Ancient period The region has been inhabited since the Mesolithic-Chalcolithic period, as shown by several ancient cave paintings. Stone tools have been discovered from Chota Nagpur Plateau region which are from the
Mesolithic and
Neolithic periods. In the Kabra-Kala mound at the confluence of the
Son and
North Koel rivers in
Palamu district various antiquities and art objects have been found which are from the
Neolithic to the medieval period and
pot-sherds of
Redware,
black and red ware, black ware,
black slipped ware and
NBP ware are from
Chalcolithic to the late medieval period. Several
iron slags,
microliths, and
potsherds have been discovered from
Singhbhum district that are from 1400 BCE according to carbon dating age. During the age of Mahajanpadas around 500 BCE, Jharkhand state was a part of
Magadha and
Anga. In the Mauryan period, this region was ruled by a number of states, which were collectively known as the Atavika (forest) states. These states were subdued and were forced to accept the
hegemony of the
Maurya Empire during
Ashoka's reign (c. 232 BCE). In the ancient site of
Saridkel, burnt brick houses, red ware pottery, copper tools, coins and iron tools have been found which belong to the early centuries CE. Brahmi inscriptions have been found in Khunti district which are from the 3rd century BCE.
Samudragupta, while marching through the present-day Chotanagpur region (
North and
South), directed the first attack against the kingdom of
Dakshina Kosala in the
Mahanadi valley.
Medieval period In the 7th century, the Chinese traveller
Xuanzang passed through the region. He described the kingdom as
Karnasuvarna, with
Shashanka as its ruler. To the north of Karn-Suberna was Magadha, Champa was in the east, Mahendra in the west, and Orissa in the south. During the medieval period, the region was governed by
Nagvanshi,
Pala,
Khayaravala,
Ramgarh Raj and
Chero rulers. A Buddhist monastery has been found in
Hazaribagh which was built during the Pala period in the 10th century.
Bhim Karn was a Nagvanshi king during medieval period. He defeated the
Raksel dynasty of Surguja when they invaded the region with cavalry.
Modern period Mughal influence reached
Palamu during the reign of Emperor
Akbar when it was conquered by
Rajput Raja Mansingh in 1574. Several invasions took place during Mughal rule. During the reign of the Nagvanshi King
Madhu Singh, Akbar's general invaded
Khukhra. Also there was an invasion during the reign of
Durjan Shah. King
Ram Shah ruled Navratangarh from 1640 to 1663. He built the
Kapilnath Temple in 1643. He was succeeded by his son
Raghunath Shah. Thakur
Ani Nath Shahdeo built the Jagannath temple of Ranchi in 1691. The King
Medini Ray ruled from 1658 to 1674 in Palamu. His rule extended to areas in South
Gaya and
Hazaribagh. He attacked Navratangarh and defeated the
Nagvanshi Maharaja of
Chhotanagpur. Chero rule in the
Palamu region lasted until the 19th century until internal conflict between various factions weakened the Cheros and they were defeated by the
East India Company. Later Palamu estates were sold by the British. File:IMGJagannathpur Temple.jpg|
Jagannath temple at Ranchi built by King
Ani Nath Shahdeo File:Malooti3.jpg|
Maluti temples in
Dumka File:Palamau Fort.jpg|
Palamu Forts File:Nawratan gadh.jpg|
Navratangarh fort, During the 18th century, regions under the Chero dynasty, Nagvanshi dynasty,
Ramgarh and
Kharagdiha became territories of the
East India Company. Ramgarh Raj along with estates of other chiefs in the regions were permanently settled as Zamindari estates. The
Kharagdiha Rajas were settled as Rajas of Raj Dhanwar in 1809, and the Kharagdiha gadis were separately settled as zamindari estates. Some of the notable Kharagdiha Zamindari estates were
Koderma,
Gadi Palganj and
Ledo Gadi. The princely states in the
Chota Nagpur Plateau came within the
sphere of influence of the
Maratha Empire, but they became tributary states of East India Company as a result of the
Anglo-Maratha Wars and became known as
Chota Nagpur Tributary States. Subjugation, colonisation and imposition of taxes by the British East India Company resulted in spontaneous resistance from the local people.
Chuar Rebellion, the first revolt against the British East India Company was led by Jagannath Singh Patar in 1767 with the
Bhumij tribals. The Bhumijes again revolted in 1769–71, led by their Sardar Ghatwals in Dhalbhum. In 1769,
Raghunath Mahato also revolted against the East India Company. In 1771, a revolt against the landlords and the British government was led by
Tilka Majhi, a Paharia leader in Rajmahal Hills. Soon after in 1779, the
Bhumij tribes again rose in arms against the British rule in Manbhum, called the Chuar Rebellion. In 1807, the Oraons in Barway murdered their landlord from
Srinagar. The
Munda tribe rose in revolt in 1811 and 1813.
Bakhtar Say and
Mundal Singh, two landowners, fought against the British East India Company in 1812. The Hos in Singhbhum revolted in 1820 and a
Kol revolt occurred in 1832. Also in 1832 the
Bhumijs revolted again against the British, this time under the leadership of
Ganga Narayan Singh, known as the
Bhumij rebellion. During the 19th century, large numbers of santals from
Manbhum,
Hazaribagh,
Midnapore were settled by British in
Damin-i-koh to cultivate the land and generate revenue. But the Santal revolted against the tax imposition. The
Santhal rebellion broke out in 1855 under the leadership of two brothers
Sidhu and Kanhu. Later the British renamed it Santal Pargana. against tax imposition during British
Company Raj in 1855
Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo and
Pandey Ganpat Rai rebelled against the British East India Company in the
1857 rebellion. In the
Battle of Chatra, conflict took place between the rebels and the East India company.
