As politicians fiddle while Jharkhand hurtles out of control, hopes of a long-term turnaround for the beleaguered state have all but vanished into thin air
When, on November 15, 2000, the state of Jharkhand was carved out of nearly half of Bihar’s geographical territory, about a quarter of its population and all of its mineral wealth, the new entity had much going for it. Of the annual revenues of Rs 10,000 crore that Bihar generated at that point, Jharkhand got 65 per cent.
Having had a clear headstart in terms of industrial development thanks to initiatives in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad and being enviably rich in mineral and natural resources, Jharkhand had economic indices that were all positive. Observers predicted that the new state would prosper and Bihar would sink further into impoverishment.
Since then much water has flown down the Subarnarekha – the river got its name because legend has it that gold was once mined at its origin in a small village near Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. But a goldmine is the last thing the state can hope to strike given the ham-handed way it has been run all these years.
The hope and excitement have abated. Today, Jharkhand, as it begins its second bout of President’s rule in six months, is in danger of being written off as a failed experiment, a stinging riposte to those who argue in favour of smaller states.
Jharkhand has been in existence for a few months shy of a decade. Its progress report is abysmal. Stagnation has stalked it at every step, and the purpose for which the state was set up – improving the lot of the tribal communities that inhabit its forested areas – has not been served. Jharkhand is lost in the woods.
While Bihar, driven by a new-found political will, is in the process of scripting a remarkable turnaround story, Jharkhand languishes at the very bottom of the development index heap, unable to tide over the severe distortions of a political system controlled by those that are blinded by the thirst for power.
Is the repeated fractured electoral mandate that the people hand out the real bane of Jharkhand? “Don’t blame the voters,” says Shivanand Tiwari, JD (U) national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar. “It is a crisis of leadership in Jharkhand. The state does not have a credible political force that the people can trust and whole-heartedly support. It simply hasn’t emerged.”
Indeed, it is Jharkhand’s political leaders and administrators who have let the state down – very badly and repeatedly. The frequent body blows have left Jharkhand in a complete mess. There are no signs that might indicate that things are about to get better. More than half of Jharkhand’s population – around 27 per cent of which is tribal – live below the poverty line. Corruption is a norm, opportunism the guiding mantra.
Shibu Soren, the man who led the movement for a separate Jharkhand for several decades, could have made the difference. But he found himself embroiled in a series of political scandals, including one that stemmed from a murder charge and another that was related to a bribes-for-votes deal in which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MPs were paid hefty sums to support the P.V. Narsimha Rao government at the Centre in a no-confidence motion in 1993.
Guruji, as Soren is known to his supporters, has lost ground owing to his unpredictable ways, both in the state and at the national level. He is but a pale shadow of the tribal rights crusader that he once was. As his son, Hemant Soren, jockeys for a position of strength in the state, the image of Jharkhand’s first family, pretty much like that of the state itself, is in dire need of refurbishment.
The result is that a state that was formed essentially to serve the interests of its indigenous communities is today in the grip of intense tribal disaffection. The political process has been hijacked by vested interests. The threat of Maoist violence hangs heavy over the state as the government barters away forest land to big industrial players that are looking to exploit Jharkhand’s huge reserves of iron, coal, bauxite, copper, mica and limestone, among other minerals.
When, on November 15, 2000, the state of Jharkhand was carved out of nearly half of Bihar’s geographical territory, about a quarter of its population and all of its mineral wealth, the new entity had much going for it. Of the annual revenues of Rs 10,000 crore that Bihar generated at that point, Jharkhand got 65 per cent.
Having had a clear headstart in terms of industrial development thanks to initiatives in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad and being enviably rich in mineral and natural resources, Jharkhand had economic indices that were all positive. Observers predicted that the new state would prosper and Bihar would sink further into impoverishment.
Since then much water has flown down the Subarnarekha – the river got its name because legend has it that gold was once mined at its origin in a small village near Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. But a goldmine is the last thing the state can hope to strike given the ham-handed way it has been run all these years.
The hope and excitement have abated. Today, Jharkhand, as it begins its second bout of President’s rule in six months, is in danger of being written off as a failed experiment, a stinging riposte to those who argue in favour of smaller states.
Jharkhand has been in existence for a few months shy of a decade. Its progress report is abysmal. Stagnation has stalked it at every step, and the purpose for which the state was set up – improving the lot of the tribal communities that inhabit its forested areas – has not been served. Jharkhand is lost in the woods.
While Bihar, driven by a new-found political will, is in the process of scripting a remarkable turnaround story, Jharkhand languishes at the very bottom of the development index heap, unable to tide over the severe distortions of a political system controlled by those that are blinded by the thirst for power.
Is the repeated fractured electoral mandate that the people hand out the real bane of Jharkhand? “Don’t blame the voters,” says Shivanand Tiwari, JD (U) national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar. “It is a crisis of leadership in Jharkhand. The state does not have a credible political force that the people can trust and whole-heartedly support. It simply hasn’t emerged.”
Indeed, it is Jharkhand’s political leaders and administrators who have let the state down – very badly and repeatedly. The frequent body blows have left Jharkhand in a complete mess. There are no signs that might indicate that things are about to get better. More than half of Jharkhand’s population – around 27 per cent of which is tribal – live below the poverty line. Corruption is a norm, opportunism the guiding mantra.
Shibu Soren, the man who led the movement for a separate Jharkhand for several decades, could have made the difference. But he found himself embroiled in a series of political scandals, including one that stemmed from a murder charge and another that was related to a bribes-for-votes deal in which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MPs were paid hefty sums to support the P.V. Narsimha Rao government at the Centre in a no-confidence motion in 1993.
Guruji, as Soren is known to his supporters, has lost ground owing to his unpredictable ways, both in the state and at the national level. He is but a pale shadow of the tribal rights crusader that he once was. As his son, Hemant Soren, jockeys for a position of strength in the state, the image of Jharkhand’s first family, pretty much like that of the state itself, is in dire need of refurbishment.
The result is that a state that was formed essentially to serve the interests of its indigenous communities is today in the grip of intense tribal disaffection. The political process has been hijacked by vested interests. The threat of Maoist violence hangs heavy over the state as the government barters away forest land to big industrial players that are looking to exploit Jharkhand’s huge reserves of iron, coal, bauxite, copper, mica and limestone, among other minerals.
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