Welcome
Search TravelJharkhand.com
History of Jharkhand

Jharkhand historyThe movement for a separate state of Jharkhand is an odyssey spread over a century which is traced back to the early 1900s, when Jaipal Singh, an Indian Hockey captain and Olympian, suggested the idea of a separate state consisting of the southern districts of Bihar. The idea did not become a reality, however, until August 2, 2000, when the Parliament of India passed the Bihar Reorganization Bill to create the state of Jharkhand, carving 18 districts out of Bihar to form Jharkhand state on 15 November 2000. On that day it became the 28th state of India.

According to some historians, there was already a distinct geo-political, cultural entity called Jharkhand even before the period of Magadha Empire. Many scholars now believe that the language used by tribes in the state of Jharkhand is identical to the one used by Harappa people. This has led to a great interest in the deciphering of Harappa inscriptions using rock paintings and language used by these tribes. For a greater part of Vedic age, Jharkhand remained buried. During the age of Mahajanpadas around 500 BC, India saw the emergence of 16 large states that controlled the entire Indian subcontinent.  In those days the northern portion of Jharkhand state was a tributary to Magadha (ancient Bihar) Empire and southern part was a tributary to Kalinga (ancient Orissa) Empire. According to legend, Raja Jai Singh Deo of Orissa had declared himself the ruler of Jharkhand in the 13th century.

The Singh Deo's of Orissa have been very instrumental in the early history of Jharkhand. The local tribal heads had developed into barbaric dictators who could govern the province neither fairly nor justly. Consequently, the people of this state approached the more powerful rulers of Jharkhand's neighboring states who were perceived to have a more fair and just governance. This became the turning point in the history of the region wherein rulers from Orissa moved in with their armies and created states that were governed for the benefit of the people and involved their participation, thus ending the barbarism that had marked the region for centuries. The good tribal rulers continued to thrive and were known as the Munda Rajas, and exist to this day.  Later, during the Mughal period, the Jharkhand area was known as Kukara. After the year 1765, it came under the control of the British Empire and became formally known under its present title, "Jharkhand" - the Land of "Jungles" (forests) and "Jharis" (bushes).

The colonization of Jharkhand has to mentioned in Jharkhand history. Colonization by the British East India Company resulted in spontaneous resistance from the local people. Almost one hundred years before India’s First War of Independence (1857), adivasis of Jharkhand were already beginning what would become a series of repeated revolts against the British colonial rule. All of these uprisings were quelled by the British through massive deployment of troops across the region.

Roll of Birsa Munda in Jharkhand History

Birsa Munda from 1875 to 1900 and Sidho and Kanho are the legendary heroes of the tribal of Jharkhand state who fought against the oppressive rule of the British government. The Birsa Munda movement of 1985-1900 was the most important among early uprisings against exploitation of the original inhabitants by non-tribal landowners and money lenders. Birsa Munda fought for the tribal natural right over forests and land that was mercilessly being acquired by the British for exploitation. After a long fight, Birsa Munda was captured by the British authorities and died in prison. In 1914 the Tana Bhagat resistance movement started which gained the participation of more than 26,000 adivasis, and eventually merged with Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience movement. A landmark in the movement was the formation of the Chotanagpur Unnati Samaj in 1915, which acquired political overtones with the demand for a sub-state for the adivasis. The demand was, however, turned down by the Simon commission.

Roll of Adivasi Mahasabha in Jharkhand history

The next important step was the formation of the Adivasi Mahasabha, which saw non-tribal coming out openly in support of the movement for the creation of a separate state. Among those who spearheaded the Jharkhand movement was Jaipal Singh, an Oxford - returned tribal Christian who helped the regional aspiration gain national recognition.

The Adivasi Mahasaba was rechristened the Jharkhand party here in 1949 under the leadership of Jaipal Singh. It was with the emergence of this party that the Jharkhand movement became purely political. The Jharkhand party became the largest opposition party in the Bihar Assembly winning all the 32 seats from south Bihar and giving fresh impetus to the government for a separate state. Considering its growing strength, the Congress started efforts for engineering a split in the Jharkhand Party. As a consequence, Jaipal Singh fell into its trap and joined the Congress with his followers in 1963. N. E. Horo, a close associate of Jaipal Singh, however, refused to join the Congress and kept the Jharkhand flag flying. But the loss of the Jharkhand Party veterans, who joined the Congress, proved too much for the pro-statehood forces whose strength steadily eroded in successive elections since 1969.

Roll of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand history

The movement again received a shot in the arm with the emergence of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1972. The growing strength of the JMM was reflected in the Lok Saba and Assembly elections and the demand for a statehood for the first time shook the corridors of power with the then prime minister of India Mr. Rajiv Gandhi setting up a Committee on Jharkhand Matters(CoJM). In the light of the recommendations by the CoJM, prolonged negotiations between the Centre, the Bihar government and the movement leaders led to the setting up of the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council (JAAC) in August 1995. It was hailed as a major step towards the creation of Jharkhand.

