Birsa Munda, who passed away on 9 June 1900, aged 24, in Ranchi, Bengal Residency (now in Jharkhand), was an Indian tribal independence activist, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe. He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Residency (now Jharkhand) in the late 19th century, during the British Raj, thereby making him an important figure in the history of the Indian independence movement. The revolt mainly concentrated in the Munda belt of Khunti, Tamar, Sarwada and Bandgaon.
Birsa received his education
in Salga under the guidance of his teacher Jaipal Nag. Later, Birsa converted
to Christianity to join the German Mission School. After dropping out of
school, Birsa Munda created a faith called Birsait.
Members of the Munda community soon started joining the faith which in turn
became a challenge for the British activities. The Birsaits openly declared
that the real enemies were the British and not Christian Mundas. The cause of
the Munda revolt was the 'unfair land grabbing practices by colonial and
local authorities that demolished the tribal conventional land system'. Birsa
Munda is known for challenging the British Christian missionaries and revolting
against the conversion activities along with the Munda and Oraon communities.
His portrait hangs in the Indian Parliament Museum.
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