One of the unsung heroes of the Independence struggle of India is tribal leader Birsa Munda, who gave his life for the country at the young age of 25.
The preparations for Independence Day 2023 celebrations are currently in full force, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation from the Red Fort on August 15. On this day, it is important to remember one of the unsung heroes of the Independence struggle of India – tribal activist Birsa Munda.
Birsa Munda was one of the youngest Independence heroes of India, who started the fight for equality and waged war against the British while still a teenager, and gave his life for the nation at the age of 24, while imprisoned by the East India Company.
Born in 1875, Birsa Munda remained active in the tribal belt of Bihar and Jharkhand from an early age. He was never stable in one village and belonged to the Munda tribe in the Chhotanagpur Plateau area, which gave him an understanding of the atrocities against the tribal community by the British.
After converting to Christianity on the advice of his teacher, Birsa Munda soon saw how the British agenda was to convert all the tribal communities to Christianity, diminishing their existence. To crush these efforts, Munda started his own faith ‘Birsait’.
As many tribal communities began opting for Birsait and leaving behind Christianity, Birsa Munda’s popularity as a tribal activist grew and exposed the conversion agenda being run by the British government in India during the late 19th century.
Birsa Munda became a part of the revolt against the British regime at the age of just 11, and worked against the oppression of the tribal communities by the British at the age of just 14, after closely observing the agitation led by the Sardars near Chaibasa, Jharkhand.
He waged war against the British authorities at the age of 16, in 1891, and forced them to establish land rights for the tribal communities. However, Birsa Munda’s impactful resistance to the British was short-lived.
The tribal activist and freedom fighter was arrested by the British in 1900 and died in jail at the age of 24. Though he died young, his legacy continues to live on across the country, and Birsa Munda is remembered across Bihar and Jharkhand as their youngest freedom fighter during the Independence struggle.
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 "Independence Day 2023: How tribal hero Birsa Munda waged war against British, became Bihar’s youngest freedom fighter")
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