Encouraged by the Centre’s green signal for the formation of a separate Telengana state, Jharkhand’s old, contentious and almost forgotten demand for a “Greater Jharkhand” state once again raised its head on Thursday.
Originally proposed and championed by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which currently heads the state’s coalition government with the Congress and the RJD, “Greater Jharkhand” is the idea for a state larger than the current Jharkhand state, which was carved out of Bihar in November 2000. Based on the ethos of greater tribal unity and welfare of indigenous people, the state envisions the addition to Jharkhand several districts of West Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
“This demand for ‘Greater Jharkhand’ state is eight decades old, and it remained unfulfilled despite formation of Jharkhand. We will now intensify an agitation across Jharkhand and its three bordering states to bring ‘Greater Jharkhand’ state into reality soon,” said Jharkhand People’s Party (JPP) chief and former MLA Surya Singh Besra to reporters in Jameshedpur on Thursday.
Mr Besra, who has earlier led a series of agitations in favour of “Greater Jharkhand” statehood, said the proposed state would have Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia districts of West Bengal; Mayurbhanj, Sundergarh, Sambalpur and Keonjhar districts of Odisha; and Sarguja and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh added to Jharkhand.
Chief minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren is believed to be strongly in favour of the creation of the state. JMM sources said party supremo and Soren’s father, Sibu Soren, who first proposed the idea of this new state, also believes this is the right time for raising the demand forcefully, especially because the Congress is now JMM’s ruling partner in Jharkhand and also rules at the Centre.
Orissa’s Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government had earlier strongly opposed the JMM’s demand for “Greater Jharkhand”. Similar was also the resistance from the governments of West Bengal and Chattisgarh. In July 2008, after Sibu Soren included it as one of his demands to PM Manmohan Singh, there were widespread protests by BJD, BJP in Orissa.