sadri), Hindi, Urdu, Oriya and Bengali. Jharkand is also home to the Munda languages, Kurmali, Korku, Santhali, Mundari, Bhumij, Kharia and Ho, and the Dravidian languages Korwa, Oraon and Paharia.

Social infrastructure

Health

On account of salubrious climate, Jharkhand, particularly its capital Ranchi, has been like a health resort. As far back as 1918, facilities were set up for treatment of mentally challenged – Central Institute of Psychiatry^*, Ranchi.

In certain areas of Jharkhand, poverty and consequent malnutrition have given rise to diseases like tuberculosis (TB). In fact, TB has assumed epidemic proportions in certain areas of the state. For management and treatment of such diseases, organizations like Ramakrishna Mission through Ramakrishna Mission Tuberculosis Sanatorium(set up in 1948), Ranchi, has been doing exemplary work, and supplementing the efforts of the Government and other agencies. Likewise, in the field of treatment of cancer, Tata Memorial Hospital, Jamshedpur,[http://www.tatamemorialcentre.com/index.htm is rendering pioneering work.

Although several public and private health facilities are available in the state, overall infrastructure for dispensing health related services require improvements.

Education

The literacy rate in Jharkhand is 54.13% (2001) and female literacy rate is still lower at 39.38%.

Jharkhand has some of the best schools in country , namely DAV Shyamali, Ranchi , DPS Ranchi , Denobli Sindri, Loyola School, Jamshedpur and Little Flower School, Jamshedpur. About 600 students join IIT and about same no: of student join medical from Jharkhand per year which is more than anyother state in country.

Jharkhand has a network of government and privately run schools, although standards of teaching vary considerably from place to place, as also from school to school.

Schools

After 10 years of schooling, students can join 2 years of Intermediate course (or +2 courses) in Arts, Science and Commerce. This is followed by 3 years of degree courses (graduation). A list of schools includes:

Universities

A number of non-technical colleges are located in bigger cities as well as in small towns. The Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in particular, offer popular 3 year diploma courses.

Jharkhand has 7 Universities: Ranchi University, Ranchi; Sidhhu Kanhu University, Dumka; Binova Bhave University, Hazaribagh; Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi; Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur and the Indian School Of Mines (ISM Dhanbad- Deemed University). There are three medical colleges in Jharkhand namely Rajendra Institute Of Medical Sciences (RIMS) at Ranchi, M.G.M. Medical College Jamshedpur and Patliputra Medical College And Hospital (PMCH) at Dhanbad. The famous B-school Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) is at Jamshedpur. It's PMIR programme is regarded best in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Media

Hindi newspapers like the Ranchi Expressand the Prabhat Khabar[http://www.prabhatkhabar.com/ are the main newspapers, published from the state capital, Ranchi and are available in almost all parts of the state. All important Indian newspapers, in Hindi, English and Bengali are also available in bigger cities by the afternoon and after a day’s delay in smaller towns. Most of the national magazines in Hindi, English and Bengali are regularly available in bigger cities and at other places supply may be arranged through newspaper vendors.

All India Radio is the only radio station in Jharkhand and covers the entire state. Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster, is also available in almost all parts of the state. Bigger cities of Jaharkhand is served by all television channels available in India and channels are received through cable. In some interior regions, channels are received via satellite dishes.

Landline telephone connectivity is provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Tata Teleservices (TATA INDICOM) and Reliance Infocomm and covers almost all parts of the state. Cellular service, covering all major centres of the state, is provided by BSNL, Reliance Telekom and Airtel (GSM Service) and also by Tata Indicom and Reliance Infocomm (CDMA Service). Internet connectivity is available in most of the district headquarters, but broadband connectivity is not widely available.

External links

Jharkhand | States and territories of India

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