The Brave Young Tribal Freedom Fighter

Our story begins on a Thursday 15th November 1875, as it was the day the great tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda was born. It all started in the then small village of Ulihatu in the then Lohardaga district of the Bengal presidency. The village of Ulihatu is now in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. His childhood years were spent with his parents in the village of Chalkad. His life as a young boy of the Munda tribe wasn’t different from most of them if one could go through time then they could see that he was growing up well he used to play different games with his friends which included rolling on the sand and dust with his friends. Birsa was growing up handsome and strong. As he came of age his parents let him to graze the sheep in the nearby forest of Bohonda as he took the sheep to graze in the dense forest of Bhogonda he took a flute and a tuila, which was very famous in a tribe (the one-stringed instrument made from the pumpkin) slowly it became a routine some of his friends said that afterwards he became a expert in playing the flute and the tuila.

We must have thought that his most exciting movement in his life must be when he was playing with his friends or when he was with his thoughts in the jungle but no, Brisa’s most exciting movements in his life was when he spent time in the Akhara (the village wrestling ground). But his happiness in the village of Chalkad was short lived his family were poverty stricken. Because of poverty he was taken to the village of Ayubhatu his maternal uncle’s village. At his maternal uncle’s village Birsa went to school at Salga that one school was run by Jaipal Nag. Once he accompanied his mother’s younger sister to Khatanga, her new home there he came in contact to with a Christian missionary who visited a few families in the small villages as they were converted to Christian. Birsa very soon even though he was young understood that the Christian missionaries were converting the tribals to Christianity. Soon Birsa went to his own village then his teacher Jaipal Nag told him that as he was very sharp in his studies he could go and join the German mission school, so that he could pursue his studies. Birsa Munda converted to Christianity and was named as Birsa David which in later became Birsa Daud. After studying a few years in the German mission school Birsa enrolled out of it. He later turned himself into a Munda and then started to challenge against the Christian missionaries and revolted against the conversion activities along with the Munda and Oraon communities (tribes).

After a few years he was sent to jail, as he had taken part in the mount of sardar agitation. After he came back from jail he started to make his reputation as Birsa Munda a very good healer, a miracle person and a preacher. Soon the Mundas, Oraons, and the Kharais tribes flocked to see him as they had heard his reputation as a healer and wanted treatment from their diseases. Both the Mundas and the Oraons had now turned themselves into Birasties a new community formed by Birsa. As the Birsaties heard the preachings from our hero they started to think of him as a saintly figure and also they started to take blessings from him. Birsa soon declared himself as a messenger of god he said Abua raj ete jana, maharani raj tundu jana ("Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom be established") he also threatened that those who didn’t follow his rule they would be massacred. Soon the Munda community began to call him as Dharati Aaba or father of the earth.

Birsa went to jail for saying the all those would be massacred if they didn’t follow him. After being released he started to collect his followers. For two years the Birsaties attacked the places which were loyal to the Britishers this openly showed that there main target were the British not the Christians. Under the command of A. Fobes and H.C Streattfield the Britishers took control of the Birsaties nut Birsa himself escaped to Singbum hills. Then Birsa was sent to prison when he was caught in Jamkopai forest by the Britishers. Our young hero and freedom fighter died in the prison during the trials on 9th June 1990.