Birsa Munda and His Movement

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    Birsa Munda

    Bhagwan Birsa Munda, the " Dharthi Aba" ( father of the

    earth), as known amongst tribal , waged a massive waragainst the British rule in mid 1890's . After the suppressionof the first rising , in 1895 the Birsa gave a clarion call to the

    munda's ( his followers ) of a decisive war against the

    British. After a series of concerted attacks for nearly twoyears on the places loyal to the British, the Munda warriors

    started congregating on " Dombari Hill" at village "SailRakab" (Nearly 20 Km far from the Ranchi-Jamshedpur

    Highway ), on the call of Birsa. Documents revel that themunda's , adopting Guerilla war fare, attack the British in

    Ranchi and Khunti. Several persons, mostly police men were killed and nearly 100

    Buildings were set on fire . In raised over this " Ulgulan " (revolt), the thencommissioner Mr. A fobes and Deputy Commissioner Mr. H.C. Streattfield, rushedto Kunti with two company of army to crush the mass struggle ( Ulgulan) of

    " Abua Disun" ( Self rule ).

    The revolt had rocked the British administration to the extent that the

    commissioner declared a reward of Rs 500 for the arrest of Birsa. SubsequentlyBritish forces attacked heavily on Munda warriors congregated at " DumbariHill" and made indiscriminate firing like that of "Jaliyan Wala Bagh" and killedseveral hundred people. The whole hill was littered with dead human corpses.

    After Brutal slaughter the dead bodies were thrown into the deep gorges andravines of the hill . Many of the wounded were buried alive . According to

    editorial published on march 25, 1900, the statesman , put the toll at 400. However

    , the then administration suppressed the fact and claimed that only eleven personswere killed and nine insured in two firings on January 7 and january 9, 1900. Fearand panic show spread over the area that "Dombari" was named by munda's as

    "Topped Buru " - mound of dead.

    Birsa Munda was nabbed while he was fast asleep at "Jamkopai" forest in

    Chakradharpur on March 3, 1900. Deputy

    commissioner Ranchi, vide letter no CR-1397 dated12 nov 1900 reveals that 460 tribals were made

    accused in 15 different criminal cases, out of which

    63 were convicted. One was awarded CapitalPunishment , 39 were sentenced to transportation for life and 23 were imprisionedfor terms upto 14 years. the six death , including that of tribal hero Birsa Munda in

    the prison during trials in less than 10 months, speaks of the probable tortures

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    inflicted on the prisinors of Munda Ulgulan . Birsa Munda died in the jail on 9th

    June 1900. Dead body of Birsa Munda is reported to have been criminated near the

    distillery bridge Kokar ( Ranchi ). People say, actually Birsa was buried under thebridge ( In 1900 there was no bridge).

    Though there is still no unanimous opinion of Birth and Death regarding dateand Place of Birsa Munda yet Govt. has accepted that Birsa was born on 15 Nov

    1875in Ulihatu and died on 9 June 1900in ranchi central jail. Birsa Munda was

    son of Sugna Munda. Sugna Munda has three sons namely- Kowa Munda , Birsa

    Munda and Bhanu Munda . Sugna Munda, father of Birsa Munda, had two morebrothers namely- Bhanu Munda and Pasna Munda.

    Important and valuable information regarding Birsa Munda

    Dead Body cremated- Near Distillary od Kokar Bridge RanchiNagar Nigam ward no -7

    R.S Khata No. 91

    Plot no 1

    Khewat No 8

    Area 95 Acres

    Age During Death 25 years

    Name of Birsa's Mother Karmi Mundain

    Village of Maternal father of Birsa

    Munda

    Ayu Bahatu

    Lower Primary Level Education of

    Birsa Munda

    Passed Class III from samlong school of Kunti Block

    Name of the teacher who taught

    Birsa in LP school

    Chanda Munda

    Primary level Educatin of Birsa

    Munda

    Passed Class V from Buruju Upper primary school

    of Murhu block

    Middle Level Education of Birsa Passed Class seven from Lucheran mission middle

    school in Chibasa. He accepted Christianity here

    while schooling and his Christian name was kept

    David Daud.

