Vishwa Adivasi Diwas: Birsa dedicated life to nation

Flute player and painter, Birsa Munda was born in Adivasi [schedule tribe]  village of Jharkhand named Unnihat on15^th November, 1875. Later, when grown up, accompanied by his father the boy Birsa reached the German mission school at Chaibasa to start the study. But there he found that he could not at all be allowed admission in the school. For he was still a Hindu then, and not before   he had adopted Christianity that he would remain deprived of gaining education from the school. Before unabated intense desire of Birsa of learning his family succumbed to adopt Christianity. Giving him admission in the school the padre of the Church within the premise changed his name to be Birsa David.
After the completion of education as Birsa was leading the simple life of a common man that he came into the contact of then famous Vaishnav saint, Shri Anand Pandey. Gaining his proximity, the inborn Hindu sanskaras[virtues] in Birsa gained resurgence again, there of paving the way for him to come back to the fold of Hinduism. As he went ahead with his studying of Hindu scriptures like Ramayana, Mahabharat and Geeta more his mind began to bend upon leading the life of an austere. And, lastly, he set out for living far away from the people in isolation — only to come back after four years, having undergone deep penance. Now he was before the people again, but transformed into a Hindu Mahatma attired with yellow dhoti, wooden khadau [foot wears]  and vermilion on the forehead. Inspired by him, the fellow Vanvasis— earlier misguided by Christian missionaries, and distracted from Hinduism—yet again initiated worshipping basil and cow, reading Ramayana and living the life in virtues of good conduct. This transformation among the people was taken by missionaries as threat to themselves, and  their ‘mission’. They conspired with British Commissioner of Ranchi and got Birsa arrested under false allegations. Birsa was sent to the Hajaribagh jail. The incident incensed entire Vanvasi people; for them Birsa had grown to be God figure. But before the circumstances around they were helpless.
On 30^th November, 1887 Birsa was freed from jail. Spending two years in the jail made Birsa realise the difference between foreign and what is called ‘Swadeshi’. Firm with the resolve of working for the freedom of the country, he reached Chalkad to initiate meetings of Vanvasis place to place, organising them in the virtues of cadre based high ideals of discipline, dedication and suffering for the achievement of the goal. Imparting them the training of warfare, he called upon them to be ready for the impending arm-revolution. And on 24^th December, 1899 the day came when Vanvasis set out with the arms like bows-arrows and such other from their homes, giving the call of revolution. Soon places falling around and between Ranchi to Chaibasa were held captive to the hands of Vanvasis. Wherever British officer and missionaries working in tandem with them were found they had to face the fury of discharging arrows from all around. Soon the police stations,  missionaries’ installations were seen to have been engulfed with fire. Consequently the affected regions had to be handed over to the Army.  The riots turned into raging war. Before the modernised weapons like rifles and bombs  army possessed, Vanvasis freedom fighters could not stay long in the battle. Hundreds of Vanvasis fell martyred; hundreds other held imprisoned at the instance of missionaries. So were the villages   ransacked by the soldiers commanded by brute British officers. Birsa was especially held shackled and put into the Ranchi jail. Suffering barbarous atrocities, he lastly breathed his last on 9^th June, 1900. It is believed that it was the Jail authority that had poisoned Birsa.