Jharkhand

Map of Jharkhand
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About



Jharkhand is 'the land of forests' - endowed with rich flora and fauna. To have a complete panoramic view of nature and beauty, one can visit the zoological gardens and national parks. The state is situated in the eastern part of India. In the year 2000, it was split from southern Bihar and was formed into another state.

Jharkhand is encircled by the Indian states of West Bengal (east), Uttar Pradesh (west), Chhattisgarh (west), Bihar (north) and Odisha (south). The state is spread out across 30,778 sq metres. Ranchi is the state's prime capital, whereas the largest city for industrial purposes is Jamshedpur. The sub-capital of the state is Dumka.

Facts on Jharkhand

Official Websitewww.jharkhand.gov.in
Date of FormationNovember 15, 2000
Area79,714 sq km
Density414/Km2
Population (2011)3,29,88,134
Males Population (2011)1,69,30,315
Females Population (2011)1,60,57,819
No. of District24
CapitalRanchi
RiversDamodar, Subarnarekha
Forests & National ParkBetla ( Palamau), NP, Hazaribagh WS
LanguagesMundari , Kurukh, Khortha, Nagpuria, Sadri, Khariya, Panchparagnia, Ho, Malto, Karmali, Bangla, Hindi, Urdu, Santhali
Neighbours StateBihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh
State AnimalElephant
State BirdAsian Koel
State TreeSal
State FlowerPalash
Net State Domestic Product (2011)29786
Literacy Rate (2011)67.60%
Females per 1000 males947
Assembly constituency81
Parliamentary constituency14


History



The roots of Jharkhand can be traced to Magadha Empire. During the Mughal period, this area was called Kukara. The British came over to rule after 1765 and this land was named as Jharkhand. Tilka Manjhi from Santhal tribal was the leader in revolting against the British rule in 1771. Immediately after that, in 1779, Bhumij tribe fought against the British for the current state of West Bengal. Much after that, unrest was seen in Chero tribe at Palamau. The tribal revolts in 1832 created a major impact on the British administration based in Jharkhand. One of the longest and last tribal revolts under 'Birsa Munda' broke out in 1895 and went on till 1900.

Geography



The state is situated on Santhal Parganas and Chhota Nagpur Plateau. Most of Jharkhand comes under the Chhota Nagpur Plateau. Rivers like Koel, Brahmani, Damodar, Subarnarekha and Kharkai flow here. One can enjoy the scenic beauty of forests, hills and plateaus from the Lodh Falls. The dense forest of the state has a huge population of Asian elephants and tigers. Jharkhand's soil content consists of stones and rocks disintegration. The soil compositions are divided further and are found around the state. One can find red soil in the Rajmahal area and Damodar valley. Some areas of Barkagaon, Jhumri Telaiya, Koderma, and Mandar hill have micacious soil that contains mica particles. Dhanbad and Hazaribagh have sandy soil and the major part of Rajmahal area has black soil. Palamu, Dumka, western Ranchi, and Singhbhum and Santhal Parganas regions have laterite soil.

Government and Politics



Chief Minister is the head of the government of Jharkhand and the Governor is the state's de jure head. Many national and state level political parties participate during the Jharkhand elections. The most active national parties in Jharkhand elections are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

Education



As per the 2011 census, the state's literacy rate is 67.60 percent. Moreover, nine districts of the state have the above average literacy rate. The state has both privately run as well as state-run schools. The mode of teaching depends and varies from one school to another. Some of the well-known schools in Jharkhand are De Nobili School, DAV Hehal, Delhi Public School, Oxford Public School, St Thomas School, Chinmaya Public School, St. Xavier's, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Shishu Mandir, Sacred Heart School, Loyola school, Surendranath centenary School, etc. After Jharkhand was formed, four different projects - DPEP, SSA, NPEGEL and KGBV - were introduced by the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) in order to spread awareness of primary-level education. However, because of slow pace of work, the government has not yet achieved 100 percent enrollment of students in schools. More Detail...

Economy



Jharkhand is India's second largest mineral wealth producer followed by Chhattisgarh. Minerals such as iron ore, copper, coal, uranium, bauxite, mica, limestone and graphite are found in the state. Because of its rich mineral resources, the state expects its per capita income to increase in the years to come. The state comprises of all the well known industrialised cities Bokaro Steel City, Ranchi, Ramgarh and Dhanbad. Sindri (Dhanbad) had the largest fertiliser industry, which has now shut down. Jamshedpur has the first ever iron and steel factory. Bokaro is also Asia's biggest steel plant. Gomia has the largest explosives at Bokaro. It was also indicated that NTPC will commence the production of coal, which will bring in an investment of around Rs 1,800 crore. More Detail...

