The Dust-Storm and the Hanging Mist- A Study of Birsa Munda and His movement in Chhotanagpur (1874-1901)

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Historians have paid little attention to the various attempts of Indian tribal populations to resist by organized violence the encroachment of outsiders on their ancestral lands, and even though the outward course of some of the tribal rebellions has been described in official reports, there are few detailed studies of the causes and social implications of these movements. Rebellions of aboriginal tribesmen against the authority of any established administration are among the most tragic conflicts between rulers and ruled. Whatever course the clash may take, it is always a hopeless struggle of the weak against the strong, the simple minded and ill informed against the concerted resources of a powerful system, and only too often a struggle of those who have been wronged against the representatives of an executive which, for the sake of maintaining law and order, supports the vested interests of those who have exploited and oppressed the ignorant tribesmen. In the 19th and early 20th century there have been several rebellions and minor insurrections of aboriginal tribes, and some of them can be traced in broad outline. Among the most notable were the Santal Rebellion in Bihar, the Bhil Rebellion in Kandesh and the Rampa rebellion in the East Godavari District. All of them had the character of defensive movements, and were the last resort of tribesmen driven to despair by the encroachment of outsiders on their land or economic resources. They could have easily been avoided had the governments of the day recognized the aboriginals' grievances and taken steps to remedy them. In most cases some such steps were taken after the collapse of the rising, but a mare far-sighted policy could have removed the causes of despair and frustration before the pressure on the tribesmen had made an out- break of violence inevitable. Anyone with first hand experience of conditions in areas where aboriginals are subjected to exploitation by more advanced populations must be surprised not by the occurrence of risings, but rather by the infrequencey of violent action on the part of aboriginals deprived of their ancestral lands and the freedom they enjoyed before their contact with populations superior in economic and political power.

I still recall the sleepy hours of the night of the 30th December, 1960, spent at Birbanki, about twenty- eight miles south of Khunti, across the wild range of "winding and crooked hills". A song (mentioned earlier, from which the title of the book has been derived) of the Ulgulan (the Great Tumult, as the Mundas recall their last movement under Birsa Munda) lyrically rendered in bhajan melody accompanied with the corresponding vigorous dance number round a winter bonfire, moved me to pursue the present study. I could not make any headway for pressure of work for almost two years and a half, though I absorbed and grew into my melieu. I discovered the manuscript written by Birsa's disciple and comrade-in-arm, Bharmi Munda, on the 22nd May, 1962, and also collected a number of folk songs on the move- ment. Slowly the work grew on me I could not wrench it out of the historical context. A four-month interlude of leisure from official work enabled me to develop the work into a doctoral dissertation, "Birsa Munda and his movement in Chotanagpur 1874 1901".

The work grew out of my preoccupation as an officer in charge of a Subdivision inhabited predominantly by the Mundas from August, 1960, to December, 1962. It invested my day-to-day work with a human content and a sense of perspective. I had an opportunity not only of seeing through the execution of welfare and development programmes but also studying at close quarters their impact on the Mundas, their moods and attitudes embedded in Munda traditions. This led me to the roots of Munda life, its leaven and inspiration. Thus did I discover the range of Birsa's influence on his people which could be drawn upon, though in a small way, in opening up what was an Ultima Thule to the processes of rapid development. To this end I organised the Birsa mela, on a modest scale, at Chalkad in June, 1961 and then again, in June 1962.