It
had its genesis as far back as 1935. More
than 65 years later on August 2, 2000, Parliament
passed the Bihar Reorganization Bill creating
the new state of Vananchal (Jharkhand).
Thousands poured out into the streets of
Ranchi to celebrate the occasion. The state
comprises eighteen districts that make up
southern Bihar, richly endowed with mineral
resources. Some major industries located
in this region are established Tata companies
like TISCO and TELCO and the Indian PSU,
SAIL. The region that has only 35% of the
state's population, thus far contributed
two-thirds of Bihar's revenue. With an area
of 74,677 sq km the new state is bordered
by Bihar, MP, Orissa and West Bengal to
its north, west, south and east respectively.
Jharkhand is a Sanskrit word (jhar meaning
shrub), later found in several Persian and
Arabic inscriptions of the medieval period.
As early as 1900, Birsa Munda first demanded
the establishment of the Munda Raj. It was
Jaipal Singh, the Oxford-educated, hockey
captain of the gold winning 1928 Olympiad
who articulated the demand for a separate
state of Jharkhand. In 1935, he founded
the Adivasi party that in 1949 became the
Jharkhand party. In 1963, its alliance with
the Congress support, led to a loss of support
and identity in the region, where it had
once reigned supreme. In the 70s, several
new parties emerged like the Jharkhand Mukti
Morcha. These parties frequently split but
the movement for a separate state gained
widespread sympathy. The Jharkhand Autonomous
Council that came into existence in 1993
fell far short of most expectations, as
the demand for a separate state gained momentum.
As parties supporting the movement like
the BJP and the left parties (excluding
the CPM) made electoral gains in the 90s,
the dream of a state finally came to fruition,
in August 2000.
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