12/08/2022
We at Rajyatantra Advisory have decided to create a unique series as a tribute to the Unsung Heroes of Indian Freedom Struggle on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The first post is a tribute to Bhagwan Birsa Munda.
Call him the Tribal Hero, a man of mysticism and principles, call him Birsa Munda. The man who fought fearlessly for his land and against the suppression of his cultural value. The British wanted to keep him captive and sought to burst his mystic claims. In 1897, when he was released, he began a campaign of revivalism. The slogan was called ''sirmare firun Raja jai''. He started a new revolt 'Ulgulan', and he was arrested again. It was during his time in jail, when he fell severely ill, and he died at the very young age of twenty-five.
Birsa Munda belonged to the Munda tribe that still dominates the Chota Nagpur region in Jharkhand.
They followed Sarnaism, rooted in animistic faith.
They had inhabited fertile lands, which they would use for cultivation and for the purpose of livelihood.
Britishers on the other hand were tempted to take charge and force them into bonded labour, which definitely wasn't a fair way to go about the same.
Birsa Munda wanted to protect his home, his tribe, and his community from the brutal and aggressive usurpation of the British.
People looked up to him, and didn't shy away from taking part in the movement with him, where he, a twenty-three year old young man named Birsa, had the courage to fight back.
He was heavily influenced by the Vaishnav monk, and eventually he started getting the recognition of a man with supernatural powers and mysticism.
Well his death had caused a major upheaval back then, more than 300 mundas got arrested and it became a news. After a long process of striving, the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act was passed in 1908, which stands significant even today.