This work is a complete account of probably the best-known millenarian movement in tribal India. The movement of the Mundas led by Birsa was typical of the resistance and revitalization movements in the latter half of the nineteenth century. A combination of a religious and a political movement, it represented the struggle and aspirations of his people, sowing the first stirrings of nationalism among them and featuring an urge to recreate the old world which had disappeared under the onslaught of colonialism. Since the second revised edition of Birsa Munda and His Movement was published in 1983, the Birsa cult has developed further, and Birsa Munda has emerged as the icon of tribal people all over India. His movement Ulgulan (the upheaval) has been appropriated by all sorts of people, and by all political parties in Chotanagpur to further their agenda. The legend of the lad from Chalkad has travelled far and wide; and his portrait hangs in the Central Hall of Parliament, the only tribal leader to have been so honoured. Acclaimed as the first of its kind, this study is based on anthropological data and archival material. It traces Birsa s early life and his transformation into a black Christ against the background of the processes of transformation of the tribal society in Chotanagpur. His political movement and his religion are closely studied in the context of their impact on the course of history. The book was translated into various languages of the country and inspired various forms of creative adaptation in contemporary folk and regional literature, including Mahasweta Devi s major novel Aranyer Adhikar. This centennial edition marks the centenary of the martyrdom of Birsa Munda, and is also the third edition in English, restoring official documents and maps which appeared in the first edition, and includes a rare photograph of Birsa Munda, contemporary missionary accounts and additions to the bibliography, besides a fresh updating of the Birsa story as it is seen today. K. S. Singh, formerly of the Indian Administrative Service, spent many years in the Jharkhand region serving and studying tribal people. He has researched and written extensively on tribes, their history and anthropology. Among his well-known works are The Indian Famine 1967: A Study in Crisis and Change (1974), Birsa Munda and His Movement (1983), Tribal Society in India: An Anthropo-Historical Perspective (1985) and the introduction to People of India (1992/2002). The last book is part of his magnum opus, the 43 volume project on the people of India, based on the first pan-Indian survey of all communities of India, conceptualized, spearheaded, and edited by him, as Director General of the Anthropological Survey of India. (1984-1993).

Life and activities of Birsa Munda, 1874-1901, a leader in the peasant movement against the British policy on land distribution system in Bihar.

The book tells the story of BIRSA MUNDA , who led an armed struggle against the British to establish the munda Raj in the tribal region of Chotta-Nagpur, Jharkhand, formerly in Bihar.Besides he launched a spirited campaign against priesthood, alcoholism and belief in spirits and black magic prevelent among various tribal communities.

Adivasis have principally been studied in the context of rebellion, environmental history and the politics of identity. However, preoccupations with definitions and notions of identity, while important in themselves, tend to shift attention away from the inner lives of these communities. This book deals with different aspects of the histories of adivasi communities -- from Rajasthan in the west to Bengal and Orissa in the east. The essays in this book discuss a range of issues affecting the socio-economic and cultural life of adivasis and explore the long term continuities and discontinuities between different political regimes. They also reflect some of the new concerns that have come up relating to methodology and sources, historiography and colonial concerns, the impact of missionaries, gender issues, the agrarian situation, famines and migration. Some of the issues addressed in this volume are the genesis and development of 'tribal' studies in India during the colonial period; the peasantization of adivasi groups and their assimilation within the Hindu caste fold as reflected in Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas; the work of the Protestant missions among the Santals of Chotanagpur; the social and ritual relations between the Bhils and the Rajput ruling dynasties of Dungarpur in southern Rajasthan; the aspect of agrarian change among the Hos of Singhbhum; the factors behind the migration from Chotanagpur, its nature and organization and its impact upon the adivasi village community; the question of women's agency in colonial Chotanagpur; and an exploration of land rights, witchcraft, employment patterns and how women challenged patriarchy in their everyday lives; and the impact of globalisation and liberalization upon adivasis in contemporary India. The book will be of use to students and scholars of history, anthropology and sociology and also to policy-planners.

Biography of Birsa Munda, 1874-1901, freedom fighter from Chota Nāgpur, India and his contribution to the freedom struggle against British rule.

This book examines the representation of Birsa's political life, memory politics and the making of anticolonialism in contemporary Jharkhand. It offers contrasting features of political imaginations deployed in developing memorial landscapes. Framing of Birsa in the heroic narrative through a grand scale of memorialisation, often in the form of the built environment, curates a selective version. This isolates the scope of elaborating his political ideas outside the confines of atypical historical records and their relevance in the contemporary context. The book argues that everyday politics through affective sites such as memorials and statues produce political visions, emotions, and opportunities. It shows how such symbolic sites are often strategically placed and politically motivated to inscribe ideologies. This process outlines how the state and Adivasi use memory as a political tool to lay claims to the past of the Birsa Movement.