Jharkhand was formed on November 15, 2000, on the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda; who is an iconic figure in the history of Indian independence movement. On October 12, 2000, The center has issued the gazette notification showing November 15 as the appointed date for the formation of new Jharkhand Government.
The movement for a separate state of Jharkhand is an odyssey spread over a century which is traced back to the early 1900s. However, the idea became a reality on August 2, 2000, when the Parliament of India passed the Bihar Reorganisation Bill to create the state of Jharkhand.
18 districts were carved out of Bihar to form Jharkhand state on 15 November 2000. On that day it became the 28th state of India.
President K.R. Narayanan approved the Bihar reorganisation bill 2000.
The state was separated from Bihar in the name of tribals and had seen 13 times change of government in the state. The state has been facing the political turmoil over the years since its inception and waiting for the desired development of tribal people, which was the basis of the origin of the separate state.
The partition was not possible due to a long struggle and a continuous negligence by the political parties in power in the undivided Bihar. The formation of the state was a major achievement for the tribal people who had been demanding the statehood for several years.
Remembering Birsa Munda: Charismatic voice of tribals, folk hero, freedom fighter
The political quagmire of Jharkhand
Coalition governments with political parties with conflicting interests are the major reason behind the unstable government. Thus, either the government doesn’t work effectively causing mass disillusionment or conflicting interests lead the government to fall even before it completes the term.
Babulal Marandi was the first chief minister of Jharkhand and Prabhat Kumar was the first Governor. Bhartiya Janata Party government led by Babulal Marandi who had 32 MLAs remained Chief Minister for a brief time and he ruled for only for 852 days. Later he was succeeded by Arjun Munda who remained the CM for 2,130 days.
Arjun Munda an MLA from Kharsawan assembly seat became Chief Minister for the first time on March 18, 2003, and continued to hold the chair for 715 days till the next election.
Again he assumed power on March 12, 2005, to September 14, 2006, and became the Chief Minister held in the office for 555 days.
In 2006, due to political instability, he had to leave CM’s chair. After that, he took over as CM for the eighth time on September 11, 2010, and ran the BJP government till 860 days i.e. 18 January 2013.
After the formation of a new state on 15th November, Jharkhand has seen 5 Chief Ministers, while it had also experienced the President’s rule thrice.
The state’s political upheaval has made headlines across the country. After being a separate state, the native people thought that their hopes and aspirations will possibly see the new light of development would skyrocket with wings but nothing happened.
Shibu Soren a tribal leader famously known as ‘Guruji’ was a major tribal leader who led the movement of a separate state for tribals. Though he was among the ones who remained the CM for the smallest period of time.
In the first elections after becoming a separate state, Shibu Soren was made CM on March 2, 2005, but after 10 days, he had to lose power after failing to prove his majority in the state assembly.
Guruji got another chance and became CM for 144 days from August 27, 2008, to January 18, 2009. After the President’s rule, he was made CM again on December 30, 2009, but after 152 days on May 31, 2010, President’s rule was re-enforced in the state. Guruji had been Chief Minister of 306 days in 3 installments.
Madhu Koda an independent MLA also gets the chance to taste the power and became the Chief Minister under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). His journey from a coal mine worker to the CM post is the true essence of Indian Democracy.
Jharkhand waits for the stable government ended in 2014 when BJP won the majority in the house single-handedly and formed the government. For the first time, it had a non-tribal chief minister in the form of Raghubar Das. He is the longest serving Chief Minister in the past 18 years and Jharkhand has also witnessed the first stable government.
President rule also had a history in the state in a short span of its statehood
During the past 18 years, President’s rule was implemented in the state for 621 days i.e. nearly two-and-a-half years. It was for the first time that the President’s rule was imposed on January 19, 2009, which lasted till December 29, 2009. Again President’s rule was imposed for 175 days from 18 January 2013 to 12 July 2013 and also from 1 June 2010 to 11 September 2010 for 102 days
Jharkhand to erect 25-ft statue of Birsa Munda in museum
Is Jharkhand a Failed state?
Despite the Naxal menace across hinterlands, deep-rooted institutional corruption from the top to bottom of governance, the state has managed to attract investors, build a decent infrastructure & provide a respectable life to the common citizens (the per capita income has steadily improved over the past decade) under such excruciating circumstances.
Poverty in Jharkhand is generally associated with inaccessibility and the lack of basic facilities and economic opportunities. Though endowed with huge reserves of resources yet it has a low return rate as widespread corruption leads to poor management and even the political leaders have been behind the plunder of the resources. Scams of the elected leaders have become the identity of the state.
The so-called tribal leaders, who used to boast about all the goods forthcoming with bifurcation of Bihar, soon outsmarted each other in filling their own coffers at the cost of state resources, rendering the newly created Jharkhand, a much greener pasture for all sorts of financial corruption, opportunism and favoritism by tribals and non-tribals alike.
Also read:
Jharkhand Day Special: Sportstars from India’s 28th state who lit the world
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das “fixed” Rajya Sabha polls, reveals sting operation
