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| Profile and Factoids |
Carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000, the state of Jharkhand shares its border with Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal and encompasses an area of 74,677 km. It derives its name from Sanskrit word Jharikhanda, meaning dense forests which are a major topographical feature of the state.
Geography
The state lies on the Chota Nagpur Plateau on which flow the rivers of Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Kharkai, and Subarnarekha. Staying true to its name, Jharkhand is still mostly covered by forest.
The flora and fauna is preserved in national parks and sanctuaries like Betla National Park which is a Project Tiger reserve, the Hazaribag Wildlife Sanctuary and the Jawahar Lal Nehru Zoological Garden.
History
The history of Jharkhand is a study in the tribal movements of India, for this is primarily a state of tribals, living in forests or depending on them for most of their lives.
The area of Jharkhand as a part of Bihar till 2000, but the movement for a separate state dates back to the 20th century. However, the struggle for tribals’ right over their own lands began a good hundred years before the 1857 revolt. The first ever revolt against the landlords and the British government was led by Tilka Manjhi, a valiant Santhal leader in Santal tribal belt in 1771. It was crushed by the British troops but several attempts were made by Bhumij (1779), Cheros (1800), Oraons (1807) and Mundas (1811, 1813).
The Birsa Munda revolt broke out in 1895 and lasted till 1900. The revolt though mainly concentrated in the Munda belt of Khunti, Tamar, Sarwada and Bandgaon, pulled its supporters from Oraon belt of Lohardaga, Sisai and even Barway. It was the longest and the greatest tribal revolt in Jharkhand- as well as the last one.
In the 20th century, the struggle became a non-violent one with the advent of Gandhi’s philosophy. Having the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908 to protect their lands, the tribal leaders now turned to socio-economic development of the people. In 1914 Jatra Oraon started what is called the Tana Movement which was merged with the Satyagrah Movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1920 when the Jharkhandis stopped paying land tax.
The Chotanagpur Unnati Samaj demanded a separate state from the Simon Commission in 1928, but the demand was rejected. Jaipal Singh, an Indian Hockey captain and Olympian,educated in Oxford ,raised the demand a separate state in 1935. To that end, he formed the Adivasi Mahasabha" in 1938 which was later christened as Jharkhand Party- a party that carried forward the movement for the formation of Jharkhand.
Politics and state’s formation
Till the year 2000, the politics of Jharkhand was centered around the creation of the state. After independence, the Jharkhand Party pitched its demand of a separate state and the government formed many commissions who rejected it on various basis including language. The movement got many political jolts from within as the JP saw many splinter groups like All India Jharkhand Party of Bagun Sumroi, Jharkhand Party of N.E. Horo, Hul Jharkhand Party of Justin Richard, Bihar Progressive Hul Jharkhand Party led by santhal leader Sibu Soren being formed. This hit at the political strength of the movement.
In 1987, a scholar called Ram Dayal Munda tried to unify the various groups under Jharkahnd Coordination Committee comprising 48 organizations and group including all major political formations. Though Soren’s JMM pulled out later, it, along with All Jharkhand Students` Union, created enough pressure on the union government which formed the Committee on Jharkhand Matters.
In 1995 the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council(JAAC) was set up after a tripartite agreement was signed between the Union government, the Bihar government represented by the then Chief Minister Lalu Yadav and Jharkhand leaders like Soren, Munda, Mandal, Besra and Tirkey.
In July 1997, Shibu Soren offered support to minority government of Laloo Prasad Yadav with a condition of a separate Jharkhand Bill in the Assembly. On 2 August 2000, the bill to create a separate state of Jharkhand to be carved out of Bihar was passed in Lok Sabha by voice with two key allies of ruling NDA strongly opposing the measure and the opposition Rashtriya Janta Dal and the CPI-M demanding it to be referred to a parliamentary committee. The state finally was born on November 15, 2000 with its capital as Ranchi.
The state has 24 districts Districts of Jharkhand, namely,Ranchi, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, Palamu, Latehar, Garhwa, West Singhbhum, Seraikela Kharsawan, East Singhbhum, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahebganj, Pakur, Godda, Hazaribagh, Chatra, Koderma, Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Deoghar, Khunti and Ramgarh.
Demography
As per the 2001 census
Population: 26.93 million
Sex ratio: 941 females to 1000 males (13.88 million males and 13.08 million females)
Density: 274 persons for each square kilometer
The population consists of 28% tribals, 12% Scheduled Castes and 60% others. Around 10% of the population is Bengali speaking and 70% speak various dialect of Hindi.
Jharkhand has 32 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 literacy rate in Jharkhand is 59.6% (2007).
Economy
Jharkhand is a state rich in natural reserves like coal and minerals. Its economy centers around forests and minerals. With public-private partnershios and independent programmes, the state has buit some of the most industrialized cities in the country including, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro Steel City and Dhanbad.
It has mines of iron ore, coal, copper, bauxite and even uranium (Jaduguda mines). Jharkhand`s gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $14 billion at current prices.
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| 2004 LOKSABHA SEATS |
| SEATS |
14 |
| Congress |
6 |
| JMM |
4 |
| BJP | 1 |
| Others | 3 |
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