Jharkhand Movement

Prachi Mishra

21/GEO/29

Batch: 2021-24

B.A. (Hons.) Geography

Department of Geography

Indraprastha College for Women

Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a study on the dynamics of land use/land cover as a result
of mining activities in districts of Chhattisgarh. It explains the link between mining
prospectus and poverty incidences. Large coal reserves have provided the necessary impetus
for industrial development in the district. Statistical tables are used to represent spatial and
temporal changes in land use/land change. According to the findings, the vegetation cover is
undergoing continuous negative change in terms of composition and extent. Deforestation has
also increased, while built-up and mining areas have shown a positive trend. The choropleth
mapping technique is used to understand the relationship between mining areas and poverty.

INTRODUCTION

History without geography is like a picture without a frame.” (Subbarao, 1958).

Geography and its strong influence on history cannot be ignored. The divided yet
fundamentally and culturally related regions have played a prominent role in shaping
present-day India.

India’s rich and diverse culture and its fundamental differences have led to the
regionalization of different areas at different points in history. The most significant of
all the activities of man is the attempt to conquer space. (Pannikar) When the
regional forces consolidated themselves, they tried to expand at the expense of their
neighbors, giving rise to supra-regional details. It is now essential to define what
exactly is Regionalization. T.J. Woofter has defined Region as “An area within which
the combination of environmental and demographic factors have created a
homogeneity of economic and social structure.” The attempts to regionalize India are
based on:
 - Physiography

- Economic Characteristics

- Socio-Cultural Characteristics

Historicity

The first attempt at regionalization was made by Thomas Hungerford Holdich in his
book India 1904 which was extended by L.D. stamp in 1922- 24 in his book “Asia: A
Regional and Economic Geography”. J.N. Baker in 1928

Also, try to reach the lies India in 2 divisions. Although the regionalization standby
stamp and Baker word are independent there were some similarities. Baker did the
regionalization on the basis of physiography and climate while Stamp did triple
natural regions or 3 natural regions on a macro level and 22 sub-regions.

Language is the most important of everything that influences and molds regional
categorization. Individuals speaking a particular language relate the most with each
other and settlement follows. Regional languages will become more independent if
we do not uphold Sanskrit as Hindi can never fulfill the purpose of binding diverse
individuals. Caste and religion are important factors affecting the process of
regionalization. There always has been religions in India dividing themselves into
different separate regions. The next important factor is India’s coastline and the
diversity it has to offer. This has also enabled people to isolate themselves in what is
called refuge zones.

(MAP) It is important to note that there is a relationship between the areas rich in
forest cover and the tribal population residing there.

Another important aspect is the development of road and rail communications

between the north and the south. Air communication does not ensure intercourse
between cultures while road and railway communication ensure diverse cultures
coming together.

Case study: Jharkhand

The word Jharkhand , meaning “forest region,” applies to a forested

mountainous plateau region in eastern India, south of the Indo-Gangetic Plain
and west of the Ganga’s delta in Bangladesh. The term dates at least to the
sixteenth century. In the more extensive claims of the movement, Jharkhand
comprises seven districts in Bihar, three in West Bengal, four in Orissa, and two in
Madhya Pradesh. Ninety percent of the Scheduled Tribes in Jharkhand live in the
Bihar districts. The tribal peoples, who are from two groups, the Chotanagpurs
and the Santals, have been the main agitators for the movement.

Jharkhand has extensively heterogeneous features consisting of flat plateaus, steep

scarps, rangled hills, and entrenched valleys. Distinct physiographic units have
broadly topographic features while lower regions have culturally diverse features. For
example, Chotanagpur North is distinguished from Chotanagpur South. (Singh, R. L.
(1971)

Besides differences in relief, differences in economic conditions also create

categorizations. Among the four sub-regions of the Chotanagpur Plateau, the
Damodar Valley is characterized by level terrains. The Hazaribagh Plateau has a
relatively higher elevation and Palamau Upland has rugged terrain and a poor
agricultural state. Santhal Paraganas has a low but level surface which is now highly
inhabited. (Singh, R. L. (1971)

FIG: CHOTANAGPUR NORTH (Regional Scheme)

SUB REGIONS FEATURES

Damodar Valley Level Terrains 1. The Dhanbad

Region
2. Ramgarh- Patratu

1. The Upper
Hazaribagh Plateau High Elevation Hazaribagh
Plateau
2. The Lower
Hazaribagh
Plateau
3. The Chatra Plateau
4. The Northern
Dissectted Fringe

Santhal Paraganas Level and inhabited 1. The Santhal

Surface Paragana Highland
2. Rajmahal Hill
Region
3. The Marginal Plain
Region

Rugged Terrain, Poor 1. The Wester

Palamau Agriculture Palamau Uplands
2. The North Koel
Valley
3. The Eastern
Upland
FIG: CHOTANAGPUR SOUTH (Regional Scheme)

SUB REGIONS

The Patland Region

Ranchi Plateau

Singhbhum Region

The Chotanagpur region is divided into 2 first order, 7-second order and 22 third-
order regions as follows: (MAP)

Regionalisation

Nature of the movement

Evolution

Different time periods: Pre-colonial and Post-colonial

People’s narrative

Historical narrative or contemporary (social, economic and cultural root of the

movement)

Accounts of tribal movement as depicted by movies

“In our forests, flowers of Iron have blossomed…

bouquets of Bauxite have been decorated…

…Mica and Coal is sold in wholesale and retail prices in daily markets…

… to sell them, military schools have been opened…

Schools here, teach 12 kinds of Gorilla warfare instead of 12 syllables

Market has become so big nobody of my own can be seen…

from here, everybody is turned towards the city

from here, everybody is turned towards the city

yesterday, I saw a mountain going in a truck…

 … before it, river went and the news is, my village will also go away”

- The Hunt by Biju Toppo

The film "Hunt" examines the state of human rights in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and
Odisha. It calls the government's hasty quick development plan into question, which
has a negative impact on the lives of millions of people. It describes how tribal
people were exploited, tortured, and brutally murdered. Women and men are tied to
poles like animals and dragged away to eliminate the tribal population of these
places, and women are raped by police officials.

In one poem, the poet discusses how Jharkhand has been endowed with many
natural resources such as iron and bauxite, as well as the exploitation of these
natural riches by the government and authorities. There is an overview of how
resources are exploited and diverted from certain locations to develop other areas.
The river has already vanished, and the poet believes that the settlement will vanish
shortly. The film depicts how innocent Adivasi villagers are labelled or framed as
Maoists or Naxalites and slaughtered. In 2009, the Government of India conducted a
study with a British company that discovered that the tribal belt or mineral belt, also
known as the red corridor, has an estimated 80 billion of resources that can be
extracted after moving the Adivasi population away from the area for which many
were displaced from their lands. In Jharkhand alone, 1.5 million people have been
displaced in the name of development projects.

It illustrates how the government's efforts (MNREGA) in rural areas were a failure.
More than 100 people died of hunger in Jharkhand in the last decade. In the last 11
years, 3 million people in Jharkhand have been forced to move in quest of work.

Conclusion

References
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Websites

https://www.jharkhand.gov.in/

P. Balakrishnan. Class notes.