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From Man to God: The Story of Bhagwan Birsa Munda
Across India's rich tribal hinterland, the influence of various Hindu and Muslim kingdoms—often including Hindu vassals—remains evident in the region's historical inscriptions, as well as the numerous temples and mosques built over the last millennium. In Jharkhand, it is not these mainstream religions that alone command respect, but a string of tribal heroes who resisted all forms of oppression—whether under Hindu, Muslim, or British rule—are most deeply revered. And none captures the imagination more than Birsa Munda who in a short life of barely 30 years transformed from a mortal to 'Dharti Aaba' and finally immortalised as Bhagwan Birsa Munda.
Retracing Birsa and his roots
'Chota Nagpur' is a familiar term but misunderstood term for most Indians, it is neither 'chota' or small nor is it really about Nagpur. An interesting origin legend among the Mundas and other tribes offers an explanation. Millennia ago, Birsa's nomadic ancestors found a home by using a tree trunk to cross a river in spate. Inside, they found a tiny mouse (chutu), a good omen that they thought saved their life. Two leaders of the group were named Chutu Haram and Nagu. 'A sub clan with its legends and history grew up around the episode. Subsequently, Chutu was corrupted into Chuta and later still into Chota, and Nagu into Nag', writes K S Singh, in his seminal work, 'Birsa Munda and his Movement: 1874-1901.'
Birsa was born in 1875 in either Ulihatu village where his father was born or nearby Chalkad, both in present-day Khunti district. Following Munda tradition his parents named him on the day of the week he was born, Thursday. The family was not affluent, Birsa was born in a simple bamboo hut. He was exposed to Christianity in his pre-teens, through preachers who were a common feature in the region. Various Christian missionaries, German and British had established presence since the early 1840s.
When not at school Birsa would graze sheep and goat, help in chores, and also find a lifelong hobby of playing the flute, which would later be woven into legends.
The period between 1850 and 1900s saw several tribal insurrections and rebellions. As K.P Singh posits, the breakdown of the tribal agrarian order and the movement of non-tribal into tribal regions, and the advent of Christianity was exacerbated under colonial rule. This had dual consequences: the rise of a revivalist movement that sought to preserve and safeguard indigenous cultural practices, tradition and identity that had eroded, and armed resistance movements.
Interestingly, the influx of non-tribals, usually 'middle- castes' of Hindus, into these lands can be traced to the advent of the feudal state in the medieval period, where non-tribal peasants were invited by the chiefs in Chotanagpur to generate surplus, something the tribals with their primitive implements could not generate. Therefore, a new class of middlemen had arisen–between the administration, the chief and the people. These were the farmers (thikadars), merchants, and moneylenders.
The Raja of Chotanagpur, Udai Pratap Nath Shah Deo, himself belonging to a non-elite Hindu caste, had, in the 1860s begun to create jagirs (land grants) for maintenance. For the Mundas, Singh notes, that by the 19th century, these dikus (outsiders) had occupied most of the land; 'by 1874, the authority of the old Munda or Oraon chiefs had been almost entirely effaced by that of the farmers, introduced by the superior landlord… the peace and homogeneity of the village was gone. True, the Munda village was not an exclusive tribal unit, but the non-Mundas like the weavers, carpenters, etc. were socially and economically subordinate to the Mundas. The new dominant elements, on the other hand, disrupted the agrarian base of the village. It was a hurricane that blew over the land'.
'In some villages, the aborigines had completely lost their proprietary rights and had been reduced to the position of farm labourers'. This eventually led to the destruction of the Munda khunkatti system or clan ownership of land. This, Singh asserts, 'shook old society to its roots'.
Christianity was not the only religious influence, Vaishanavites, Shaivties, and Kabitpanthis too were present. And, later Birsa would amalgamate all of them with tribal animist beliefs. Joseph Bara, writes in 'Setting the Record Straight on Birsa Munda and His Political Legacy', '…Birsa assumed the role of a religious guru—'Bhagwan' or 'Dharti Aba'—and a messiah of the crisis-ridden Adivasi society. He devised his own religious tenets, practices, and prayers, drawing upon Hinduism, Christianity, and Munda beliefs. Channelling people's support for religious belief into political action, Birsa forayed into the agrarian cause, which had already gained traction by then'.
Birsa's uprising: A Land Struggle, not Religious Conflict
Birsa has been misrepresented, and so has been the Ulgulan or the Munda rebellion of 1899-1900. It is not easy to characterise it as either an anti-colonial uprising or an anti-Christianity revolt. Birsa only followed in the wake of other rebellions and movements to regain tribal autonomy and control over their way of life and also their future. Right before his uprising the Saradari Larai movement had tried to win similar rights by following non-violent and constitutional methods (read petitions and presentations) to persuade the British and their agents such as the Raja of Chota Nagpur, but they had failed. Birsa, a shrewd strategist took advantage of the disgruntled tribals who felt let down by their Christian patrons and padres.
Dr Bara writes, 'The enemies were named, in local expression, as 'Rajas, Hakims, Zamindars, Christians and Samsars (non-Christians)…Zamindars, the traditional exploiters, were among the most hated foes. Believing that the inscription of Raja's authority was kept in his official shrine, Chutia Temple, the first operation of Birsa upon his release from jail in 1997 was to lead a midnight attack on the shrine. Birsa also attacked British rulers, the key enemy and the patron of zamindars and other dikus. Christian missionaries were considered alongside the colonial rulers with the slogan of 'topi topi ek topi' , meaning hat-donning white men, whether officials or missionaries, are of the same breed'.
Munda united scattered Adivasi communities living on the periphery of British colonial rule, dedicating himself to the mission of protecting their ancestral lands. The tumult lasted less than a month but like a wild fire it spread fast over 400 square miles of Chota Nagpur. Though the official death toll at was less than 100 it shook the British rule a great deal, perhaps the most since the 1857 uprising.
On January 15, 1900, British-Indian troops fired at a Munda congregation at Dombari hill killing more than 16 including women and children (unofficial accounts say 400 were massacred). Birsa himself was soon betrayed for the reward of ₹500 and was arrested, he died of cholera in jail on June 9, 1900.
Even before his death Birsa had achieved limited land reforms, in 1897 the British abolished forced labour, and the next year the government started laying the groundwork for a new land settlement legislation which finally culminated with the promulgation of Chota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act in 1908, which led to the protection of tribal rights.
HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal.
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