Bisra Munda: The tribal freedom fighter who encouraged people to return to their original religious belief

Bisra Munda not only fought the British, but also founded a new religion called Birsat which encouraged people to revert to their original religious beliefs

New Delhi, Jun 10: Leaders from various quarters paid tributes on June 9 to tribal freedom fighter Bisra Munda. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu wrote, " remembering tribal freedom fighter, 'Dharti Aaba' Birsa On his death anniversary. The fearless tribal leader made an invaluable contribution to the freedom struggle by spearheading the tribal movement against oppressive British rule."

Munda who was born on November 15 1875 was an Indian freedom freedom fighter, religious leader and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe of Chhotanagpur. Munda had in the 19th century started a tribal Millenarian Movement in the Bengal Presidency, which is the present day Jharkhand.

He was born on a Thursday to Suguna Munda and Karmi Hatu in Ulihatu, Bengal Presidency. As per the Munda tribe customs, he was named after the day he was born.
Due to poverty Bisra Munda was sent to his maternal uncle's village-Ayubhatu. He lived there for two years and was surrounded by Christian missionaries. The missionaries wanted to convert the old Munda order.

Bisra studied in a missionary school and was advised by his teacher to study further. He was advised by his teacher to enrol in the German Mission School. However the pre-condition was that he had to convert to Christianity. He was renamed Bisra David and later to Bisra Daud after the conversion. He studied in the school for a few years and then left.

Between 1886 and 1890, the period of the German and Roman Catholic Christian, Bisra studied at Chaibasa. However in the wake of the freedom struggle his father withdrew him from the school and left the place. Later the family also reverted to their original tribal religious customs.

Bisra Munda also was the founder of a new religion called Birsait and it believed in one God while also encouraging the people to revert to their original religious beliefs. Bisra was referred to as a miracle worker, preacher and an economic religion healer. His personality was so strong that he was referred o as Dharti Abba.

Not only did he preach the new religion, but also mobilised people to form the Guerrilla Army to end the British rule. His slogan Abua raj seter jana, maharani raj tundu jana' is still remembered in Odisha, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The slogan translated to English means let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom will be established.

In the 1890s he abolished the feudal system that was introduced by the British in the Adivasi forest. The British would get migrant workers from other states to work in the tribal land while they would relish the profits. Bisra Munda said that this was depriving owners of their property rights and were left with no means of livelihood. Bisra and his tribe revolted against this.

In the year 1895, Bisra told his tribe to renounce Christianity and advised them to worship one God. He later on said that the reign of Queen Victoria was over and the Munda Raj had begun.

Following this his followers began a series of attacks on places loyal to the British such as police stations and shops. They also killed two police constables and razed the homes of local shopkeepers. The British then set a reward of Rs 500 on Bisra and also sent an army over. Nearly 150 people to crush the rebellion. While the army managed to kills scores of people, Bisra managed to escape. He was however arrested later and sent to jail.

On June 9 1900, he died in jail while his trial was still on. The movement faded after his death, but 8 years later the British government introduced the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) which prohibited the transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals and protected the proprietary rights of the owners.

His legacy continues to live on and the tribals in Karnataka and Jharkhand celebrate his birth anniversary on November 15. There are many organisations and institutions that are named after him. They are, Birsa Agricultural University, Birsa Institute of Technology, Birsa College Khunti, Birsa Institute of Technology Sindri, Sidho Kanho Birsha University, Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium, Birsa Munda Airport, Birsa Munda Central Jail, Birsa Seva Dal, Birsa Munda Tribal University.

A film called 'Ulgulan-Ek Kranti'was made after Bisra by Ashok Saran in 2004. 500 Birsaits appeared as extras in the film. In 2008 a film called Gandhi se Pehle Gandhi was made by director Iqbal Saran based on his own novel on the life of Bisra Munda.

In the memory of Bisra Munda a 150 foot tall statue is proposed to be built in Jharkhand and the stones for the same are collected from the local houses in the area.

Mahasweta Devi wrote a novel 'Aranyer Adhikar' wrote a novel based on the life of Bisra Munda and she in 1979won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Bengali.