Search the Internet           Tips

Dawn of new era in Chhattisgarh
on November 1

Known as the 'rice bowl', Chhattisgarh holds promise of becoming prosperous with its abundant natural resources. True to the paradoxical 'poverty amid plenty', the tribal heartland has remained most backward till now.

However, for most of the population, statehood is not a matter of euphoria due to the unprecedented crop damage and water crisis looming large after the monsoon failure. Many houses in rural areas remain locked as inhabitants left for far-flung areas like the Kashmir valley or to the brick kilns and sugarcane fields of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in search of two square meals a day.

The simmering disillusionment over political and administrative apathy to solve the problems of people of the region had given vent to the demand for statehood immediately after Chhattisgarh was merged with Madhya Pradesh in 1956. But the demand for statehood saw many ups and downs with many politicians at the vanguard of the movement preferring to sit silent after the initial enthusiasm failed to bear fruit.

Unlike Uttarakhand and Jharkhand, which are coming into existence at the same time, no dispute had occurred in the region over the statehood issue. While Digvijay Singh, Madhya Bharat, is presiding over the bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh, the late Pandit Ravishankar Shukla had presided over the unification of Chhattisgarh with Madhya Pradesh. After 44 years, history is once again being re-written.

The landlocked Chhattisgarh, spread over in 1,33,133 square km area, is surrounded by Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, besides Madhya Pradesh. The Hindi-speaking state is home to several thousand linguistic minorities who had migrated to this heavily forested area in different phases. While the Gond tribals are aboriginal inhabitants of Chhattisgarh, people of all faiths, including few Parsis and Anglo-Indians, have mixed with the local milieu.

Though the Chhattisgarhi dialect is spoken by the majority, the post-Independence migration of people from all parts of the country had its own impact in the region with the immigrants dominating over the aboriginals in political, social trade and the economic scenario.

With the formation of the state, 90 members of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly will automatically become members of the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly. Likewise, 11 of the 40 Lok Sabha members and five of the 16 Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh will represent Chhattisgarh.

The Congress, having a majority of 48 in the 90-member assembly, is poised to form its government to face many challenges lying ahead the new state. As many as 4484 officials of all ranks are coming to Raipur, the capital city, on transfer from Bhopal to play a key role in redrafting the destiny of Chhattisgarh.

Raipur is being dressed up for the historic moment and all official arrangements have been completed for the swearing-in of the new governor and chief minister, while the high court of Chhattisgarh will start functioning at Bilaspur from November 1.

UNI

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report