    Year Events1887 Return Home after Middle class Education

    1888 Left Christianity and return to his original sarna Panth

    1889 Started Dharm Prachar

    1890 Left Dharm prachar and came in politics

    1895 Two yeaars Jail

    1897 Released from jail

    1897 Full Munda Revolt ( Ulgulan )

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    I am happy to associate myself with the unveiling of the

    statue of Shri Birsa Munda, a legendary figure in the history of

    our struggle for freedom. He is well known as an early advocate

    and exponent of tribal rights and as an indomitable fighter

    against foreign rule and oppression. One of the lesser-knownaspects of our fight against British rule is that tribal uprisings

    constituted an important part of the defiance of the colonial

    regime. Birsa Munda is an outstanding representative of one

    such movement in late 19th century in Chotanagpur region, who

    initiated a unique phase of our freedom struggle K.R. Narayanan,President of India

    The birth of Jharkhand state, its limitations and compromises notwithstanding, is

    in a way a beginning of fulfillment of dream that the legendary Birsa Munda had

    dreamt more than 200 years ago. Long before, V I Lenin formulated the concept

    of Right of Nations to Self-Determination, Birsa Munda, had set out a theme forself-determination of one of the largest sub-nationalities , Jharkhand ,the land of

    the Adivasis or Jharkhandis. " It was the first Long March, decades before the

    one led by Mao Ze Dong", told Khudiram Pahan, a former Congress MLA and atrade union leader among tea estate workers in Dooars. Maybe, the saga of

    struggle waged by Munda had failed. But the candle he had lit never

    extinguishes.

    There is an historical background too : the planned destruction of forest-based

    tribal society by the British colonialism whose main aim was to plunder and

    profit. There was an obvious retaliation by the Santhals who took up their last-ditch battle.The British

    Government reached the Santhalstronghold in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region. The simultaneous immigration

    of Hindu diku- the outsider, Christian missionaries, and British tax-revenue systems into the nineteenth-

    century District of Ranchi became a great burden for its provincial masses. The santhal inhabitants were taken

    up by surprise when the British imposed their regulations on these independent peace-loving tribals. This in due

    time led to friction between the tribals and British administration. The region soon flourished given its

    agricultural productivity. Merchants from Calcutta started trading along the river Bhagirathi. The Britishofficials procured these output at very low prices, often bartering with just salt, tobacco and clothes. Gradually

    the artless Santhals started to get into a debt-trap. Eventually this led to loosing their land to the merchants and

    moneylenders. Thus with the setting-in of civilization along with the conquerors, the santhals started losing their

    only property - land.

    Birsa Munda (1875-1900) or Birsa Bhagwan as he is known among his followers was a revolutionary who led

    his men to rise against the imperial government and its policies. He and his army would attacks the British

    regiments and landlords, armed with bows and arrows and reclaim what was taken away from them. For his

    bravery and wide support I the entire region, Birsa was a cause of distress for the British government. The

    British army led several expeditions against him, when ultimately he was captured in 1900, by the deceit of his

    own men. Birsa died the same year in captivity, some say of cholera while others say in prison torment. At an

    age of 25, he claimed unmatched respect and reverence in his tribe.

    Birsa used the myths and symbols of his society and culture and became a rallying point for people to rise

    against foreign rule, oppression and injustice. His movement was also infused with the spirit of religious reform,

    social justice and cultural regeneration. Birsa Munda became Christian while schooling in a Christian missionschool at Burj. He was renamed as Daud. Instead of improving his life, Birsa Munda realised that his culture

    was destroyed and his life style came down. Because thousands of Mundas were converted, the great martyr

    Birsa Munda was aggrieved and rebelled against Christianity. He denounced Christianity and become Munda

    again. The colonialist connection of Christianity was a powerful tool of selling Christianity as the religion of the

    downtrodden. Any connection between the rulers and the missionaries was however indirect. "It is not only our

    duty," declared Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister, "but in our own interest to promote the diffusion ofChristianity as far as possible throughout the length and breadth of India." His fight against conversion was yet

    another reason the British were hunting for his head.

