A revolution against the ‘British-Missionaries’ nexus
By Er. Rajesh Pathak
Former President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnana writes: ‘By their strong criticism the Christian missionaries shook the faith of an individual like me on the India philosophy and moved the pillars of those traditions against which I stood . Only due to it that now I am inclined to study Hindutva in order to know how much portion of it is dead and how much of it still alive today.’( Sanskruti Ke Char Adhayaye: Ramdhari Singh Dinkar)
And after independence – recalibrating the ways to sustain their activities in changed situation – Church grew to be a source of Deep State to fund media houses to aggrandize the ulterior motives, both exploiting journalistic immunity as a facade . At one point of time the World Council of Church almost ran parallel government in North east with politicians having religious affinity with it. Concerning which the then Governor of Nagaland, MM Thomas, even furnished detail inputs to Central government. The region is known for being mineral rich with sharing 98.5% of Chromite; 77% Cobalt; 95% Nickel that the total mines of country owns. In 2007 a renowned national magazine shocked the nation by its report as to how the nexus of Church and multinational companies vying each other to lay the hands on the plump of wealth in the form of minerals in region. And later this even culminated into slaying the tribal saint Sanyasi Laksmanananda Saraswati engaged in awakening the local tribes against the conversion led wealth plunder.
Lakshmanananda is not first tribal leader to have been eliminated by missionaries led nexus of their kind, however. Far back in 19th century Birsa Munda , a tribal saint turned revolutionary went meeting same fate as Lakshmanananda. See how:
Flute player and painter, Birsa Munda was born in Janjati [schedule tribe] village of Jharkhand named Unnihat on 15th 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 what he found there 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 could get admission in 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 baptised him, to be called Birsa David henceforth.
After the completion of education, Birsa was leading the simple life of a common man that he came into the contact of then a famous Vaishnav saint, Shri Anand Pandey. Gaining his proximity, the inborn Hindu sanskaras [virtues] in Birsa gained resurgence again, 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, Mahabharata and Gita 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 sacred vermilion-mark on the forehead. Inspired by him, the Janjati (Schedule Tribe) people — earlier misguided by Christian missionaries, being distracted from Hinduism—yet again initiated worshipping the 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 of being anti-establishment. Birsa was sent to the Hajaribagh jail. The incident incensed entire Janjati fraternity; for them Birsa had grown to be God figure. But before the circumstances around, they were helpless.
On 30th 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 take the meetings of the people 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 armed revolution. And on 24th December, 1899 the day came when Janjati community set out with the bows-arrows and other arms from their homes, giving the call of revolution. Soon places falling around and between Ranchi to Chaibasa were held captive in the hands of Brisa’s followers. Wherever British officers, and missionaries working in tandem with them were found they had to face the fury of arrows discharged 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 rifles, bombs and other modernised weapons the army laced with, Janjati freedom fighters could not stay long in the battle. Hundreds of them fell martyred; hundreds other held imprisoned at the behest 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 breathed his last on 9th June, 1900. It is believed that it was the Jail authority that had poisoned Birsa!
