Jamshedpur - History

History

At the end of 19th century Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata met steel makers in Pittsburgh to get the most advanced technology for his plant. It is said that he got the idea of building a steel plant when he heard Thomas Carlyle declaring that "the nation which gains control of iron soon acquires the control of gold" in a lecture in Manchester. At the turn of the twentieth century, Jamshetji 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. It seemed to be the ideal choice and the place was selected.

In 1908 the construction of the plant as well as the city officially began. The first steel ingot was rolled on 16 February 1912. It was a momentous day in the history of industrial India.

Jamshedji's plan for the city was clear. He envisioned far more than a mere row of workers hutments. He insisted upon building all the comforts and conveniences a city could provide. As a result, many areas in the city are well planned and there are public leisure places such as the Jubilee Park. While building the city, Jamshedji Tata had said, "Be sure to lay wide streets planted with shady trees, every other of a quick growing variety. Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens; reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks; earmark areas for Hindu temples, Mohammedan mosques and Christian churches."

Messrs Julin Kennedy Sahlin from Pittsburgh prepared the first layout of the town of Jamshedpur. What the city looks like today is a testament to his visionary plans. Jamshedpur is the only million plus city in India without a municipal corporation.

Legend has it that in the late 1980s when the state government proposed a law to end the Tatas' administration of Jamshedpur and bring the city under a municipality, the local populace rose in protest and defeated the government's proposal. 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. However, the objective was never achieved and Jamshedpur remains without a municipality.