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    The districts around Ranchi is still the stronghold of santhals. The tribals still continue to be exploited even 50

    years after Raj. Diku in the local parlance means the outsider who exploited the inhabitants. Infact this

    particular region is fertile and at the same time one of the most mineral rich regions in the country. The santals

    are very peace loving and unpretentious tribals. However modern day civilization has looted them of everything

    they possessed, felled their trees, took away their lands, minerals and made a mockery of their age-old rituals

    and customs. Modern India distinguishes the entire territory as one of its industrialized regions with berth of

    heavy engineering and mining, and inspite of all the riches, the region continues to be one of the poorest andeconomically underdeveloped regions. Thus the fight of Birsa Munda is yet to be over, none the less his

    contributions are immense to his tribe and the nation.

    A century back, the Munda tribes of Bihars Chota Nagpur region Ranchi,

    Singhbum, Chakradharpurhad spread their armed struggle to an area covering

    roughly 550 sq. miles. The Ulgulan movement created panic in the hearts of themoneylenders, landlords, dacoits, contractors, missionaries and the British

    imperialists, as never before. It gave the adivasis a self-respect, taught them to

    fight fearlessly, and gave them a new meaning to their lives. This great

    movement, which inspired lakhs of adivasis, was led by the youthful BirsaMunda.

    Birsa Munda was born into a share-croppers family in 1874. In order to gaineducation Birsa, like many other tribal youth, became a Christian. But, in order to

    gain self-respect, he soon left that education. Faced with daily hunger, Birsa fled

    to the forests.

    Before the British came to India, the forests were like mother to the tribals. The

    British came with their forest, land and other laws and stripped the tribals of their

    natural rights. They introduced moneylenders, landlords, traders, mahajans, intothe region, through which to loot the adivasis. They usurped the tribal lands, andreduced them to a slave-like existence. Against this oppression the Munda tribes

    fought continuously, for over three decades. And it was to this on-going strugglethat Birsa Munda gave a new turn and a new meaning.

    In 1894 Birsa declared himself a god, and began to awaken the masses and arousethem against the landlord-British combine. Combining religion and politics he

    went from village to village giving discourses and building a politico-militaryorganisation. He declared an end to Victorian rule and the establishment of

    Munda Rule. He organised the people to stop paying debts/interest tomoneylenders and taxes to the British. He broke all links with the missionariesand took the path of revolt. The British retaliated and brought in the armed police.

    One night, while in his sleep, Birsa was arrested. He spent two years in jail.

    When he left jail in November 1897, he once again began organising the tribals.He now went underground. He sowed the seeds of revolt against the landlords

    and British. He raised the self-confidence of the tribals, who increased their

    attacks on the landlords. He formed two military unitsone for military trainingand armed struggle, the other for propaganda. He declared December 24, 1899, asthe day for the launching of the armed struggle.

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    On Christmas eve the attacks began. In the first phase police stations were

    attacked at Khunti, Jamar, Basia, Ranchi, etc. Eight policemen were killed, while

    32 fled; 89 houses of landlords were burnt down; churches and British propertywere reduced to ashes. The flames of the struggle spread to 550 sq. miles in the

    Chota Nagpur region. The struggle was so intense that on the fourth day itself,Ranchis deputy commissioner called in the Army. Many British fled the region.The first phase of the struggle ended on January 5, 1890.

    On January 6, 1900, the second phase of the Ulgulan movement began. Not only

    were attacks launched on the moneylender-landlord-mahajan-contractor combine,but directly against the British. Using poisoned arrows many police and Britisherswere killed; many traders houses were burnt; the flames of armed struggle

    spread far and wide. But, the British army entered with their guns, brutally

    massacring the tribals. The bow and arrow were no match to British fire-power.

