Jamshedpur History, India

The history of Jamshedpur is essentially linked to the Tata family, more specifically to the founder of Tata Iron and Steel Works (present Tata Steel), Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata. Jamshedpur was a dream envisioned by Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata; although he did not live to see his dream fulfilled, he was the master-mind behind India’s first planned industrial city.

Jamshedpur is a lease-hold of Tata Steel and the Tata Group has not only used it as their industrial base but also developed it as a model city – an environmental-friendly cosmopolitan city that promises all amenities of life and fully endorses the wellbeing of its populace.

The particulars that follow will give you an interesting account of Jamshedpur history.

Jamshedpur History: Foundation of the City and Its Development

Jamshedpur’s history can be traced back to the time, when JN Tata’s associates zeroed in on the humble village of Sakchi. The village’s location on the Chhota Nagpur plateau (that had rich deposits of iron along with other resources like coal, limestone and water needed to run a steel plant) made it the ideal choice. Tata Iron and Steel Co. proceeded by acquiring some 3,584 acres of land in Sakchi’s vicinity to build the plant and the industrial settlement. Although the plant began its operations in 1912, the city came into the picture only in 1919, when Sakchi was renamed Jamshedpur after its founder. In a short span of time, Jamshedpur was ready with its workers’ quarters, a 300-bed hospital, an office building, etc. (Founder’s Day celebrations were held in Jamshedpur for the first time on March 3, 1932, almost three decades after the death of the founding-father).

Jharkhand’s second most important city after Ranchi, Jamshedpur has inched towards Jamshedji Tata’s dream with successive developments – it is as much the ‘Steel City’ as the ‘Fountain City’. Today’s Jamshedpur matches steps with big cities like Mumbai and Calcutta in extending all-round services to the residents with its premiere educational institutions, its advanced medical facilities, its playing fields, its lush gardens/parks with fountains, its lakes and other recreational areas. And now, the city even has star-category hotels, restaurants, clubs and entertainment complexes to aid or promote tourism.

Jamshedpur History: Other Relevant Issues

As already said, Jamshedpur has been taken on lease from the government by Tata Group. As such, Jamshedpur has no municipality, instead is administered (rather managed) by Tata Group. The Tata-rule has been so effective, so beneficial for the city and its people that they have always opposed any and every change to this arrangement. This certainly has been a contentious issue for long. The late 1980s (Jamshedpur was a part of Bihar then) saw the state government seeking municipal-rule. Year 2005 also saw a similar attempt (by this time, Jamshedpur had become a part of Jharkhand). Both the attempts fell flat and the Tata Group continues to be at the helm of affairs in Jamshedpur.

The city’s many tourist attractions like the Dimna Lake, Jubilee Park and Modi Park, which were built by the Tata Group to commemorate important milestones of Jamshedpur history (each 25-year anniversary) are concrete proofs of the fact that ‘a Green Jamshedpur and a Greener Earth’ is what the Tata’s have always advocated and practiced. It is no wonder that Jamshedpur was selected by the United Nations for the 2004 Global Compact City award – so far, this has been the best thing that happened in the entire course of Jamshedpur History.

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