5 Things To Know About Birsa Munda, The Tribal Freedom Fighter Who Stood Against Conversions By Christian Missionaries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his tributes to tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda on November 15. The Government is celebrating the birth anniversary of the tribal freedom fighter as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.

Modi inaugurated a museum in Ranchi in memory of revered tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, popularly known as Dharti Aaba.

Here's All You Need To Know About Him

Born into the Munda tribe on November 15, 1875, in Ulihatu village in present-day Jharkhand, he spent a major part of his childhood in most of his childhood in the Chhotanagpur Plateau.

He mobilised the tribal community against the British and forced them to introduce laws protecting the land rights of tribals. Munda had joined the German Mission School and converted to Christianity on the recommendation of his teacher Jaipal Nag. However, he soon left after he understood that Christian missionaries were converting tribals to Christianity.

He started a new faith known as 'Birsait' and urged other tribal communities to join the sect. He urged the Mundas to clean villages, stop consuming liquor and stop believing in superstitions, and witchcraft.

Birsa Munda spent about four years in Chaibasa starting from 1886 to 1890. Chaibasa was close to the epicenter of Sardars agitation. The Sardars protested against the anti-government, anti-missionary programmes. The protests staged by the Sardars, had an impact on Birsa Munda. Following the movement and widespread agitation, Birsa Munda became a part of the movement against the British Raj.

Revolt Against Britishers

In the late 19th century, the land policies of Britishers destroyed the traditional tribal land system and moneylenders started taking over their lands. Missionaries were against the tribal culture. Birsa Munda led a huge tribal movement in the South of Ranchi in 1899. It aimed at driving the British government out of the region. The movement was known as 'Ulgulan'.

He gave fiery speeches in traditional language to rouse people for establishing 'Munda Raj'. Munda and his followers started to attack police stations, raided properties of 'zamindars', raised white flags instead of British flags to denote the rise of 'Munda Raj'.

On March 3, 1900, while Munda was sleeping with his tribal followers, he was arrested by the British and was put into jail. On June 9, 1900, the tribal leader died of Cholera in the Ranchi jail.

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