    Entire Ranchi and Singhbum town were handed over to the army. Finally, onFebruary 3, 1900 Birsa was caught. Severe cases were put on him, and 482

    others. While the cases were on, he began vomiting blood in jail. On June 9,1900, Birsa Munda became a martyr. Though he had no symptoms of cholera, the

    British declared he died of cholera. Cowardly murdered in British jails, BirsaMunda became a legend to the tribals of Chota Nagpur, and a symbol of the anti-

    feudal, anti-colonial struggle of that time.

    Today, in this centenary year of Birsa Munda, the people of India hail the great

    revolutionary traditions, of this heroic martyr, and pledge to continue that anti-

    feudal, anti-imperialist struggle, for the cause that was left incomplete. Today, itis the armed struggle of Bihar, AP and Dandakaranya, led by theCPI(ML)[Peoples War] which continues the revolutionary traditions set by Birsa

    Munda. Lacking a clear-cut anti-feudal, anti-imperialist ideology, and an

    inadequate military strategy, that struggle failed; but today, fired with Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought and a definite military line, the armed struggle

    advances. This, is the best tribute one can pay to Birsa Munda on the centenary

    year of his martyrdom.

    BI RSA MUNDA (1875-1901)

    Birsa Munda (also known to his followers as .Birsa Bhagwan) was born at Bambain a suburb of Ranchi (Bihar) on 15 November 1875. He followed the footsteps of

    his brother by professing Christianity. Later at Bandgaon he was initiated intoVaishnavism. He gave up meat, worshipped tulsiplant, wore the sacred thread and

    a dhoti dyed in turmeric like a typical Vaishnavite. Eventually he reverted to thereligion of his ancestors, starting a new tribal revivalihstic religious cult known as

    the 'Birsait' cult which laid stress on prayers, faith in God and His Messenger on

    earth, observance of a code of conduct, abstention from drinks and sacrifices and

    so on.

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    Birsa had his lower primary schooling at a German Mission School at Burjee. No

    sooner had he completed the upper primary stage than he got associated with the

    Sardar Movement.

    Till 1895 Birsa was a religious reformer and an agitator for the raiyats forest andother rights, but eventually he aimed at the political emancipation of the Mundaarea as well. That is why he recruited volunteers to fight the British Government.

    His was not an all-India movement, but it shared with the national freedom

    struggle 'its anti-British Credo', a hatred towards European officials and Christian

    missionaries. Even though the first phase of his movement was not very serious, hesuffered rigorous imprisonment for two years in the Hazaribagh jail.

    On his release he organised several meetings, declaring that the Mundas should putan end to the kingdom of demons (the British). After intensive preparations the

    Birsaites made a desperate bid to overthrow the British raj, burning and killingEuropean officials and missionaries in Singhbhum and Ranchi. During the Revoltof 1899-1900 Birsa emerged as the supreme leader of the Mundas. After several

    encounters .with the police, however, he was captured in February 1901, but incourse of his trial he died of cholera.

    Birsa thought that the Mundas were the real proprietors of the soil and as such they

    could not tolerate any middlemen. He impressed upon his followers that he was amessenger of God, and his followers identified him with the Sun God, a healer and

    a miracle-worker. As a socio-religious preacher, he attacked the bongas, the

    priesthood, thesokhasand others, and aimed at reviving the golden age of theMundas.

    Birsa occupies a distinguished position as a great protagonist of tribal rights, agreat patriot, and a martyr in the long succession of heroes of the Chota Nagpur

    plateau like Buddhu Bhagat of the Kol Insurrection of 1831-32 and Ganga Narain

    of the Bhumij Revolt of l832-33. His followers formed themselves into a sect,worshipping him as a symbol of the aspirations of the people. Undoubtedly he

    contributed a good deal to the growing consciousness among the tribesmen ofChota Nagpur; many later socio-religious movements of this area bore a close

    resemblance to his movement in items like the observance of Thursday as a day ofrest and purification, ceremonious faith in prayers, attack on magic, spirits, etc.

