People's Democracy

Munda Uprising Under The Leadership Of

Birsa Munda (1874-1900) In Chotanagpur

Birsa Munda being taken to the Ranchi jail in 1900

IN the vast tracts of area in Ranchi, Chaibasa and Chotanagpur the land lords, moneylenders, missionaries, petty government officials, policy and especially European officers carried on ruthless oppression against the tribal people for a long time. It is against this protracted oppression that the massive Munda uprising led by Birsa took place in 1899-1900. Birsa was a son of a poor tribal and he obtained some education in Christian missionary school in Chaibasa. But by 1886-87, Birsa had realised the real motive of the missionaries and concluded that whether high officers or missionaries, all Europeans were the same. He coined the famous slogan ‘all sahibs wore the same topi”. Birsa started propagating though in a vague way, the concept of an independent Munda Raj. The British arrested him in 1895 and the court fined him and sentenced him to two years conviction. In November, 1897, he was released from Hazaribag jail and immediately started propagating the same idea again. From December 1899 and January 1900, the Munda uprising led by him became intense and widespread. Men were killed on both sides and ultimately the British brought a huge army to the area and arrested Birsa on 3rd February, 1900. On June 9, 1900, inside Ranchi jail Birsa died.

On May 23, 1900, the “Bengalee” published a report that nobody knows how many tribals were arrested and how many of them died in prison. Nobody also knows how many tribals were shot dead.