State in Eastern India known as the "Land of the Forest," Jharkhand has been known since the Bronze Age as the India's metal spigot. Though the state holds an astonishingly high 40% of India's resources, it is cursed with the 'paradox of plenty' which afflicts almost every resource-rich land on the planet. The 'paradox' can be defined as - high in minerals = high in poverty [Link]
The state's high poverty rate (39.1% below the poverty line) fed, and still feeds, what is known as the 'Naxalite-Maoist Insurgency' against Indian rule begun in 1967.
Antagonism from the native population and agitation for independence thwarted efforts to admit the state to the Dominion. Absorption of the land into India as a state didn't occur until the year 2000 when the "Bihar Reorganisation Act' was passed by parliament.
Hindi is the state's official language and Ranchi is its capital.