Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. Located on the confluence of Swarnarekha and Kharkai rivers, the city is surrounded by Dalma Hills. It is the largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million in the wider metropolitan area, Jamshedpur is the third largest metropolitan area in the region and 36th largest urban area in the country and 72nd most populous city in the country.
The modern industrial city of Jamshedpur was built over the village of Sakchi by Dorabji Tata, who chose the location for his father Jamshedji Tata's planned steel city. The project began in 1908, with the steel plant operating by 1912, and the city was formally named Jamshedpur by Lord Chelmsford in 1919 in honor of Jamshedji. During World War I, Tata Steel supplied for British military campaigns across the Middle East and Africa. In World War II, Jamshedpur was a high-value target. This led to the deployment of British and American troops in the region, establishment of air bases to repel potential Japanese attacks, maintain links with mainland China via the Burma Road and participate in the U.S-led bombing campaign in Japan. The city's history is embedded with frequent labor unrest and strikes, visits by well-known figures and independence movement.
Following the independence of India in 1947, Jamshedpur became part of the state of Bihar. It experienced spells of growth and development alongside on occasions of unrest, violence and terrorism. The city experienced deadly communal violence in 1964 and 1979 and spillover of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. By the 1990s, organized crime increased, and mafia activities emerged in northern Jamshedpur, with notable gang wars and the assassination of well-known figures in political and business circles. The intensity of crime nearly brought about the collapse of industries in Jamshedpur. The state government intervened. Between 1994 and 1996, the city police under Ajoy Kumar, launched a crackdown on gangs, which led to a decline in crime. Subsequently, Jamshedpur was an important stronghold for the statehood movement. Thus on 15 November 2000, the city became part of the state of Jharkhand.
A major commercial and industrial centre in India, home to major heavy industries. Jamshedpur is demographically diverse city. It has been ranked consistently as one of the cleanest cities in India by Swach Survekshan, 2nd in India in terms of quality of life, one of the fastest-growing global cities in the world and first smart cities in India along with Naya Raipur. It is a local popular tourist destination known for its forests and ancient temples. Jamshedpur is the only million plus city in India without a municipal corporation.
Etymology
In 1919 Lord Chelmsford named the city, which was previously a village called Sakchi, Jamshedpur in honour of its founder, Jamshedji Nausserwanji Tata, whose birthday is celebrated on 3 March as Founder's Day. J.N. Tata had written to his son Dorabji Tata about his vision of a great city in the area. On Founders Day, the 225-acre (0.91 km<sup>2</sup>) Jubilee Park is decorated with brilliant lightwork for about a week.
The city has several nicknames including "Steel City" (which was referenced during TATA Steel's "Green City—Clean City—Steel City" campaign); "Tatanagar" after the name of its railway station Tatanagar Railway Station or simply "Tata" in deference to the presence of Tata companies. At one time it was also known as "Kalimati" (meaning "Land of Goddess Kali") after the village near the Sakchi area. It is said that he got the idea of building a steel plant after hearing Thomas Carlyle declare in a lecture in Manchester that "the nation which gains control of iron soon acquires the control of gold". At the turn of the twentieth century, Tata asked geologist Charles Page Perin to help him find the site to build India's first steel plant. The search for a site rich in iron, coal, limestone and water began in April 1904 in today's Madhya Pradesh.