    BIRSA MUNDA

    Early Childhood

    Birsa was born in year 1875, Thursday was the day of his birth, and he was namedafter the day of his birth according to the Munda custom. The folk songs reflect

    popular confusion and refer to both Ulihatu and Chalkad as his birth-place. Ulihatu

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    was the birth-place of Sugana Munda, father of Birsa. The claim of Ulihatu rests

    on Birsas elder brother Komta Munda living in the village and on his house which

    still exist in a dilapidated condition.

    Birsas father, mother and younger brother, Pasna Munda, left Ulihatu andproceeded to Kurumbda near Birbanki in search of employment as labourers orcrop-sharers (sajhadar) or ryots. At Kurmbda Birsas elder brother, Komta, and his

    sister, Daskir, were born . From there the family moved to Bamba where Birsas

    elder sister Champa was born followed by himself.

    Birsa was born in a house built of bamboo strips without a mud plaster or even a

    secure roof; a crop-sharer or ryot could not boast of a better house. Folk songs

    relating to his birth seek to embroider the event with the Biblical parallels : a cometor a flag-star moved across the sky from Chalkad to Ulihatu; a flag flew on a

    mountain top. At school when a teacher once saw Birsas palm, he observed on itthe mark of the cross and predicated that he would recover the kingdom one day.

    Soon after Birsas birth, his family left Bamba. A quarrel between the Mundas and

    their ryots in which his father was involved as a witness was the immediate reason

    for proceeding to Chalkad, Suganas mothers village, where they were grantedrefuge by Bir Singh , the Munda of the village. Birsas birth ceremony was

    performed at Chalkad.

    Sugana Mundas elder brother, Bara Kan Paulus, had been converted to

    Christianity at Ulihatu long before Birsa was born. Sugana and his younger brotherbecame Christians at Bambna; Sugana rose to be a pracharak (catechist) of the

    German mission. On conversion he adopted the Christian name of Masihdad andBirsa of Daud Munda, also called Daud Birsa. Birsas family stayed at Chalked tillthe uprising (ulgulan).

    Birsas early years were spent with his parents at Chalkad. His early life could not

    have been very different from that of an average Munda child. Folklore refers tohis rolling and playing in sand and dust with his friends, and his growing up strong

    and handsome in looks; he grazed sheep in the forest of Bohonda. When the grew

    up, he shared an interest in playing the flute, in which he became adept, and somovingly did he play that all living beings came out to listen to him. He went

    round with the tuila, the one-stringed instrument made from the pumpkin, in the

    hand and the flute strung to his waist. Exciting moments of his childhood werespent on the akhara ( the village dancing ground). One of his contemporaries who

    went out with him, however, heard him speak of strange things.

    Driven by poverty Birsa was taken to Ayubhatu, his maternal uncles village.Komta Munda, his eldest brother, who was ten years of age, went to Kundi Bartoli,

    entered the service of a Munda, married and lived there for eight years, and thenjoined his father and younger brother at Chalkad. At Ayubhatu Birsa lived for two

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    years. He went to school at Salga, run by one Jaipal Nag. He accompanied his

    mothers younger sister, Joni, who was fond of him, when she was married, to

    Khatanga, her new home. He came in contact with a pracharak who visited a fewfamilies in the village which had been converted to Christianity and attacked the

    old Munda order.

    He remained so preoccupied with himself or his studies that he left the sheep and

    goat in his charge to graze in the fields covered with crops to the dismay of their

    owners. He was found no good for the job and was beaten by the owner of field.

    He left the village and went to his brother at Kundi Bartoli, and stayed with him forsome time. From there he probably went to the German mission at Burju where he

    passed the lower primary examination.

