Who was Birsa Munda
– Hrithik M, The author is a 3yrs L.L.B Student at Seshadripuram Law College, Bengaluru
Abua raj ete jana, maharani raj tundu jana (“Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom be established”) – – Bhagwan Birsa Munda
Introduction
If we look back at the 1000 years of our struggle for Independence, many kings, queens and tribal leaders have played a vital role and many have sacrificed their life for the sake of our nation’s freedom. However, many freedom fighters who fought through the horrific invasions of Ghori, Ghazni, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and British have been forgotten and white-washed from our history books while we were made to study and remember only selected ones whom many still think are the only reason for our nation’s freedom.
Today let us remember one such forgotten freedom fighter who lived in 19th century and fought against British rule and Christian missionaries for tribal people rights and was treated has a prophet among the tribals and earned godly status. His name was “BHAGWAN BIRSA MUNDA”.
Childhood and Early Life
Bhagwan Birsa Munda was born on 15th November 1875 to Sugana Munda (Father) and Karmi hatu (Mother) at Ulihatu, Ranchi District in Bengal Presidency at present day Jharkhand in Munda Tribe, He had an elder brother Kumta Munda and two elder sisters, Champa and Daksir and one younger brother Pasna Munda. Birsa Munda spent his childhood in poverty, just as any other normal Munda tribe child. Few folk songs speaks about his childhood, narrating his joy in rolling and playing in sand and dust with his friends, growing up strong and handsome in appearance. During his childhood, due to poverty he was sent to his maternal uncles’ village Ayahaatu where he did his early education at a school in Salga under the guidance of his teacher Jaipalnag. In order to continue his education Jaipalnag told him to join German mission school run by Christian Missionaries. But the admission to the school was restricted only to Christian communities and no other religion could join the school. In order to continue his studies he and his family converted to Christianity and changed his name from Birsa Munda to Birsa David which later became Birsa Daud. His long stay in Chaibasa played an important role in shaping his future mission. In the light of independence struggle, his father Sugna Munda understood the British and Christian missionary activities and how they were exploiting their people by taking advantage of their poverty and converting them to their religion and destroying their native identity. He then withdrew his son from the German mission school and within few days the family gave up their Christian identity and reverted to their native religion. This incident made Birsa Munda develop a strong anti-British and anti-Missionary attitude in his mind.
Agitation, Revolt and Religious Movement
Munda tribe was practicing Khuntkatti system where the whole tribe could jointly own the land fit for cultivation. They farmed their land and earned the required money for their livelihood. But the new forest Act introduced by the British Government led to the interference of the landlords, money lenders, Zamindars and outsiders known as “Dikus” to take over the control of the lands owned by the tribals and making the tribe landless. Their exploitation in various ways led to the uprising of the sardars of Munda and Oraon tribe of Chotanagpur who protested against the British and Dikus using peaceful methods like – writing petition, prayers and protests demanding justice, protection of their land rights, retaining their tribal identity and abolition of forced labour (Beth-Begari). This Movement was known as “Sardar Movement or Sardar Ladai”. But the British Government did not pay any attention to the requests made by the tribal people and due to this the movement took a violent turn. There were many clashes between the Zamindars and tribals. The movement was ruthlessly suppressed in 1890. But the suppression prepared a ground for the rise for “Birsa Munda” which eventually led to his revolt against the British and Dikus. His strong oratory skills, organization skill and physical strength made the tribal people accept him has their leader.
In 1890, Birsa Munda started to mobilize the people. His slogan Abua raj ete jana, maharani raj tundu jana (“Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom be established”) threatened the British Government and acknowledged the golden age of Munda Tribe which existed before the arrival of British and Dikus and wanted to revive it. In 1894, he declared a revolt against the British and this revolt is also known as “Ulgulan” or “The Great Tumult Movement”. He adopted Guerrilla warfare tactics against British and Dikus. The tribals under Birsa Munda made a series of attacks on Churches, police stations and British Government Properties. He also established “Munda Raj” with its own administration, laws and religion and adopted white flag as a symbol of the independent Kingdom of the Munda tribe where the village of Tamar served has its capital.
Birsa Munda saw that due to lack of knowledge, superstitious beliefs and poverty, the British and Christian missionaries were taking advantages of their situation and converting tribal people to Christianity. To tackle this and to unite people under one roof, he declared himself as a prophet or messenger of god who had come to revive the lost kingdom of the tribal people. He founded a new religion or way of life called “Birsait” and advocated the worship of only one god and to give up on superstitious beliefs, animal sacrifice and to stop taking intoxicants. He also encouraged the converted tribal people to revert back to their original traditions and beliefs which challenged and disturbed the missionary activities in the tribal area. Soon, his religion gained popularity among the tribal people who reverted to their original religion and traditions in large numbers. Due to his activities and revolt against the British for the protection of their land and culture, the tribal people called him as “Dharti Aaba” or “Father of Earth”.
Death and Aftermath
On 3 February 1900 he was arrested along with his tribal guerrilla army while he was sleeping at Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur. He was sentenced to jail where he died in a mysterious circumstances on 9th June 1900 at a very young age of 25yrs. After his death, the revolt he began against the British faded due to lack of leadership among the tribal people. After 8years of his death the British Government introduced the “Chotanagpur Tentancy Act of 1908” which restricted the transfer of tribal land to non-tribal people.
Legacy
The Munda rebellion headed by Birsa Munda is an essential chapter of tribal resistance against British Government and his preaching against British mobilized many tribal youths to take part in the freedom movement of our country.
To honour the revolutionary deeds by Birsa Munda, numerous institutions, places and organizations are named after him. In recognition of his impact on the national freedom movement, the state of Jharkhand was created on his birth anniversary in 2000.
The Union cabinet, at a meeting held on 10 November 2021, voted to observe 15 November, Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary, as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.
On 15th November 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a initiative named ‘PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN)’. It aims to ensure the efficient delivery of welfare schemes to the last mile of India, with a particular focus on empowering Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
On the occasion of Vijayadashmi on 12th october 2024 , the Sarsanghachalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevaka Sangha Dr.Mohan Bhagwat ji in his speech stated: “The 150th year of the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda will begin from the 15th November. This 150th anniversary will remind us of the inspiration of the Ulgulan Movement initiated by Bhagwan Birsa Munda to liberate the tribal brothers from slavery and exploitation, freedom of motherland from foreign domination, protection of existing identity and Sva-Dharma. It is because of the glorious sacrifice of Bhagwan Birsa Munda that our tribal brothers have a firm foundation for self-respect, development and contribution towards the nation”.
Conclusion
Even though he lived for a very short life of 25years, he had a great impact on the freedom movement of our country. He liberated the tribal people from exploitation and inspired the tribal people to follow their native religion and live with self-respect and contribute towards the development of our nation.
