Jharkhand

History
The region enshrouded in the hills and forests inaccessible to a large segment of people. The tribes of this state are living here from thousands of years and not much changed in their life and culture over the ages baring last few decades. Many scholars now believe that the language used by tribes in the state of Jharkhand is identical to the one used by Harappan people. This has led to a great interest in the deciphering of Harappan inscriptions using rock paintings and language used by these tribes.

For a greater part of Vedic age, Jharkhand remained obscured. During the age of Mahajanpadas around 500 BC, India saw the emergence of 16 large states who controlled the entire Indian subcontinent. The supremacy of the janpads were often decided by the power of swords and bows and ax and other weapons. The region around Jharkhand was extremely rich in its mineral resources including iron and the janpad that controlled this region, Magadha, eventually controlled most of the country.

Birsa Munda (1875-1900) and Sidho and Kanho are the legendary heroes of the tribals of this state who fought against the oppressive rule of the British government. Birsa Munda, now regarded as god, fought for the tribals natural right over forests and land that was mercilessly being acquired by the British for exploitation.

For a long time, Jharkhand remained as a part of Bihar, but after Indian independence, the demand for a separate state of tribals started gaining momentum. In the last fifty years, the tribes of this region fought against the hegemony of Northern Bihar, a region that gained from the mineral deposits of this region like anything. Jharkhand became a state under the Republic of India on November 15, 2000 and now it is poised for a great leap forward.

Geography and Climate
Most of the state lies on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which is the source of the Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Kharkai, and Subarnarekha rivers, whose upper watersheds lie within Jharkhand. Much of the state is still covered by forest. Forest preserves support populations of tigers and Asian Elephants.

Soil content of Jharkhand state mainly consist of soil formed from disintegration of rocks and stones, and soil composition is further divided into:

1. Red soil, found mostly in the Damodar valley, and Rajmahal area
2. Micacious soil (containing particles of mica), found in Koderma, Jhumeritilaiya, Barkagaon, and areas around the Mandar hill
3. Sandy soil, generally found in Hazaribagh and Dhanbad
4. Black soil, found in Rajmahal area
5. Laterite soil, found in western part of Ranchi, Palamu, and parts of Santhal Parganas and Singhbhum

Economy
Jharkhand has a concentration of some of the country’s highly industrialized cities such as Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro Steel City and Dhanbad. It also has several firsts in India, including:

• Largest fertilizer factory of its time in India (since shut down) at Sindri, Dhanbad
• First Iron & steel factory at Jamshedpur
• Largest Steel plant in Asia, Bokaro steel plant, Bokaro.
• Biggest explosives factory at Gomia, Bokaro.
• First methane gas well at Parbatpur, Bokaro.

Major industrial units

• Bokaro Steel Plant, Bokaro.
• Tata Steel Plant, Jamshedpur.
• Tata Motors, Jamshedpur.
• Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi.
• Patratu Thermal Power Station, Ramgarh.
• Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, Bokaro.
• Bokaro Thermal Power Station.
• Tenughat Thermal/Hydro Power Station, Bokaro.
• Jindal Steel Plant, Patratu.
• Electrosteel Plant, Bokaro.
• Usha Martin, Ranchi.
• Central Coalfields Limited.
• Bharat Coaking Coal Limited.
• Eastern Coalfields Limited.

Flora and fauna
Jharkhand has a rich variety of flora and fauna. The National Parks and the Zoological Gardens located in the state of Jharkhand present a panorama of this variety.

Betla National Park in the Palamu district, located 8 km away from Barwadih. The national park has a large variety of wildlife, including tigers, elephants, bisons (which are locally known as gaurs), sambhars, wild boar, and pythons (up to 20 feet (6.1 m) long), spotted deers (chitals), rabbits andfoxes. The mammalian fauna to be seen at Betla National Park also include langurs, rhesus monkeys, blue bulls and wild boars. The lesser mammals are the porcupines, hares, wild cats, honey badgers, Malabar giant squirrels, mongooses, wolves, antelopes etc. In 1974, the park was declared a Project Tiger Reserve.

The Hazaribag Wildlife Sanctuary, with scenic beauties, 135 km (84 mi) away from Ranchi, is set in an ecosystem very similar to Betla National Park of Palamu.

Jawaharlal Nehru Zoological Garden in Bokaro Steel City is the biggest Zoological Garden in Jharkhand. It has many animal and bird species, spread over 200 acres (0.81 km2), including an artificial waterpark with boating facilities. Another zoo is also located about 16 km from Ranchi, and a number of mammalian fauna have been collected there for visitors.

Source: Wikipedia