The prospectors C. M. Weld, Dorabji Tata and Shapurji Saklatvala, took nearly three years in a painstaking search across vast stretches of inhospitable terrain to find a location. One day they came across a village called Sakchi, on the densely forested stretches of the Chota Nagpur plateau, near the confluence of the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers. Jamshedji's plan for the city was clear. He envisioned far more than a mere row of workers hutments. What the city looks like today is a testament to his visionary plans. In 1919, the industrial neighborhood was merged to form Jamshedpur according to Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the industrial establishment. It rapidly escalated to West Asia centering around the Suez Canal of Egypt and from there to the region of Mesopotamia, now called Iraq and then extended to East Africa, Palestine and rest of the Middle East. The city was a high-value target for Japan during the war. Over 50,000 people assembled in Kharsawan and protested against the merger of Kharsawan. The Orissa Military Police opened fire on the crowd, resulting in a massacre. Aftermath of the incident, the bodies were disposed of in wells and in the jungle, many injured were left untreated. Official records state 35 deaths, but other sources, like P.K. Deo's "Memoir of a Bygone Era," suggest numbers as high as 2,000. The state government declared it illegal and within a week, the violence escalated into firing, looting, arson, curfew and movement of federal troops. According to the company, 4 people were killed and 114 people were injured. About 400 people were discharged and 335,000 man-days off work and 45,000 tons of steel production lost before mid-July when the steel plant returned to normal production. The theft of a religious relic, believed to be a hair of Prophet Mohammed in Srinagar caused brutal riots in Jamshedpur. This led to a chain of protests, resulting deadly riots where 134 people were killed in Calcutta, Rourkela, and Jamshedpur. It was the first major riot on the occasion of Ram Navami. In 2005, a similar proposal was once again put up by lobbying politicians. The target audience was the working class. A large majority sided with the government and set up protest meetings outside the East-Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner's office. Apart from this, many national level institutes like Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute, National Institute of Technology, National Metallurgy Laboratory, MGM Medical College, Al Kabir Polytechnic College are operating here. while the range is from 129 m to 151 m. Total geographical area of Jamshedpur is 224 km square. Jamshedpur is primarily located in a hilly region and is surrounded by the Dalma Hills running from west to east and covered with dense forests. The other smaller hill ranges near the city are Ukam Hill and the Jadugoda-musabani hill range. The city is also a part of the larger Chota Nagpur Plateau region. The region is formed of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks belonging to the Dharwarian period.
Jamshedpur is located at the confluence of the Kharkai and Subarnarekha Rivers. Subarnarekha is the principal river of Jamshedpur, which flows from the west to the south-eastern part of the territory. Many small rivers, especially the tributaries, join the Subarnarekha River in this area. The Kharkai flows from the south and joins the Subarnarekha River at a place called Domuhani. The two rivers are the city's major sources of drinking water and groundwater. Several lakes of varying sizes are also located near the city's fringes. The major of them being the Dimna Lake located in between the Dalma range and the Sitarampur reservoir situated beside the Kharkai River. It is also a major tourist spot in the region. Both of them also act as reservoirs for drinking water in the city. The city falls under a deciduous type of forest region and the green cover is estimated to be around 33% of the total land area. The city falls under the Seismic Zone II region. Jamshedpur has many parks around it. Jubilee Park at Sakchi is the largest park in Jamshedpur. It was built by Jamshedji Tata, who was inspired by Vrindavanan Gardens of Mysore.
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File:Cityscapes of Jamshedpur.jpg|Cityscapes of Jamshedpur
File:Act of Stalking.jpg|Bengal tiger at Tata Steel Zoological Park
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Climate
According to the 2011 census of India, the city of Jamshedpur had a population of 629,659, but the Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,337,131. The city is designated as a Million Plus Urban Agglomeration as per Government terminology. Males constitute 52.1% of the population and females 47.9%. Jamshedpur has an average literacy rate of 89.41% – higher than the national average of 74%. In Jamshedpur, 11.5% of the population is under six years of age.
Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration includes: Jamshedpur (Industrial Town), Jamshedpur (Notified Area Committee), Tata Nagar Railway Colony (OG), Mango (Municipal Corporation), Jugsalai (Municipal Council), Bagbera (CT), Chhota Gobindpur (CT), Haludbani (CT), Sarjamda (CT), Gadhra (CT), Ghorabandha (CT), Purihasa (CT), Adityapur (Municipal Corporation), Chota Gamahria (CT) and Kapali (Municipal Council).
Jamshedpur's transformation from a rural area to a bustling urban centre owes much to the establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited in 1907. Initially, its population remained modest until the 1921 census recorded a remarkable growth rate of 911.3%, attributed largely to immigration. People from various parts of India migrated to Jamshedpur in search of opportunities due to industries and eventually settled in nearby areas. This influx diversified the city's demographics, with significant communities from regions like Bengal, Bihar and Odisha contributing to its multicultural character. Moreover, migrants from neighboring cities within Jharkhand also flocked to Jamshedpur for job prospects. Alongside local residents, the city also became home to refugees who arrived during the partition of India, residing in designated colonies.
The 1974 Indian smallpox epidemic was partially traced to economic migrants returning from Jamshedpur. With funding from J.R.D. Tata, the World Health Organization quarantined the city's unvaccinated population, successfully limiting further spread.