Birsa Munda
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
A brief biography
Ranendra, Nov 21, 2022: The Times of India
Born in the late 19th Century, around 1874, in a poor, peasant family, Munda grew up at his aunt’s home in Chlakad, away from his father’s birthplace in Khunti. There are stories of the crippling poverty that surrounded him and of days spent without food.
“Bir Birsa ne baagh mara (The brave Birsa killed a tiger)”. This passing reference is all I could recollect on tribal icon Birsa Munda during my early years of education. That was because while mainstream historians recognised the contribution of leaders such as Chandragupta Maurya right up to socialist politician Jayaprakash Narayan, very few acknowledged the role Birsa Munda played in India’s tribal rights movement and freedom struggle. It wasn’t until J C Jha, professor of history at Patna University, published his seminal work on the ‘Kol revolt’ — the mutiny of the tribal people against economic exploitation in 1831-1832 – in the 60s and his student, Kumar Suresh Singh, took his work forward that Birsa Munda began to be recognised as an important historical figure. Singh went on to become an IAS officer and served in Khunti, the epicentre of the Birsa Munda rebellion. It was his book, originally titled The Dust Storm and the Hanging Mist and later published by Oxford University Press as Birsa Munda and his Movement 1874-1901, that offered the first mainstream account of the life and times of Birsa Munda — from his transformation from a Christian convert to a healer and prophet and finally, a rebel who is credited with coining the war cry “Ulgulan (Revolt)”.
Born in the late 19th Century, around 1874, in a poor, peasant family, Munda grew up at his aunt’s home in Chlakad, away from his father’s birthplace in Khunti. There are stories of the crippling poverty that surrounded him and of days spent without food.
Munda converted to Christianity in 1886 and a ceremony was performed on this occasion. At the root of such conversions lay the community’s struggle for survival: the promise that their land, which they had been deprived of due to the rise of the feudal system and the resultant economic exploitation, would be returned to them.
Though Munda trusted the missionaries, he fell out with them and quit his missionary school. This was to be the turning point of his life, resulting in him coining the catchphrase: “Saheb Saheb ek topi (The British and missionaries wear the same hat).” It laid the seeds of anti-missionary and anti-British ideas in his mind.
Birsa was deeply influenced by tribal chieftains — also known as Sardars — and by their silent resistance between 1858 and 1896 to British repression. Their petitions and complaints to the police and collector, and even to the court, against their economic exploitation and demanding restoration of land rights fell on deaf ears. According to Ranchi Gazetteers, the tribal communities paid Rs 1 lakh over a decade as fees to lawyers, clerks and court staff. Such was the exploitation. The tribal socio-economic system was disintegrating, yet the resistance remained peaceful until 1886.
Between 1894 and 1896, Birsa turned spiritual and was known as “Birsa, the roghar (healer of diseases)” and with that grew tales of his miraculous powers. He also briefly propagated his own religion, Birsait, which was said to be influenced by both Christianity and Vaishnavism. Birsa also painted himself with turmeric, throwing a powerful aura around him. Here we also get a peek into the mind of a master strategist: he was willing to set the narrative and communicate, whether through social or religious means.
The last decade of the 19th century was also the culmination of various rebellions across the country: Rampa revolt on the banks of the Godavari by Alluri Sitarams Raju, Bhil Revolt in Rajasthan under Guru Govindgiri, Dhur rebellion in Chhattisgarh and, simultaneously, in Keonjhar Odisha. The failure of the silent rebellion by tribal chieftains had a huge impact on Birsa. Then came the political movement of 1895, when Birsa used his popularity to exhort people to not pay rents on their lands. The tone of Birsa’s preachings also changed — he said that he would not heed to the converted, and the outsider.
On August 22, 1895, Birsa was arrested by the British on charges of conspiracy to “disturb the peace of the area”. Supporters in thousands thronged Khunti, where his trial was being conducted. He was released after two years, but the rebellion was far from over. Birsa Munda wanted the land freed from European missionaries as well as the British officials and continued the movement to assert their rights of Munda tribes as being the true owner of the land.
It resulted in several bow-and-arrow attacks by the Munda tribes on foreigners, and culminated in arson, when a part of the Khunti police station was burnt down.
The British retaliated and many of his supporters died in police firing on Sail Rakab Hill, where they had taken refuge. Several people died and Birsa Munda was arrested in February 1900. A few months later, he died in prison, possibly due to cholera.
As the death fuelled the discontent among the tribals, British officials conceded and prepared a ‘records of rights’ of the tribal land owners. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908, which has bearings in Jharkhand even today, put in place restrictions of the sale or transfer of tribal lands.
Despite this rich history, barring a few instances where Birsa Munda was remembered, it was not until 1982 — when Munda’s statue was erected in Rourkela, Odisha, 130 kilometres away from Khunti, by daily-wage workers who faced police brutalities — that Birsa Munda was thrust into public consciousness.
As word spread, a photograph of Munda was unveiled in Parliament in 1989, and a statue came up in 1998. Since last year, the Central government has been marking Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary on November 15 as ‘Adivasi Gaurav Diwas (Tribal Pride Day)’. On November 15, India’s first tribal President, Droupadi Murmu, paid her respects at Ulihatu, considered the birthplace of Birsa Munda.