Buckling under pressure from the JMM members, with whose support the RJD had a majority in the state Assembly, the Bihar government on July 22, 1997, adopted a resolution for the creation of a separate state. In 1998, however, RJD leader Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav reversed his stand on Jharkhand statehood. The JMM reacted sharply, withdrawing its support to the RJD government.

After the last Assembly election in the state threw up a hung Assembly, RJD's dependence on the Congress extended support on the precondition that RJD will not pose a hurdle to the passage of the Bihar reorganization Bill (Jharkhand Bill). Finally, with the support from both RJD and Congress, the ruling coalition at the Centre led by the BJP which has made statehood its mail poll plank in the region in successive polls earlier, cleared the Jharkhand Bill in the monsoon session of the Parliament this year, thus paving the way for the creation of a separate Jharkhand state.

Back to Overview



Timeline of history of Jharkhand
*1765 Successful military mobilization to bring Santhal Pargana under British rule.
*1772-80 Paharia revolt.
*1780-85 Tilka Manjhi led the tribal revolt and managed to injure British army chief.
*1785 Tilka Manjhi hanged to death in Bhagalpur.
*1795-1800 Tamar revolt.
*1795-1800 Munda revolt under the leadership of Vishnu Manaki.
*1798 Chaur revolt in Birbhum Bankura.
*1798-99 Bhoomij revolt of Manbhoom.
*1800-02 Munda revolt under the stewardship of Dukhan Manaki of Tamar.
*1819-20 Munda revolt in Palamu under the leadeship of Bhukan Singh.
*1832-33 Khewar revolt under the leadership of Bhagirath, Dubai Gosai and Patel Singh.
*1833-34 Bhumij revolt under the leadership of Ganga narain of Birbum.
*1855 Santhals waged war against the permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis.
*1855-60 During late 1850’s Sidhu had accumulated about Ten Thousands Santhals to run parallel govt. against British rule. This movement remained very active in Kahalgaon and Raniganj.
*1856 Police brigade was constituted.
*1856-57 Martyr Sahid Lal, Vishwanath Shahdeo, Sheikh Bhikhari, Ganptrai and Budhu Veer led a movement against the British govt. in the sepoy mutiny.
*1874-99 Birsa movement.
*1874 Kherwar movement shot into fame under the leadership of Bhagirathi manjhi.
*1881 Kherwar movement started.
*1895-1900 Launching of ULGLAN under the leadership of Birsa.
*1912 Bihar bifurcated from Bengal and some parts of Chotanagpur merged into Bengal.
*1913 Constitution of Chotnagpur unati samaj.
*1914 Tana Bhajgat movement started which had the participation of more than 26000 tribals.
*1915 Publication of Adivasi titled magazine started.
*1929 Simon commission presented with a memorandum which demanded the information of Jharkhand state.
*1936 Orissa was created as a separate state.
*1947 On Dec. 28 All India Jharkhand Party came into inception.
*1951 Jharkhand party was elected to Vidhan Sabha as a main opposition party.
*1969 Shibu Soren founded the Sonat Santahl Samaj.
*1971 A.K.Roy founded the Marxist M.C.C to demand the separate Jharkhand state.
*1973 N.E.Horo named his party as Jharkhand Party and on March 12th he presented the then Prime Minister a memorandum for separate Jharkhand state.
*1977 Jharkhand party proposed for separate Jharkhand state which included not only Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana of Bihar but adjoining area of Bengal.
*1978 The convention of All India Jharkhand Party was held on May 21.
*1980 Establishment of Jharkhand Kranti Dal.
*1986 September 25, All Jharkhand Students Union gave its first call for Jharkhand bandh , it was a huge success.
*1987 Call for boycott of Independence day. The home minister of India directed the bihar government to prepare a report of all districts of Chotnagpur and Santhal Pargana.
*1989 72 hours of economic blockade by AJSU was total success.
*1989 6 days of economic blockade by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was success.
*1994 On Jan 6 Lalu Prasad Yadav declared in Ranchi that Jharkhand development autonomous council bill will be passed in budget session.
*1995 Jharkhand area autonomous council was formed which comprised of 18 districts of Santhal Pargana and Chotnagpur and Shibu Soren was nominated as the Chairman.
*1997 In June, Bihar government sanctioned 24 Crores for conducting the elections of Jharkhand Autonomous Council.
*1997 In July, Shibu Soren offered support to minority government of Lalu Prasad Yadav with a condition of a separate Jharkhand bill in the assembly.
*2000 On August 2, The bill to create a separate state of Jharkhand to be carved out of Bihar was passed in Lok Saba.
*2000 On August 11, Parliament approved the formation of Jharkhand when the Rajya Sabha passed the Bihar reorganization bill to carve out a new state out of Bihar's northern region.
*2000 On August 25, President Mr. K.R. Narayanan approved the Bihar reorganization bill 2000.
*2000 On October 12, The center has issued the gazette notification showing November 15 as the appointed date for the formation of new Jharkhand Government.

Back to Overview



Home Must see spots Hotels Travel Agencies Advertise with us Contact Feed Back

COPYRIGHT © 2008 TravelJharkhand.com   | |  Designed and Developed by GIGISOFT Solutions