The Colonial and Post-Colonial Approach to Industrialization in India's Jharkhand State: Envisioning Environmental Crisis

Abstract

It is a common argument that colonial and post-colonial discourses on landed property along with subsequent industrial policies alienated a large number of indigenous people depended mainly on traditional properties. Especially the tribes, who had to flee from their original Khuntkatti land to other distant places due to the huge pressure on land and forest resources. Like other parts of India, the flow of industrial capital into the state of Jharkhand not only created huge land alienation but also eradicated traditional way of living. It ruptured tribal traditional economies and also marginalized them. The situation was even more aggravated under various policies adopted by the post-colonial government to ensure so called regional development. But in ground level scenario the rise of industrial capital brings non-tribal people into the region and also created labour division. The population explosion dynamics, eviction from the traditional homestead or Khuntkatti land created a series of questions towards the necessity of unplanned development. The process of colonization in different parts of India was not free from resentment. Simmering discontent among the tribes found expressions in a series of tribal uprising throughout India and got articulated in the mainstream political movements. Jharkhand Movement was one of the oldest in this category which had been set up for a political solution to many such issues. In order to hark back to the root of tribal anger born out from gradual loss of land, this paper has been attempted.