Video | Tribal culture and natural resources: The Chota Nagpur (Chotanagpur) plateau of eastern India – Jharkhand

Chota Nagpur [Chotanagpur] plateau is in eastern India, in Jharkhand state. The plateau is composed of Precambrian rocks (more than 540,000,000 years old). Chota Nagpur is the collective name for the Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Kodarma plateaus, which have an area of 25,293 sq m (65,509 sq km). Its largest division is the Ranchi Plateau, which has an average elevation of 2,300 ft (700 m). The Chota Nagpur plateau in its entirety lies between the basins of the Ganges and Son rivers to the north and the Mahanadi River to the south; through its centre, from west to east, runs the coal-bearing, faulted Damodar Valley. Numerous streams have dissected the uplands into a peneplain (an area reduced almost to a plain by erosion) with isolated hills.

Centuries of heavy cultivation have depleted the plateau of much of its natural vegetation, though some valuable forests still remain. Forest products, such as tussah silk and lac, are economically important. The Chota Nagpur area has the most valuable concentration of mineral resources in India. The Damodar Valley has vast coal reserves, and Hazaribagh district is one of the main sources of mica in the world. Other minerals are copper, limestone, bauxite, iron ore, asbestos, and apatite (useful in the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers). A huge thermal plant for generating electricity and a large steel mill are located at Bokaro. Railroads cross the plateau, connecting Calcutta to the southeast with Patna to the north, and also link other cities in the south and west.

Source: Geography
Address : http://www.tribalzone.net/geography/geography.htm
Date Visited: Sun Jul 27 2014 12:34:34 GMT+0200 (CEST)

“My (mobile) browser fails to display embedded media content” | Tips >>

We are the Indigenous People Of Chotanagpur, the Adivasis mostly comprising of Santal, HO, Kharia, Munda and Oraon Population. Due to various developmental activities we are loosing our identity. WE ARE BECOMING EXTINCT.

The song describes the present day exploitation of tribal land and forests in the name of development.

Source: ▶ gaon chodab nahi (we will not leave our village) – YouTube
Address : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5aeMpzOLU
Date Visited: Sun Jul 27 2014 12:38:28 GMT+0200 (CEST)

[…] Originally, Chota Nagpur [Chotanagpur] was mostly forest-clad and was ruled by chiefs of various aboriginal tribes. Though British authority was only gradually established in the plains to the north during the second half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, occasional revolts against them took place in Chota Nagpur, the most important being the Ho revolt of 1820 to 1827 and the Munda uprising of 1831 to 1832. Later, Bihar was an important centre of the Indian mutiny and revolt of 1857 to 1859 against British political authority. Bihar formed a part of the Bengal Presidency until 1912, when the province of Bihar and Orissa was formed; in 1936 the two became separate provinces. […]

Source: History & Culture
Address : http://www.tribalzone.net/history/history.htm
Date Visited: Sun Jul 27 2014 12:55:59 GMT+0200 (CEST)

Up-to-date reports by Indian experts and journalists

Search tips

Combine the name of any particular state, language or region with that of any tribal (Adivasi) community.

Add keywords of special interest (health, nutrition endangered language, illegal mining, sacred grove); learn about the rights of Scheduled Tribes such as the “Forest Rights Act” (FRA); and the United Nations “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, “women’s rights”, or “children’s right to education”.

Specify any other issue or news item you want to learn more about (biodiversity, bonded labour and human trafficking, climate change, ecology, economic development, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, global warming, Himalayan tribe, hunter-gatherers in a particular region or state, prevention of rural poverty, water access).

For official figures include “scheduled tribe ST” along with a union state or region: e.g. “Chhattisgarh ST community”, “Scheduled tribe Tamil Nadu census”, “ST Kerala census”, “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Jharkhand”, “PVTG Rajasthan”, “Adivasi ST Kerala”, “Adibasi ST West Bengal” etc.

In case the Google Custom Search window is not displayed here try the following: (1) toggle between “Reader” and regular viewing; (2) in your browser’s Security settings select “Enable JavaScript” | More tips >>

List of websites covered by this Google custom search engine

Academia.edu (platform for academics to share research papers) – www.academia.edu

Archive.org – https://archive.org

Centre for Science and Environment – https://www.cseindia.org

Current Conservation – https://www.currentconservation.org 

Development and Cooperation (D+C) https://www.dandc.eu

Down To Earth (India) – www.downtoearth.org.in

India Environment Portal – www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in

Harnessing Nature Magazine – https://harnessingnature.online

Mongabay-India – https://india.mongabay.com

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation – www.mssrf.org

Navdanya (protecting India’s biodiversity based food heritage) – https://navdanya.org

Third World Network (Penang, Malaysia) – https://twn.my

The Shola Trust (nature conservation in the Nilgiri region) – www.thesholatrust.org

Research the above issues with the help of Shodhganga: A reservoir of theses from universities all over India, made available under Open Access >>

Note: hyperlinks and quotes are meant for fact-checking and information purposes only | Disclaimer >>

Find publications by reputed authors (incl. Open Access)

 

Search for an item in libraries near you:
WorldCat.org >>

 

Search for an item in libraries near you:
WorldCat.org >>
Photo Birsa Munda © Wikipedia >> photograph in Roy (1912-72)

“Munda’s rebellion had shaken the foundations of the British empire, fighting the British army’s advanced weapons with bow and arrows. He died under mysterious circumstances in the Ranchi jail, and has, since then, been remembered as a martyr.” – Sushmita in The Wire >>

Usage in legal and historical records

“Despite the many honours bestowed on Birsa Munda at high places, there has not been much change in the situation of tribal people at the grassroots level. The basic motivations behind tribal rebellions, i.e., Jal, Jangal aur Zameen (water, forest and land) remain the same. Hence, the fight by the tribal people of India will probably continue until a radical change is made in the government’s policy towards them.” – Ivy Imogene Hansdak in The Indian Express >>

“Who owns India? Who owns the forests and rivers, the farmlands eyed by industry, the slums coveted by real estate developers and airport authorities, the hills and plateaus desired by mining barons? In roughly a third of the country, this is no idle question.” – Sunil Khilnani in Outlook Magazine >>

“Many people – though not all – have been able to secure freedom from torture, unjustified imprisonment, summary execution, enforced disappearance, persecution and unjust discrimination, as well as fair access to education, economic opportunities, and adequate resources and health-care.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations >>

Learn more

Chotanagpur | Chota Nagpur | Fact checking

Colonial policies | Freedom Struggle | Independence

Communities: Asur | Ho| Kharia | Munda | Oraon | Santal | State wise ST list (Scheduled Tribes)

Cultural heritage | Sarna

Film | Media portrayal

Forest Rights Act (FRA) | Legal rights over forest land

History

Hul (Santal rebellion 1855-1856) | Tribal freedom fighters

Jharkhand

Music and dance

Organizations

Video | Hul Sengel: The Spirit of the Santal Revolution (1855) – Jharkhand

Video | Tribal culture and natural resources: The Chota Nagpur (Chotanagpur) plateau of eastern India