Unfulfilled potential of tribal heartland

Social and economic welfare: Still a long way to travel, explains Yash Kumar Singhal

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A protracted sociopolitical struggle for tribal identity, autonomy and welfare, led by tribal leaders like Jaipal Singh since India’s independence and later by Shibu Soren, culminated into the creation of the state of Jharkhand at the turn of the century.

Formed on November 15, 2000 — the birth anniversary of renowned tribal leader Bhagwan Birsa Munda — by carving out the southern regions of the original Bihar state, Jharkhand became India’s 28th state, after the Bihar Reorganization Act of 2000 was tabled and passed in parliament under the then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Over 26 per cent of Jharkhand’s population belonged to the scheduled tribe (ST) category according to the 2011 census, with 28 of the 81 state assembly constituencies reserved for them. Jharkhand has had only one non-tribal chief minister — Raghubar Das of Bharatiya Janata Party. Incidentally, he was the only one to complete a full term of five years from 2014-19.

Although abundant in mineral resources, the state economy has failed to keep pace with the national economic growth since its inception. In fiscal 2002 (FY02), the year after Jharkhand’s formation, the state per capita income was 62.05 per cent of the national per capita income. Over the next decade, this share increased before dropping to a sub-60 per cent share, reaching at 56.82 per cent in FY25.