Demographics



The current population of the state as per the Census 2011 is 32.96 million (males: 16.93 million; females: 16.03 million). The state comprises 24 districts and 32,620 villages. Merely 8,484 villages have connectivity. Out of this number, 28 percent of the people consist of tribes and 12 percent of the population is from scheduled caste. Urbanisation and industrialisation has affected these regions adversely. Around 68.5 percent people follow Hinduism, 13.8 percent follow Islam, 13 percent people follow Animisitic Sarna, and 4.1 percent follow Christianity. The remaining population follows Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The state has many tribal communities like Asur, Binjhia, Gond, Ho, Kharia, Kharwar, Banjara, Bathundi, Mal Paharia, Chik Baraik, Korba, Birhor, Mahli, Khond, Sauriya Paharia, Kisan, Korwa, Mal Paharia, Munda, Oraon, Santhal, Sauria Paharia, Savar, Sabar, Parahiya, Birajia, Hill Kharia, etc.

Culture



Because this state is mainly dominated by tribes, nature is considered as a vital and important part of their culture and lives. People buy the sacred trees and plant them in the courtyard as a part of their tradition. A couple of rituals followed by the people are Jitia Puja, Karma Puja, Sarhul, etc. During Makar Sankranti, people celebrate Tusu Fair or Poush Mela, which is actually a festival of harvesting. This is more of a folk belief and is a very colourful and bright celebration. The entire Chotanagpur Plateau Region celebrates the Karam Festival with pomp and show. After the Kunwaar-Shukl-Paksh, it is celebrated for 15 days. In order to prepare for the festival, the people buy new clothes, sindoor, oil, daliya, and prepare dishes. The boys and girls are treated with utmost importance by their respective families and are given Karam clothes, which indicate that they are unmarried.

Food



Like every other states, even Jharkhand has its traditional delicacies. Jharkhand has different kinds of dishes for different taste-buds. Some of the popular dishes of Jharkhand are Dhuska, Rugra, Puttu or Phutka: A Mushroom, Pitha, Arsa Roti, Litti Chokha, Chilka Roti, Handia (A famous liquor), Bamboo Shoot, Malpua, Thekua, Kanda Ki Sabzi, Metha Khaza, Dudhori etc.

Language



Hindi is the prime language of the state. The people here also speak various other languages. The three important language groups are Munda, Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. They are sister languages and most words used are 80 percent-90 percent same. Languages like Santhali, Bhumij, Ho, Mundari and Kharia come under Munda, languages like Bengali, Sadri, Maithili, Panchpargania, Oriya, Khortha, Nagpuri and Kurmali come under Indo-Aryan; and languages like Paharia (Malto), Korwa and Oraon (Kurukh) come under Dravidian.

People predominantly speak Santali in Jamtara, Godda, Sahibganj, Dumka, Pakur, Saraikela-Kharsawan districts, and east of Singhbhum. Mundari is spoken in parts of Ranchi, Khunti, West Singhbhum, Latehar districts, Simdega, Gumla, etc. People speak Ho in Saraikela-Kharswan districts and West Singhbhum.More Detail...

Transport



Jharkhand has a dense train route. Most districts are well-connected via railway. Apart from that, Jharkhand has an airport in Ranchi, called the Birsa Munda Airport. The Airports Authority of India manages this domestic airport. It is exactly situated in Hinoo region, which is around seven kilometres from the city. Moreover, the road transport in the urban cities is well-developed. These buses come at a frequency of five to ten minutes at the national highway. One can travel from the tribal areas and villages to the prime districts by bus. Also, the state's Transport Department generates maximum revenue for the state. Urban Development Department provides the bus service under permits by Transport Department's Regional Offices in Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur.

Tourism



The tourism industry contributes a major share to the economy of the state. The state is full of forests and hills apart from the wildlife sanctuaries, holy shrines, museums etc. which attract tourists from all over the country. It also attracts business tourism due to the presence of the many global and Indian organisations here. The places to see in the state are Ranchi Hills, Daasam Falls, Sun Temple, Jamshedpur, Baidyanath Dham, Netarhat.

Major Cities of Jharkhand



Jharkhand is a less explored state which has many well-developed cities. Some of the major cities of Jharkhand are Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bokaro Steel City, Deogarh, Phusro, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Ramgarh, Medininagar.

MOI.AB.20.01.17

Last Updated on: Mayt 13, 2020