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| Chota Nagpur | |
|---|---|
| Name | Chota Nagpur Plateau |
| State | Jharkhand; parts of West Bengal; Odisha; Chhattisgarh; Bihar |
| Area km2 | 65000 |
| Highest | Parasnath Hill |
| Elevation m | 1365 |
Chota Nagpur Chota Nagpur is a plateau region in eastern India notable for its uplands, mineral wealth, and indigenous cultures. It spans parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar, and includes significant hills such as Parasnath Hill and plateaus like the Ranchi plateau. The region has influenced colonial administration, nationalist movements, and post‑independence regional politics involving entities such as the British Raj, Indian National Congress, and state governments.
The name derives from Persian and Hindi influences used during the Mughal Empire and later by the British East India Company and the British Raj administrative units. Historical documents reference similar toponyms alongside territories like Bihar and Orissa in records linked to the Marathas and the Sikh Empire era correspondence. Colonial-era gazetteers and cartographers associated the term with adjacent districts controlled by agencies akin to the Bengal Presidency and later transferred by acts of the Indian Empire bureaucracy.
The plateau forms part of the Deccan Traps periphery and the ancient Indian Shield, incorporating Precambrian formations of the Peninsular India block. Major rivers including the Subarnarekha, Damodar, Koel River, and tributaries of the Mahanadi drain the terrain, flowing toward basins associated with the Bay of Bengal. The geology features metamorphic rocks—gneiss, schist—and significant igneous intrusions such as granite and dolerite; economically important strata host deposits similar to those exploited in Rourkela and Dhanbad. Topographic highs include Parasnath Hill and ridges contiguous with the Vindhya Range outliers.
The region has prehistoric evidence linking to Paleolithic sites comparable with finds in Bhimbetka and Chalcolithic assemblages akin to those at Mahajanapada peripheries. Iron Age activity parallels metallurgical centers referenced in accounts of Ashoka and later trade routes connecting to Pataliputra and Kalinga. During medieval centuries, control shifted between polities such as the Gajapati Kingdom, the Mughal Empire, and the Maratha Empire, with tribal polities resisting external rule, documented alongside uprisings contemporaneous to the Santhal rebellion and other indigenous movements. Under the British Raj the area was incorporated into administrative divisions like the Chota Nagpur Division and played roles in resource extraction linked to entities including the East India Company and later private firms analogous to Tata Steel. Post-1947 reorganization involved states created under constitutional provisions and influenced by parties like the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Populations include indigenous communities such as the Munda people, Oraon, Kharia, Santhal, and Ho people; demographic patterns were recorded in censuses overseen by the Office of the Registrar General of India. Languages spoken include Austroasiatic and Dravidian family tongues like Santali, Ho language, Kurukh, alongside Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi, Bengali, and regional varieties found near Ranchi and Jamshedpur. Religious practices reflect syncretic traditions observed with rituals like Sarhul and festivals paralleled in ethnographic studies associated with Tribalism in India and missionary records of societies comparable to those described in works on Christian missions in India.
The plateau is one of India’s mineral hearts, supplying coalfields in areas comparable to Dhanbad and iron ore akin to deposits near Bailadila; minerals include coal, iron ore, mica, bauxite, and copper, exploited by industries analogous to Indian Iron and Steel Company and modern firms similar to Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India Limited. Agricultural zones produce rice, pulses, and oilseeds with practices influenced by irrigation projects paralleling Damodar Valley Corporation initiatives. Resource extraction has prompted debates involving environmental law cases and labor movements comparable to strikes in industrial towns like Jharia and policy interventions from ministries equivalent to the Ministry of Mines (India).
Cultural life centers on tribal rites, folk music, and handicrafts comparable to those of Bastar and Santal Parganas. Art forms include dance styles associated with Munda and Oraon communities, musical traditions employing instruments akin to the mandar and flute documented in ethnographies alongside works on Indian folk dance. Handicraft traditions produce textiles and metalwork exhibited in cultural festivals such as those organized by institutions like the National Museum, New Delhi and regional cultural academies. Social structures and customary law among communities interact with constitutional protections enshrined in provisions linked to the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India and institutions such as the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Administratively the plateau spans districts within Jharkhand—including Ranchi district, Hazaribagh district, and Khunti district—and adjacent districts in West Bengal and Odisha, fitting into state-level governance under assemblies like the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and national representation in the Lok Sabha. Historical administrative units were restructured from colonial divisions to modern districts under enactments mirrored by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and subsequent state creation processes that led to the formation of Jharkhand as a separate state. Contemporary politics involves regional parties such as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and national parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress.
Category:Plateaus of India