A new state of India, created on 1 November 2000, from the eastern 30% of Madhya Pradesh, with about 25% of its population. The capital is at Raipur. Of the "scheduled tribes" in the state, the Gonds are the most numerous. (They gave their name to Gondwana or Gondwanaland.) The lingua franca of the new state is Chhattisgarhi, which is closely related to Eastern Hindi. The region of Chhattisgarh (also often seen as Chattisgarh) had long been culturally distinctive, and the division of Madhya Pradesh was achieved peacefully.