India Travel

On the eastern extremities of the Vindhya hills, at the northern fringes of the Deccan, lie the forested hills and escarpments of the rugged Chotanagpur plateau.The area became a new state,JHARKHAND, in 2000, after years of agitation by its largely tribal population, though it seems unlikely that its extreme poverty and lawlessness can be dealt with by creating a slew of new government positions and changing some names.

The state capital is Ranchi, although Jamshedpur in the southeast corner is one of eastern India’s most important industrial towns, the headquarters of the steel conglomerate TISCO. The forests that surround Jamshedpur, at the edge of the plateau, are home to aboriginal tribes such as the Santals, Oraon and Munda, who amount to around sixty percent of the region’s population. Christian missionaries have had a strong impact here, and some Munda villages display shrines to the Virgin, but much of the area is unsafe for travellers as it is patrolled by bandits and left-wing guerrilla groups.

This area was formerly renowned for its wildlife. Sadly, the beautiful forests of the Palamau or Betla National Park, on the southwest edge of Chotanagpur. have been damaged by years of drought and its tigers are now severely endangered.