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Birsa Munda, Dharti Aaba — the Ulgulan, the land, and why 15 November matters in Jharkhand

Birsa Munda, born 15 November 1875 at Ulihatu: the land the Munda were losing, the Ulgulan of 1899, Dharti Aaba, Ranchi jail at 24, and why 15 November matters.

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Every year on 15 November, Jharkhand remembers Birsa Munda. He lived only 24 years. The name his people gave him has lasted much longer.

Who he was

Birsa Munda was born on 15 November 1875 at Ulihatu, in what is now Khunti district of Jharkhand. Some sources give 18 July 1872 instead, but most, Wikipedia among them, use 1875. He was born into the Munda community.

The land

Under British rule, the land that tribal families held was passing out of their hands. Birsa's answer was simple and dangerous. He told the raiyats, the tenant farmers, to pay no rent.

The Ulgulan

It is said that around 7,000 men and women gathered around Christmas 1899 to begin the Ulgulan, the great tumult. By then his followers called him Dharti Aaba, the father of the earth, and the name was on everybody's lips.

The rising did not last. Birsa was arrested on 3 February 1900 in the Jamkopai forest. He died in Ranchi jail on 9 June 1900, aged 24.

Photos: Pinakpani (CC BY 4.0) · Mizan khan576 (CC0) · Pinakpani (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.

What came after

Eight years after his death came the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908. Among other things, it bars the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals, the very loss his followers had risen against.

On 15 November 2000, his birth anniversary, the first chief minister of the new state of Jharkhand took the oath. And since a Union cabinet decision of 10 November 2021, 15 November is kept across India as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, a day of tribal pride.

From Jharkhand, on HimLocal

Ranchi, where he died, is now Jharkhand's capital. Things made in the state are on Jharkhand on HimLocal. For another story of people who stood up for their land and trees, read Khejarli, 1730.

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Questions people ask

Who was Birsa Munda?

A Munda leader born on 15 November 1875 at Ulihatu, now in Khunti district of Jharkhand. He told tenant farmers to pay no rent and led the Ulgulan, the great tumult, which began around Christmas 1899. His followers called him Dharti Aaba. He died in Ranchi jail in June 1900, aged 24.

What does Dharti Aaba mean?

Father of the earth. It is the name the Munda people gave Birsa Munda. By the time of the Ulgulan, which began around Christmas 1899, Wikipedia says the name was on everybody's lips. He was arrested in February 1900 in the Jamkopai forest and died in Ranchi jail that June, aged 24.

Why is 15 November important in Jharkhand?

It is Birsa Munda's birth anniversary. Jharkhand's first chief minister took the oath on 15 November 2000, the day the new state began. Since a Union cabinet decision of 10 November 2021, the date is also kept across India as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, a day of tribal pride.

What is the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act?

A law of 1908, passed eight years after Birsa Munda died in Ranchi jail. Among other things, it bars the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. The loss of tribal land was the grievance behind his movement, and the Act came after it, which is why it belongs in his story.