INTRODUCTION: -
Birsa Munda was an Indian freedom fighter and
a tribal leader who revolted against the British rule. He was a visionary who
played a crucial role in liberation of his community, the tribal people, who
were exposed to persistent dominance by the British exploitative policies and
atrocities. His own experiences as a young boy, when he travelled from one
place to another in search of work provided him with an understanding of
different matters from which the community was suffering due to the British
oppression. After realizing the fact that the British company arrived in India
to torture the people and carry the wealth abroad, he started spreading
awareness to expose the agenda of British and gathered his army of tribal. The
army responded with movements and protests against the injustice and treachery
of the British Raj. He was an active participant in the revolt and is remembered
as a relentless fighter who possessed the courage to fight the British. He also
claimed himself to be a messenger of the almighty and told his followers to
follow the concept of One God. His influential personality and motivational
speeches encouraged the public to believe in the power of freedom, to dream of
a different world than the one they lived in. His efforts for the restoration
of full ownership rights Childhood & Early Life
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY LIFE: -
He was born on November 15, 1875 in Ulihatu,
Khunti, Jharkhand, India, to Sugana Munda, an agricultural labourer, and his
wife, Karmi Hatu. He was one of the several children in his family. He had an elder
brother, Komta Munda; and two elder sisters, Daskir and Champa.
His family belonged to the ethnic tribal
community known as Munda and moved from one place to another before settling in
Chalkad, where he spent his early childhood. From an early age, he developed an
interest in playing the flute.
Due to poverty, he was taken to his maternal
uncle’s village, Ayubhatu, where he lived for two years. He also accompanied
his mother’s younger sister, Joni, to her new home in Khatanga, after her
marriage.
He received his early education from a school
at Salga, run by a Jaipal Nag. Being a sharp student he was persuaded by Jaipal
Nag to attend German Mission School. Therefore, he was converted to
Christianity as Birsa David and got enrolled in the school. He studied for a
few years before opting out.
ACTIVISM:-
From 1886 to 1890, his family resided at
Chaibasa, a place which came under the influence of the Sardars’ activities. He
was influenced through the activities and was encouraged to support the
anti-Government movement. In 1890, his family moved and gave up their
membership in the German mission to support the Sardar’s movement.
Later he involved himself in the popular
agitation movement against the unjust laws enforced upon the traditional rights
of the Mundas in the protected forest in the Porhat area. During the early
1890s, he started spreading awareness among the common people about the plans
of the British company to gain total control of India.
He emerged as a successful leader and revolted
against the dual challenge of agrarian breakdown and culture change. Under his
leadership, the tribal movements gained momentum and numerous protests were
staged against the British. The movement demonstrated that tribals were the
real proprietors of the soil and also demanded the expulsion of middlemen and
the British.
The movement eventually faded out after his
sudden demise. But it was remarkably significant as it forced the colonial
government to introduce laws so that the land of the tribal people could not be
easily taken away by the dikus (outsiders). It also symbolized the strength of
the tribal community and the courage tribals possessed to stand against the
prejudice of the British Raj.
He was also a self-proclaimed messenger of the
almighty and propagated the principles of Hindu religion. He recommended that
the tribal people who converted to Christianity return to their original
religious system and also advocated the concept of One God. Eventually, he came
across as a god-man figure to the tribal people who sought his blessings.
PERSONAL LIFE AND LEGACY:-
While living in the neighbourhood of village
Sankara in Singhbhum, he came across a suitable life partner but later left her
because of her infidelity. Later he received the proposal for marriage from two
women; the daughter of Mathura Muda of Koensar and the wife of Jaga Munda of
Jiuri, but refused to marry either of them.
On March 3, 1900, he was arrested, along with
his tribal guerrilla army, by the British troops in Jamkopai forest,
Chakradharpur.
On June 9, 1900, he died at the age of 25 in
Ranchi Jail where he was imprisoned. British government declared that he died
of cholera although he showed no symptoms of the disease, fuelling rumours that
he might have been poisoned.
To honour this revolutionary, a number of
institutes/colleges and places have been named after him. Some of the prominent
ones are ‘Birsa Institute of Technology’, ‘Birsa Agricultural University’,
‘Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium’ and ‘Birsa Munda Airport’.
No comments:
Post a Comment