Raipur: Birsa Munda was a tribal leader, religious figure, and folk hero who emerged in the late 19th century to lead an indigenous uprising against British rule in India. He was born in 1875 in the village of Ulihatu in the Jharkhand region, which was then part of the Bengal Presidency. Munda belonged to the Munda tribe, one of the largest tribal groups in India.
“Regards to the pioneer of tribal consciousness, the great revolutionary Jannayak Birsa Munda ji, who fought for the upliftment of the tribals, on his death anniversary. he mobilized the tribals and launched movement for rights on water, forest, and land”, tweeted Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Munda’s early life was marked by poverty and hardship. His father died when he was young, and his mother struggled to raise him and his siblings. Munda was forced to work as a laborer from an early age, and he experienced firsthand the exploitation and discrimination that tribal people faced under British rule.
In 1895, Munda was arrested by the British for his role in a protest against the forced labor system. He was imprisoned for two years, during which time he had a religious experience that transformed his life. He came to believe that he was a divinely appointed leader who had been sent to liberate the Munda people from British oppression.
After his release from prison, Munda began to preach a message of resistance and revivalism. He urged the Munda people to reject Christianity and return to their traditional religion. He also called for them to unite and fight for their rights.
Munda’s message resonated with many tribal people, and he soon emerged as a powerful leader. He organized a series of uprisings against the British, and his followers attacked police stations and government offices. The British responded with a brutal crackdown, and Munda was eventually captured and imprisoned. He died in jail in 1900, at the age of 25.
Despite his early death, Birsa Munda remains a revered figure among tribal people in India. He is remembered as a champion of tribal rights and autonomy, and his legacy continues to inspire people who are fighting for social justice.
In 2000, the Indian government declared June 25 as Birsa Munda Jayanti, a national holiday in his honor. Munda’s birthplace, Ulihatu, has been renamed Birsa Mundanagar, and a museum has been established there to commemorate his life and work.