Birsa Munda: The epitome of strength and courage

During the freedom struggle, many such heroes were born on the land of India who got their names written in history with golden letters. It does not take long for a small voice to become a slogan, just the person who raises that voice should have the courage and Birsa Munda was a living example of this. Birsa Munda played an important role in the development of Bihar and Jharkhand and the freedom movement of India.

Because of his actions and agitation, people in Bihar and Jharkhand worship Birsa Munda like a god. Birsa Munda did the Munda rebellion because of the conversion of the traditional land system into the Zamindari system. Birsa Munda presented an ideal in social life under his reformist process. He preached purity of moral conduct, self-improvement and monotheism. Rejecting the existence of British power, he ordered his followers not to pay rent to the government.

Birsa Munda was born in 1875 in Lihtu (Village: lihatu), which falls in Ranchi. After his early studies in Salga village, he came to study at Chaibasa English Middle School (Chaibasa at Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Mission school). Birsa Munda, son of Sugna Munda and Karmi Hatu, had a rebellion against the British government since childhood.

In childhood, Munda (Birsa Munda) was a very playful child. He grew up living among the British. He spent most of his childhood in the arena. However, due to poverty, he had to change his house from time to time for employment. It was this hunger race that showed him the way to school and he got an opportunity to study at Chaibasa English Middle School (Chaibasa at Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Mission school).

Four years spent in Chaibasa made a deep impact on the life of Birsa Munda. By 1895, Birsa Munda started emerging as a successful leader who wanted to spread awareness among the people. During the famine of 1894, Birsa Munda agitated to demand a rent waiver from the British for his Munda community and others.

He was arrested in 1895 and sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the Hazaribagh Central Prison. But Birsa and his disciples were determined to help the famine-stricken people of the region and this was the reason that he got the status of a great man during his lifetime. He was called and worshiped by the people of that area as "Dharti Baba". After the growth of their influence, the Mundas of the whole area became aware of being organized. Between 1897 and 1900, there were wars between the Mundas and the British soldiers and Birsa and his followers gave a sigh of relief to the British. In August 1897, Birsa and his four hundred soldiers armed with arrowheads attacked the Khunti police station. In 1898, the Mundas clashed with the British forces on the banks of the Tanga river, in which the British army was defeated at first, but later, in return, many tribal leaders of that area were arrested. In January 1900, where Birsa was addressing a public meeting, there was another conflict on Dombari hill, in which many women and children were killed. Later some of Birsa's disciples were also arrested. Finally Birsa himself was arrested on 3 February 1900 at Chakradharpur.

Birsa took his last breath on June 9, 1900 in Ranchi Jail. Even today, Birsa is worshiped like a god in the tribal areas of Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.