Remembering tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda on his 146th birth anniversary

The Janjatiya Gaurav Divas as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated across the nation to mark the brave tribal freedom fighters as part of the year-long

The Janjatiya Gaurav Divas as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated across the nation to mark the brave tribal freedom fighters as part of the year-long celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence. 

November 15 also marks the birth anniversary date of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, a teenage freedom fighter and tribal leader whose involvement in the late 1800s is remembered as a powerful symbol of opposition to British Raj.

As part of the celebration,Birsa Munda who is revered as God by tribal communities across India is also being remembered by the nation.

What is Janjatiya Gaurav Divas?

It may be mentioned that November 15 will now be celebrated as the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas across the country every year to commemorate the brave tribal freedom fighters as part of the year-long celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence. 

This was declared by the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi on November 10, 2021.

The Union cabinet said that the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas would aware the future generations about the sacrifices made by tribal freedom fighters during India’s independence movement.

Significance of the Day?

Every year, the day will be commemorated to honour tribal members’ efforts to preserve cultural heritage and promote Indian ideals of national pride and hospitality.

How Janjatiya Gaurav Divas will be celebrated?

The Indian government will organise a week-long event to celebrate 75 years of tribal people’s history on this day. It will begin on November 15, 2021, and end on November 22, 2021.

Moreover, several projects in the areas of health, education, skill development, livelihood, and infrastructure will be implemented by the government.

Who is Bhagwan Birsa Munda?

Munda was born on November 15, 1875 in Ulihatu village in present-day Jharkhand.

He was raised in the tribal area of Bihar and Jharkhand, and his accomplishments are all the more impressive because he achieved them before the age of 25.

On his birth anniversary in 2000, the state of Jharkhand was established in honour of his contribution to the national struggle.

What role Birsa Munda has played in India’s Independence?

Birsa Munda led the fight for India’s independence against the British colonial regime’s exploitative system.

He spent a lot of time in Chaibasa, a town in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand that was near to the centre of the Sardars agitation, between 1886 and 1890.

The activities of the Sardars had a strong impact on the mind of the young Birsa, who soon became a part of the anti-missionary and anti-government program.

By the time he left Chaibasa in 1890, Birsa was strongly entrenched in the movement against the British oppression of the tribal communities.

On March 3, 1900, Birsa Munda was arrested by the British police while he was sleeping with his tribal Guerilla army at Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur.

The tribal leader died in Ranchi jail on June 9, 1900, when he was only 25 years old.

Despite his short life and the fact that his campaign faded out soon after his death, Birsa Munda is known to mobilised the tribal people against the British.

He also forced the colonial officials to introduce the laws safeguarding tribal land rights.

Birsa’s accomplishments as a young tribal revolutionary have been honoured for decades, and he has carved out a niche for himself in popular and folk literature, academia, and the mainstream media.

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