Who is birsa munda

The petitioning mode was only met with disappointment as it brought absolutely no change in the socio-economic condition of the tribal communities. This disappointment with the British government also changed the relationship between sardars and missionaries, as the sardars began to file court suits against the missionaries and Christian Adivasis who had appeared in court on behalf of the British.

It was in the backdrop of this failure and resentment against all agents of oppression the British government, missionaries, their native acolytes and dikus that Birsa Munda emerged as a social reformer and revolutionary leader who radicalised the sardari movement.

Born on November 15, to a family of sharecroppers in a village named Chalkad, Birsa received his initial education in a missionary school and also came in contact with a Vaishnava preacher, who had a significant influence on him. It must be pointed out that the region of Chhotanagpur which lay between Bengal and Orissa had come under the influence of the Vaishnava movement launched by Chaitanya in the 16th century.

The seemingly and relatively anti-caste and egalitarian elements of the movement had been able to make inroads among the religious beliefs and practices of the tribal communities. This folk Vaishnavism became a part of the socio-cultural life of tribal communities but the cosmology-theology of Adivasi communities remained the same as before. A statue of Birsa Munda. In , Birsa participated in a local movement to protest against the takeover of village wasteland by the forest department.

In , when the sardar movement was on the decline, Birsa claimed to have seen a vision of god, and he proclaimed himself a prophet. In such a society, the prophetic claims and radical message of Birsa attracted a huge number of followers. He criticised many archaic customs, beliefs and practices and called upon his people to remove superstition, give up intoxication and animal sacrifice, prohibited begging and asked people to worship one god. The aim was to diminish the differences that existed between different Adivasi communities and bring them together; first under a single religious movement and later into a single political community.

Friedrich Engels in his study of the German Peasant War has shown that religion, though largely a conservative force, can also play a revolutionary role, particularly when it articulates the discontentment of any oppressed class. When Birsa Munda proclaimed himself a prophet of a new religion with the mission of liberating his community from the yoke of British imperialism and their lackeys, he gave a voice to the economic and cultural dislocations faced by the tribal communities.

After Birsa proclaimed his new religion, people from all tribal communities gathered around him, mostly impressed by his alleged magical and healing powers. Birsa declared himself as the prophet-king who had come back to establish his long lost kingdom. But soon he was arrested by the colonial police and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment. After being released in January , Birsa began to reorganise his movement and was soon able to gather a significant number of followers behind him once more.

On his temporary stay, Birsa found a suitable companion in the neighbourhood village Sankara. He presented her parents with jewels and explained the reasons behind his idea of marriage. However, on his return from jail, he didn't found her loyal and left her. Sali from Burudih stayed with Munda for a long time. When Birsa Munda grew old, he stressed monogamy. Birsa was jailed due to a rumour that the people who will not follow Birasait would be massacred.

Birsa Munda was also a founder of a new religion called Birsait. The religion believed in one God and encouraged them to revert to their original religious beliefs. People started referring to him as an economical religion healer, a miracle-worker and a preacher.

People belonging to the tribe of Mundas, Oraons and Kharias moved together to visit the new prophet and to find a cure to their problems. People belonging to Oraon and Munda became convinced Birasaities. People started referring him Dharti Abba. Several contemporary and folk songs reveal his influence over the people of various tribes.

Birsa Munda not only preached the new religion but also mobilised people and formed the Guerrilla Army to end British Raj. The slogan was 'Abua raj seter jana, maharani raj tundu jana' which means 'Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom will be established'. In the late s, Birsa Munda abolished the feudal system introduced by the Britishers in the Adivasi forest.

Under this system, migrants from other states were invited by the British to work over tribal lands and to pocket all the profits. This, in turn, deprived the owners of their proprietary rights over the land and were left with no means of livelihood. Thus, due to the agrarian breakdown and culture change, Birsa along with his tribe revolted.

In his early years of schooling, Birsa was taught by Jaipal Nag at Salga. After spending a few years at this school, Birsa left it. At the time of British colonial rule, a section of tribals was being converted to Christianity.

During that period, Birsa introduced a faith named Birsait which believed in one God, and asked the tribals to return to their original religious beliefs. Members from Munda, Kharias, and Oraon tribal communities started following this faith. His followers formed a tribal guerilla army and attacked places important to British rule. They also killed British police officers.