State of India - Jharkhand

Area: 79, 714 sq. km

Population: 21.84 million

Capital Of City: Ranchi

Languages: Bihari, Hindi

Crops:

History: Jharkhand became the 28th state of India on November 15, 2000. The state has been carved out of 18 districts of southern Bihar. These are - Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardanga, East Singbhum, West Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Kodarma, Chatra, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Palamau, Garhwa, Dumka, Deoghar, Godda, Pakure and Sahebgunj. What Jharkhand took from Bihar Percent of territory - 45% Percent of population - 25% Percent of mineral wealth -65 Members in Rajya Sabha -6 Members in Lok Sabha - 14 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) - 81 History - The demand for Jharkhand as a tribal homeland originated in the 1930's. In its early days, the movement was led by tribal leader Jai Pal Singh who dreamed of a greater Jharkhand region, which would include 24 tribal districts spread over four states namely Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Singh died in 1964 but the movement carried on. More recently, the demand for a separate state has been led by Shibu Soren, the founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). In 1995, the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council (JAAC) was set up after a tripartite agreement between the Union Government, the state of Bihar and leaders of the Jharkhand. It was only a matter of time before the new state was formed. Vanachal or Jharkhand? Vanachal or Jharkhand? The name 'Vanachal' was coined by the BJP. The party saw its demand for a 'Vananchal' state comprising 18 districts of South Bihar as a more practical demand as compared to the one for the 24 district greater Jharkhand state. The Jharkhand state, which came into existence on The 15th of November, includes only 18 districts of South Bihar. The tribal presence in this area will be roughly one-third of the total population giving a rise to fears of the tribals being dominated by 'dikkus' or outsiders. How rich is Jharkhand? The new state possesses 40 per cent of India's mineral wealth including the resource rich Dhanbad region with places like Chotanagpur and the Santhal Parganas. Jharkhand holds 60 percent of the world's mica deposits, 37 percent of India's coal reserves of 204,650 million tonnes, ie 33 percent of its iron and copper ore and nearly 90 percent of the country's stocks of rich quartzite. Almost all the major industries in Bihar were in the Vananchal area. The big names among them are Heavy Engineering Corporation, Indian Aluminium Co, Central Coalfields Ltd, Tata Iron & Steel Co, Tata Engineering & Locomotive Co, ACC, Usha Martin, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, Hindustan Copper Ltd and the Bokaro Steel Plant. As if all this wasn't enough, 80% of the forest wealth of Bihar has also gone to Jharkhand. The major economic weakness of this region lies in its poor agricultural base, which will not be able to produce food for its rapidly growing population due to the hilly terrain. Barely 30% of the total land is the net area sown. The continued backwardness of the tribal population and the lack of infrastructure are also challenges which will have to be met by the new state.