    The Formative Period (1886-1894)

    Birsas long stay at Chaibasafrom 1886 to 1890 constituted a formative period of

    his life. The influence of Christianity shaped his own religion. This period wasmarked by the German and Roman Catholic Christain agitation. Chiabasa was not

    far for the centre of the Sardars activities. Birsa was amidst them Eliazer of

    Kasmar, Gidun of Piring. Yohanna of Chapari, Mika of Dabgama, Tenga ofKatingkel and Bhutka of Rugri were his own men. One day while delivering a

    sermon in the Chaibasa mission attended by Birsa, Dr Nottrott expatiated on thetheme of the Kingdom of Heaven, and assured them that if they remained

    Christians and followed his instructions, he could get back all lands they had lost.

    Birsa took it to heart. But he received a rude shock when the brak with themissionaries came in 1886-7 and the latter started calling the Sardars cheats. He

    criticized Dr Nottrott and the missionaries in trenchant terms. They refused to have

    him in their school any longer, and he was expelled. This was a turning point in hislife; he exclaimed saheb, saheb ek topi hai (all whites, the British and themissionaries, wear the same cap) it was also likely that the Sardars might have

    influenced Sugana Munda in withdrawing his son from the school. The sardar

    agitation in which Birsa was thus caught up put the stamp of its anti-missionary

    and anti-Government character on his mind.

    Soon after leaving Chaibasa in 1890 Birsa and his family gave up theirmembership of the German mission in line with the Sardars movement against it.He apostatized to the Roman Catholics and remained with them for a little while

    before lapsing into hearthenism. This also followed the pattern of the Sardaragitation which turned to the Roman Catholic mission, seeking support for theirclaims, and the, disappointed, returned to the old faith. For a year he also served in

    the house of Munda at Kander, where his eldest sister Daskir lived.

    It was probably in 1890 that he went to Bandgaon and came in contact with Anand

    Panre. Anand Panre, a munshi to Jagmohan Singh. The zamindar of Bandgaon,was a Swansi. He was well versed into rudimentary form of Vaishnavism that

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    prevailed in the area and with the Hindu epic-lores, and enjoyed some reputation

    and influence. Birsa occasionally accompanied him Gorbera and Patpur, but spent

    most of his time at Bandgaon with him or his brother Sukhnath Panre. He stayedwith the Panres for three years. He also met a Vaishnav monk who visited the

    baraik at Bamani and preached there for two months. He adopted the sacred thread,worshipped the tulsi plants. Wore the sandal mark , familiarized himself with theHindu concept of epochs and prohibited cowslaughter. At Patpur, his disciples

    claim, he had the vision (darsan) of Mahaprabhu Vishnu Bhagwan. Which markedthe consummation of the Vaishnav influence on their master.

    He left Corbera in the wake of the mounting Sardar agitation. During these yearshe did not keep himself only to the Panres. He participated in the agitation

    stemming form popular disaffection at the restrictions imposed upon the traditional

    rights of the Mundas in the protected forest, under the leadership of Gidiun of

    Piring in the Porhat area. During 1893-4 all waste lands in villages, the ownershipof which was vested in the Government, were constituted into protected forests

    under the Indian Forest Act VII of 1882. In Singhbhum as in Palamau andManbhum the forest settlement operations were launched and measures were taken

    to determine the rights of the forest-dwelling communities. Villages in forests weremarked off in blocks of convenient size consisting not only of village sites but also

    cultivable and waste lands sufficient of the needs of villages.

    Outside the blocks lay the protected forest areas in which rights were regulated,

    even curtailed. These orders were sometimes not understood by local officers who

    acted as if all right of forest-swelling communities had been curtailed. Petitionswere submitted by Jeta Maniki of Gudri, Rasha Maniki, Moni Maniki of Durkarpirclaiming the resumption of what they called were their old ancestral right to free

    fuel. grazing etc. Birsa led a number of ryots of Sirgida to Chaibasa with a petition

    for the remission of forest dues. Men form six other villages had preceded him.Nothing came of it. The Chotanagpur Protected Forests Rules framed under the

    Indian Forest Act came into force in July 1894. Viewing Birsas involvement in

    the Sardar agitation with concern, Anand Panre advised him not to let him emotionoverpowers him; but he would not turn a deaf ear to the inner voice. His three

    years apprenticeship under the Panres came to an end in 1893-4.

