Bhilai History, India

The Bhilai Steel Plant is the identity of the Bhilai city and so Bhilai history is essentially linked to that of the Bhilai Steel Plant; but the industrial city in the Indian State of Chattishgarh is much more than just a modern city. Unlike Delhi, there is not much information available about the city’s ancient past, the region was once a part of the kingdom of the Haihai Rajputs (who ruled over the central part of the modern Chattisgarh State from the 12th century to the later part of the 18th century). When the Haihai Dynasty’s rule was brought to an end in 1740 by the Bhonsle Marathas, the region became a part of the Maratha Kingdom (which had its capital in Nagpur).

Bhilai History – British Rule and Post Independence Period

The region was under direct British administration from 1853 and it remained so until the day of India’s independence on August 15, 1947. After the State of Madhya Pradesh was carved out in the year 1950, the region’s significance multiplied, more so following the setting up of the Bhilai Steel Plant in 1959, which turned the non-descript cluster of villages into a hot-and-happening city. Bhilai has continued to grow ever since. Today the city not only has a municipal corporation of its own but has also been accorded the status of the 7th fastest growing city in the world. In between, Bhilai went on to become a Chattisgarhi-city, when the state of Chattisgarh was created on November 1, 2000.

Bhilai History - Bhilai Steel Plant

The course of Bhilai history (specifically modern history) has been set by the Bhilai Steel Plant. One of India’s state-managed/operated steel plants built during India’s Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61), Bhilai Steel Plant helped the development of the planned city of Bhilai that has as many as 11 different sectors.

Although the chief objective of setting up the plant was to provide employment to the rural mass of the region (and not really earning profits for the government), the locals did not come forward to take any initiatives at the beginning. This fact together with the plant’s requirement for skillful, experienced hands made it quite unavoidable to run the plant and its ancillary bodies with outsiders (outsiders to region). The employment of outsiders, in turn, called for the development of the steel city (by ravaging existing villages) with its residential quarters, educational institutes, medical facilities, market complex, parks and gardens as well as other amenities that are necessary for day-to-day existence close to the industrial complex.

Bhilai history started taking a new turn as the Bhilai Steel Plant started emerging as one of India’s most profitable steel plants – by this time, the locals had started fully comprehending the extent of their loss because of their initial apathy and the steel township became a scene of friction between the unemployed locals and the outsiders.

The arrivals of new industries and companies have helped alleviate tensions a lot by creating more employment opportunities and absorbing large sections of unemployed locals.

Present-day Bhilai city is not only a modern industrial city with advanced facilities of life but also a very cultured cosmopolitan city equally popular among tourists because of its area-attractions and its transportation links.