Question

What was Birsas vision of Golden Age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to the people of the region?

Answer 1

Hint: Birsa Munda was a tribal and religious leader of the Munda Tribe and emerged as an important figure in the Indian independence movement in Bengal Presidency. A celebrated folk hero, Birsa stood against the colonial power in India and their exploitative taxing in the name of religion thus establishing himself as a messenger of God.

Complete answer: The issue of Tribal land and their claim to reserved forest areas has been an important point of contention for decades altogether. In the 1960s and 70s, there was a rise of these Tribal movements demanding their ‘Jal, Jungle, Jameen’ from the government. These movements were brutally crushed and continue to fight for their cause from the sidelines of what is known as the ‘Naxal regions’.
Birsa Munda (1875-1900) was a tribal leader in the Jharkhand belt of the Munda tribes and rose against what he termed ‘dikus’ or people who were taking their land rights away from them and forcing them to pay taxes for what was their tradition. Munda opposed this oppressive measures of the colonists who had come in the name of Christianity and one God but exhorted high taxes from the poor people.
Birsa’s vision of a golden age was when there would be no more dikus; neither the British colonists nor the Hindu landlords or zamindars to exploit them. This, he envisioned, would be the time when tribal clans will rise to their glory again and will not be in constant chaos. For this to be achieved, he urged his followers to give up drinking liquor, stop being superstitious and keep their surroundings clean.
People believed in the vision provided by Birsa as they also considered the exploitative policies of the colonists to be the reason behind all their troubles and miseries. They were ready to participate in the revolts led by Birsa Munda to regain their land and their dignity.

Note: Birsa Munda was seen as a prophet or a messenger of God as he asked people to adopt their traditional tribal religions and be devoted to it alone. His teachings about the land rights of the tribal people cut through the division amongst the Muslims and Hindus and simply reached all who were exploited. Hereby, he rose to the status of being a folk hero himself.