    In 1894, Birsa had grown up into a strong and handsome young man, shrewd andintelligent. He was tall for a Munda, 5 feet 4 inches, and could perform the feat ofrepairing the Dombari tank at Gorbera damaged by rains. His real appearance was

    extraordinary pleasant : his features were regular, his eyes bright and full ofintelligence and his complexion much lighter than most of his people.

    During the period he had a spell of experience typical of a young man of his ageand looks. While on a sojourn in the neighbourhood of village Sankara in

    Singhbhum, he found suitable companion, presented her parents with jewels andexplained to her his idea of marriage. Later, on his return form jail he did not find

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    her faithful to him and left her. Another woman who served him at Chalkad was

    the sister of Mathias Munda. On his release form prison, the daughter of Mathura

    Muda of Koensar who was kept by Kali Munda, and the wife of Jaga Munda ofJiuri insisted on becoming wives of Birsa. He rebuked them and referred the wife

    of Jaga Munda to her husband. Another rather well-known woman who stayedwith Birsa was Sali of Burudih.

    Birsa stressed monogamy at a later stage in his life. Birsa rose form the lowest

    ranks of the peasants, the ryots, who unlike their namesakes elsewhere enjoyed far

    fewer rights in the Mundari khuntkatti system, while all privileges weremonopolized by the members of the founding lineage the ryots were no better thancrop-sharers. Birsas own experience as a young boy, driven form place to place in

    search of employment, given him an insight into the agrarian question and forest

    matters; he was no passive spectator but an active participant in the movement

    going on in the neighbourhood.

    The Making of a Prophet

    Birsas claim to be a messenger of God and the founder of a new religion sounded

    preposterous to the mission. There were also within his sect converts formChristianity, mostly Sardars. His simple system of offering was directed against the

    church which levied a tax. And the concept of on God appealed to his people whofound his religion and economical religion saving them the expense of sacrifices. A

    strict code of conduct was laid down : theft, lying and murder were anathema ;

    begging was prohibited.

    Slowly, the messenger of God began to be identified with God himself. The peopleapproached him as tier Singbonga or the Sun God, the good spirit who watchesover them and can do no ill. He was looked upon as an incarnation of Khasra Kora

    who had destroyed the Asurs. They said the Sun (which they worship) was above

    the Birsa was below ; later on , it was given out that the he was Bhagwan himself.Later Birsaites formed themselves into a sect worshipping him as such.

    The stories of Birsa as a healer, a miracle-worker, and a preacher spread, out of all

    proportion to the facts. The Mundas, Oraons, and Kharias flocked to Chalkad tosee the new prophet and to be cured of there ills. Both the Oraon and Munda

    population up to Barwari and Chechari in Palamau became convinced Birsaities.

    Contemporary and later folk songs commemorate the tremendous impact of Birsaon his people, their jay and expectations at his advent. The name of Dharti Aba

    was on everybodys lips. A folk songs in Sadani showed that the first impact cutacross the lines of caste Hindus and Muslims also flocked to the new Sun of

    religion. All roads led to Chalked.

    Birsa Munda and his Movement

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    The British colonial system intensified the transformation of the tribal agrarian

    system into feudal state. As the tribals with their primitive technology could not

    generate a surplus, non-tribal peasantry were invited by the chiefs in Chotanagpurto settle on and cultivate the land. This led to the alienation of the lands held by the

    tribals. The new class of Thikadars were of a more rapacious kind and eager tomake most of their possessions.

    In 1856 the number of th