Tikait Umrao Singh,
Sheikh Bhikhari, Nadir Ali and Jai Mangal Singh played pivotal role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The brothers
Nilambar and Pitambar were chiefs of Bhogta clan of the
Kharwar tribe who held ancestral jagirs with many
Chero Jagirdars and led revolt against the British East India company. who, in 1876, was proclaimed
Empress of India. The
Cheros and
Kharwars again rebelled against the British in 1882 but the attack was repulsed. Then
Birsa Munda revolt, broke out in 1895 and lasted until 1900. The revolt though mainly concentrated in the
Munda belt of Khunti, Tamar, Sarwada and Bandgaon. In October 1905, the exercise of British influence over the predominantly
Hindi-speaking states of
Chang Bhakar,
Jashpur,
Koriya,
Surguja, and
Udaipur was transferred from the Bengal government to that of the
Central Provinces, while the two
Oriya-speaking states of
Gangpur and
Bonai were attached to the
Orissa Tributary States, leaving only
Kharsawan and
Saraikela answerable to the Bengal governor. In 1936, all nine states were transferred to the
Eastern States Agency, the officials of which came under the direct authority of the Governor-General of India, rather than under that of any provinces. In March 1940, the Indian National Congress (INC) 53rd Session occurred under the presidency of
Maulana Azad at Jhanda Chowk, Ramgarh, which is now
Ramgarh Cantonment.
Mahatma Gandhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru,
Sardar Patel,
Rajendra Prasad,
Sarojini Naidu,
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan,
Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Industrialist
Jamnalal Bajaj and other great leaders of the Indian freedom movement attended the Ramgarh Session. Mahatma Gandhi also opened the Khadi and Village Industries Exhibition at Ramgarh. At that time, under the leadership of Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose a conference against Samjhauta was also completed. In Ramgarh, Subhas Chandra Bose was seen as president of the All India Forward Block and M. N. Roy was seen as leader of the Radical democratic party.
Post Independence After Indian independence in 1947, the rulers of many states chose to accede to the
Dominion of India.
Changbhakar,
Jashpur,
Koriya,
Surguja and
Udaipur after that became part of the state of
Madhya Pradesh, but
Gangpur and
Bonai became part of the state of
Orissa and
Kharsawan and
Saraikela became part of the state of
Bihar. In 1928, a separate state was demanded by
Unnati Samaj, the political wing of the Christian Tribals Association, which submitted a memorandum to the
Simon Commission to constitute a tribal state in eastern India. Later the
Sadan people, the native various caste/non-tribal groups, also joined the movement for a separate state. The Jharkhand co-ordination committee was then led by Congress General Secretary
Ram Ratan Ram, who urged
Rajiv Gandhi to pay attention to the issue at hand. In July 1988, the
Bharatiya Janata party led by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
Lal Krishna Advani, and
Murli Manohar Joshi decided to demand a separate state, Vanachal, comprising the forest region of South Bihar in
Jamshedpur.
Inder Singh Namdhari,
Samresh Singh, and
Rudra Pratap Sarangi were the leaders of the Vanachal movement. They organised several rallies to form a separate state. The central government formed a committee on the Jharkhand matter in 1989. It stressed the need for greater allocation of development funds for the area. There was a provision for limited internal autonomy in the hill area of
Assam. Other
tribal areas were covered by the fifth schedule of the constitution. Chotanagpur and
Santal Pargana development boards were constituted under the chairmanship of the then chief minister of Bihar under the provision of the fifth schedule in 1972. This failed to achieve the desired result. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha wanted more representation and the All Jharkhand Students Union was against it. Due to differences these parties broke away from each other. The All Jharkhand Students Union introduced elements of violence in the movement and called for a boycott of election while Jharkhand Mukti Morcha opposed this. The Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council bill passed in Bihar's legislative assembly in December 1994. The Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council were given responsibility for forty areas including agriculture, rural health, public work, public health and minerals. The council has power to recommend legislation to the Assembly through the state government and to frame bylaws and regulations. In 1999 the Bharatiya Janata party promised to form a separate Vanachal state if they won the state election with a majority of votes.
NDA formed the government with
Babulal Marandi as chief minister. Later the name of the state was changed from Vanachal to Jharkhand.
Babulal Marandi took the oath of chief minister on 15 November 2000 on the anniversary of the birth of tribal leader
Birsa Munda.
Naxal insurgency Jharkhand has been at the centre of the
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency. Since the uprising of the
Naxalites in 1967, 6,000 people have been killed in fighting between the Naxalites and counter-insurgency operations by the
police, and
paramilitary groups such as the
Salwa Judum. Jharkhand is part of the "
Red Corridor", which comprises 92,000 square kilometres, where the highest concentration of the group's estimated 20,000 combatants fight. Part of this is due to the fact that the state harbours an abundance of natural resources, while its people live in abject poverty and destitution. The impoverished state provides ample recruits for
communist insurgents, who argue that they are fighting on behalf of the landless poor and tribals that see few benefits from the resource extractions. == Geography ==