Google Map Of Jharkhand

Jharkhand At A Glance: Official Website: http://jharkhand.nic.in Established: 15 November 2000 Capital: Ranchi Largest city: Jamshedpur Districts: NA Government Body: Government of India, Government of Jharkhand Legislature: Unicameral (81 seats) Parliamentary constituency: Jharkhand High Court: Ranchi High Court Area Total: 74,677 km2 Area rank: 15th Population 2011: 32,966,238 Population Density: 441.5/km2 Time zone: IST (UTC+05:30) UN/LOCODE: INJH ISO 3166 code: IN-JH Vehicle registration: JH HDI: 0.513s HDI rank: 24th (2005) Literacy: 67.63% (27th) Official languages: Hindi

Seal of Jharkhand State

The State of Jharkhand came into existence on 15th November 2000 with Ranchi as its Capital City. Jharkhand is governed by the Ministers and the executive powers vests with the Chief Minister of the State. The political party that has majority of votes in the State Assembly forms the Government. The State is headed by the Governor, who is nominated by the President of India. The State ranks 15th in terms of area with the boundaries extending to 74,667 sq kms. It has a literacy rate of 67.63 % making it rank 27th amongst Indian States.

Jharkhand was erstwhile a part of Bihar and for administrative convenience, in November 2000; it was given the status of a separate state in Eastern India. The State is surrounded by

• North: Bihar
• West: Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh
• East: West Bengal
• South: Orissa

The topographical extent of Jharkhand extends to 28,833 sq mi (74,677 sq kms). Though Jamshedpur is the largest city in that State, Ranchi is the capital city which is industrialized completely and sub capital is Dumka. Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Bokaro are other major cities of Jharkhand.

The name is derived from the words "Jhar" (Jhad in Hindi means Trees) and "Khand" (land) giving the meaning as "the land of forests"

History of Jharkhand:

A peek into the historical literature of Gautam Kumar Bera (page 33 of Bera's book), gives the information on t he history of Jharkhand. The book makes a mention that the State was in existence even before the Magadha Empire and was known as Kukara during the Mughal's reign. The Bhavishya Purana, 1200 AD has references to the Jharkhand area. It is believed that the tribal there owned vast farmlands and were known as Munda Rajas. Some of these sects are in existence even today.
After the Mughal empire, the area came under the British India in the year 1765 and was formally came to be known as the "land of Jhadis (bushes) Jharkhand. Lodh Falls, rocky plateaus of Chita Nagpur Plateau, Santhal Pargans and rolling hills Jharkhand gives a picturesque beauty with evergreen forests.

About a century before the Indian revolt of 1857 against the British raj, the tribes of Jharkhand had been revolting against the East India Company. The revolt was traced back to the year 1765 soon after colonization of the area by British. The resistance from these people became a series of revolts that resulted in the great revolt of 1857.

Separation Of State:

Ever since India got independence, the Jharkhand tribes started to demand for a separate stae for themselves. The unique culture of the tribes there and the political disturbances caused the evolution of the  new State Jharkhand on 15th November 2000. The people's movements for separation fo the State was mainly due to inefficient political resources and non-influential policies in their favour. The development policy of Indian Government failed big time to satisfy the Jharkhandi identity and their socio-economic needs. The movement was encouraged not only by the adivasis there, but also non-adivasis who were equally suffering from the disadvantaged societal groups.  Though a separate State was formed, the demand for a Greater Jharkhand comprising of

1. tribe dominated districts of Keonjhar , Mayurbhanj,  Deogarh and Sundargarh of Orissa
2. Midnapore , Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal
3. Koriya, Jashpur and Surguja districts of Chhattisgarh state

remained independent from being clubbed into Greater Jharkhand.  Presently the Jharkhand is a state with 18 districts of Bihar.

Climate And Geography:

The upper watersheds of Koel, Damodar and Brahmani rivers lie within the Jharkhand state. The chota Nagpur plateau is covered by forest and Jharkhand laying on this Plateau support the wild life of tigers and Asian Elephants.
One can find fertilse soil here formed out of rock disintegration and the soil found here is mostly Micacious soil, Black soil and Red soil.

Cuisine Of Jharkhand:

Rice is the staple food of people in Jharkhand and people seldom make use of spices here. The food habits vary largely as people from different parts of India reside here. Rotis, Dhuska and Dudhauri are different varities made by people here from rice.

Litti choka made of Rice is available in every nook and corner of the State and also Dhuska made of rice and pulses is famous. This Dhuska is served with aaloo curry or mutton curries for extra flavor.
Flowers are also used in cooking food as alternative to vegetables by the tribes here. Jhirool and drumstick flowers are some of the vegetables here. Maad jhor is one such cuisine which is alternative to daal in South India and is made by boiling leafy vegetables in the starch left after cooking rice. People also use leafy vegetables like palak, methi, beng, Gendhari etc as vegetables called "saag".

Economy Of Jharkhand:

Jharkhand being rich in minerals, produce approximately 70% of the output of Combined Bihar State. As per the statistics of the year 2000, the gross domestic product of Jharkhand stood at $ 14 billion, which is expected to rise substantially in coming years.

Bokaro steel plant, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, etc are highly industrialised cities of Jharkhand.  After Sindri, Dhanbad, Bokaro is the largest Steel Plant. When functional, the Sindri steel plant was first of its Kind in India. Even the first Iron & Steel factory at Jamshedpur is at Jharkhand. The state is also known for having the biggest factory of explosives at Gomia and the first ever methane gas well at Bokaro (Parbatpur).