Exotic landscapes, magnificent waterfalls, sparkling rivers, pleasant hill stations and laidback villages – that’s the newly carved Indian state of Jharkhand for you! Literally meaning “forest region”, Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000. The state is surrounded by Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, and Chattisgarh states.
Earlier called Jharkhanda, Jharkhand is located on the Chota Nagpur Plateau which is a source to several rivers including Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Subarnarekha, and Kharkai. Jharkhand is largely a tribal state. Nearly 80% of the total population of the state consists of the tribal people. About 32 tribal communities exist in the state. Chief among them are: Gond, Chero, Bedia, Koel, Paharia, Munda and Oraon.
Jharkhand is also mainly an industrial state. The largest steel plant of India--the Bokaro Steel Plant--is in Jharkhand. And so is the first iron and steel factory of India which is at Jamshedpur. The state is also known at the mineral state of India. Actually, it has 40% of India’s total mineral resources. Jharkhand is the number one Indian state in the production of iron ore, copper ore and mice; and number three in the production of bauxite and coal. It produces many others types of minerals also.
Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Sindri, Deoghar, and Hazaribagh are some of the leading cities and tourist attractions of the state. The nature-endowed Jharkhand has some of the most interesting national parks and wildlife reserves also that much attract the nature and wildlife enthusiasts. Betla National Park, Dalma Sanctuary, Palamu Tiger Reserve, Topchanchi Sanctuary, and the Hazaribagh National Park…these are some of the well-known wildlife reserves and great tourist attractions of the natural wonder that is Jharkhand.
