Bhagwan Birsa Munda 150th Birth Anniversary Year – 2024-2025
“Martyred to the cause of freedom against British rule , Birsa Munda when went with his parents to seek admission in German Christian mission school at Chaibasa(Jharkhand) to start the study , he was made to adopt Christianity. However, after the completion of education as Birsa came into the contact of then a famous Vaishnav saint, Acharya Anand Pandey. Gaining his proximity, the inborn Hindu sanskaras[virtues] in Birsa gained resurgence again, there of paving the way for him to come back to the fold of Hinduism, becoming Sanyasi or an ascetic ultimately ! Inspired by him, the Janjati ( schedule tribe) people began to come back to Hindu fold from Christianity. This transformation among the people was taken by missionaries as threat to themselves, and their ‘mission’. They conspired with British Commissioner of Ranchi and got Birsa arrested under false allegations . Though freed from the jail after two years, the tussle between Janjati community led by him and missionaries remained untamed henceforth .
And at one point of time it turned into violent clash as British force also joined to eliminate Birsa . Unfortunately, before the rifles, bombs and other modernised weapons the army laced with, Janjati freedom fighters with their traditional weapons could not stay long in the battle. Hundreds of them fell martyred, so were the villages ransacked by the soldiers commanded by brute British officers. Birsa was held shackled and put into the Ranchi jail. Suffering barbarous atrocities, he lastly breathed his last on 9th June, 1900. It is believed that it was the Jail authority that had poisoned Birsa.” With this episode of the contribution of Janjati community in the freedom struggle against British the Tilakraj Dangi , the state chief of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram , before students and other invitees began his speech in the seminar held in the Chandra Shekhar Azad Degree collage of Sehore town near Bhopal (MP). The event was organised on the occasion of Janjati Gourav Diwas, as this year is being celebrated as Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s 150th birth anniversary year 2024-25.
Birsa Munda is notably the first revolutionary to be held by the masses as ‘Bhagwan’ . Like Birsa Munda, audience in the seminar came to know the inspiring stories of several other great fighters of Janjati communities such as Tilka Manjhi; Panja Bheel associated with MaharanaPratap; Shanker Shah – Raghunath Shah; Rani Kamalapati, the martyrdom of two sons of Guru Bhagat ; Mavle community associated with Chhatrapati Shivaji .
The tribal region adjoining Bhagalpur of Bihar is highlighted in the history for ‘Santhal Kranti’ or ‘Santhal Armed revolution’ . Once on the forefront in the armed revolution was Tilka Manjhi, who was born into the Murmu family in 1750 in the village Tilakpur. Well adept in bowmanship , it was Tilka Manjhi who first made the people of Santhal alert about British policy of ‘ Divide and rule’ fomenting the regional and caste feeling .
In protest against exploitation, oppression and arbitrary taxation Tilka Manjhi gave the call of agitation against British official Augustas Cleveland and his subordinates . With the resolution of rooting out alien autocratic administration the battle gradually flared up . Entire land reverberated with the slogan, ‘ Dharti hamari hai’ ( Land is our ) . Meantime in the battle Tilka Manjhi crawled up the tree and shot down the Cleveland with his arrow. In retaliation the British force though try to lay besiege around the Tilka and his follower brave bowmen , but Tilka amid the operation managed to escape somersaulting from one branch to another branch without bringing himself into the notice of adversaries .
Then what, he unleashed guerilla-warfare against British, putting them into a more trouble at one point of time. However, in the condition of struggle having been stretched for a longer period this renewed assault too could not stand before many time advanced and well replenished strategic resources British force laced with. He was surrounded by the opponents, and fallen imprisoned ultimately. Tilka Manjhi was taken to a square of Bhagalpur where he was hung to death having tied his body with the rope tethered against a branch of a Banyan tree stood there. Though no more, yet his sacrifice for the greater cause of the nation is still sung in the folk songs popular in Santhal region.
Hearing the glorious tale of indomitable fighter Tilka Manjhi amplified with the gripping oratory skill of speaker Tilkaraj Dangi everybody went spell bound . The Dias, notably, shared by MLA Swadesh Rai ; President of municipal corporation Prince Rathore and others.
Author: Er. Rajesh Pathak