Exactly a 100 years ago (January 2, 1919), Lord Chelmsford , who served as Governor General and Viceroy of India (1916 – 1921) said “ I can hardly imagine what we should have done during these four years (of the First World war) if the Tata Company had not been able to gift us steel rails which have been provided for us , not only for Mesopotamia but for Egypt, Palestine and East Africa, and I have come to express my thanks…It is hard to imagine that 10 years ago, this place was scrub and jungle ; and here, we have now, this place set up with all its foundries and its workshops and its population of 40,000 to 50,000 people. This great enterprise has been due to the prescience, imagination of the late Mr Jamsetji Tata. This place will see a change in its name and will no longer be known as Sakchi, but will be identified with the name of its founder, bearing down through the ages the name of the late Mr Jamsetji Tata. Hereafter, this place will be known by the name of Jamshedpur.”
Today, a hundred years after Lord Chelmsford made his speech, Jamshedpur is synonymous with more than just steel. First-time visitors to Jamshedpur on business, or relatives and friends of residents, are pleasantly surprised when they arrive here, and discover a clean and green city with tree-lined roads, stadiums and parks, and orderly neighbourhoods — a legacy of the visionary founder, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. Residents know that their steel city has always had a deep cultural heart, and a great love for sports. Jamshedpur has always attracted luminaries from every field — acclaimed singers, dance legends, theatre groups, artists and artists, who have come to perform here. The city is well-known among sports lovers; its golf tournaments draw enthusiasts from all over, it has hosted national and international cricket matches, and is an established national center for football and archery. Today, as we look back over the last hundred years, we laud the thought process of Lord Chelmsford, in christening the hamlet of Sakchi as “Jamshedpur”, a name which has stood tall over the ages and continues to be an example of a truly cosmopolitan and vibrant India.
