The new state of Jharkhand, formerly a part of
Bihar, was formed in the year 2000 with
Ranchi as its capital. The history of the state dates back to even before the period of Magadh Empire. During the
Mughal period, Jharkhand was known as Kukara. After 1765 the area came to be known as Jharkhand. It is bordered by Bihar in the north,
Madhya Pradesh in the west,
Orissa in the south and
West Bengal in the east. Main languages spoken are
Hindi,
Urdu, Bangla and
Oriya.
Santhali, Ho,
Mundari, Kuduk,
Nagpuri, Sadri and Karmali dialects are also spoken. Elephant is the official state animal and cuckoo is the state bird.
Principal food crops of Jharkhand are paddy, wheat, maize and pulses. The terrain comprises evergreen forests, lakes and waterfalls. The principal rivers are Ganges, Damodar, Mayurakshi, Barakar, Koel, Sankh, Son, Auranga, Kharkai, Swarnarekha, Gumani and Batane. Rajrappa, Parasnath, Sun Temple, Baidyanathdham (Deoghar), Jagannathpur Temple and
Hazaribagh National park are some of the the famous tourist places worth visiting.
Jharkhand is one of the most industrialized regions in India. It has two of the biggest steel plants in the country - one at Bokaro in the public sector and the other, Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), at Jamshedpur in the private sector. The state is abundantly rich in minerals such as copper, coal, iron, manganese, mica, chromite and bauxite.
