Birsa Munda Essay in English, It is a common saying that an individual is honored only by his deeds. If a person has good deeds, then he or she will be worshipped like Gods or Goddesses. There is such a great example in front of us, Birsa Munda. He was a man of good deeds, true words, and a strong personality. Today, in this essay, we are going to talk about Birsa Munda and his life story. So, start reading:
Birsa Munda Essay in English
Birsa Munda History
Who was Birsa Munda?
He was a tribal freedom fighter belonging to India. As India is a country, where countless freedom fighters were born and fought for their country. Birsa Munda was one of them. He was an Indian religious leader, as well as a folk hero. He belonged to the Munda tribe of the area of the Chhotanagpur Plateau.
This is why he was named Birsa Munda. In the 19th century, he began a tribal religious Millenarian program in the Bengal Presidency, which is presently known as Jharkhand. Here is a complete life story of Birsa Munda, which most people are not aware of:
Birsa Munda Biography: The early life of Birsa Munda
He was born on November 15, 1875. His parents were Sugana Munda and Karmi Hatu. His birth took place in Ulihatu, Bengal Presidency. When he was born, it was Thursday. This is the main reason he was named after the day according to the customs of the Munda tribe.
His family shifted to Kurumbda and after that to Bamba as they were looking for work. It was the search for employment, which made his family move to different places. They wanted to get work either as crop-sharers, or laborers.
His family was poor. Due to the coming under the poverty line, he was sent to his maternal uncle, who was living in another village named Ayubhatu. He lived in this village for 2 years. In the meantime, he was surrounded by Christian missionaries. The mission of these missionaries was to attack the old Munda order as they wanted to make people change their religion.
They wanted to transform people into Christianity. When he was living in Ayubhatu, he studied in a missionary school, where his teacher motivated him to study further. His teacher advised him to get admission to the German Mission School.
But there was a condition if he would get registered in this school he had to convert his religion to Christianity. So, he went with the flow. He was renamed Birsa David once the conversion took place. Later, he was renamed Birsa Daud. After studying at German Mission School for a few years, he left it.
He lived at Chaibasa in the wake of the freedom struggle from 1886 to 1890. But his father removed him from school and left the place. His complete family got reverted to their original tribal religious customs after renouncing Christianity. During his temporary stay, he found an ideal companion in the neighborhood village named Sankara.
Birsa Munda presented her parents with jewels and clarified the reasons behind the idea of marriage. But when he came back from jail, Birsa found her disloyal, which made him leave her. The wife of Jaga Munda and the daughter of Mathura Muda insisted him on becoming his wife, to which Birsa reprimanded.
Sali who belonged to Burudih stayed with Munda for a long time. He harassed monogamy when he became old. He was jailed because of a rumor that people who will not obey Birsait would be slaughtered.
His new religion
He founded a new religion known as Birsait. According to this religion, people believed in one God which motivated them to get back to their original religious beliefs. This is how people began calling him an economical religion healer, a preacher, and a miracle worker. People coming from the tribes of Oraons, Mundas, and Kharias visited a new prophet together so that they could get a cure for their problems. He was called Dharti Abba by people.
Many folk and contemporary songs reveal his influence on the people of different tribes. He not only addressed the new religion but also trained people and made the Guerrilla Army fight against British rule. His slogan is still remembered in different states like Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, which used to threaten British rule.
This slogan was ‘Abua raj seter jana, maharani raj tundu jana.’ This slogan signifies that ‘Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom will be established.’
Birsaits and their rebellions
In the late 1890s, he removed the feudal system launched by the British raj in the Adivasi forest. Based on this system, migrants from other places and states were invited by the British rule to work over tribal lands and to fill their pockets with all the profits. As a result, this depressed the owners of their proprietary rights over the land.
They were left with no methods of livelihood. Hence, Birsa Munda along with his tribe appalled because of the change in the culture and agrarian breakdown. In 1895, he asked his fellow tribesman to reject Christianity and guided them to follow the path of one God, giving a message of austerity, purity, and prohibiting cow slaughter.
Birsa Munda claimed him to be a prophet and mentioned that the control of Queen Victoria was ended and the Munda raj has started. The followers of the Birsa Munda declared that the Britishers were their real enemies instead of the Christian Mundas.
Contributing to the freedom struggle, his followers began a series of attacks on many British places where they killed 2 police constables and attacked commissioners and deputy commissioners. Consequently, the British set a reward of Rs. 500 on him and sent an army to crush the revolt.
The forces surrounded the Guerrilla Army at Dumbari Hills and killed many people. Birsa Munda managed to escape but got arrested and sent to jail. He died on June 9, 1900. The movement started by him faded out after his death.
He is still alive in the hearts of people as there are many educational centers and organizations named after him.
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