Honouring Birsa Munda requires resisting the loot of natural resources

By Raj Kumar Sinha* 

The legacy of Dharti Aaba Birsa Munda is inseparable from the struggle to protect indigenous land, identity, and rights. On June 9, as we commemorate Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs’ Day), it is imperative to reflect not only on his life but also on the ongoing injustices faced by tribal communities in the name of “development.”

During Birsa Munda’s time, the British colonial administration began dismantling traditional tribal agriculture and imposed a feudal system. As tribal methods of farming could not produce surplus, non-tribal cultivators were brought in to settle on tribal lands. This led to widespread land alienation. A new class of exploitative contractors emerged, disrupting agriculture and eroding tribal social structures.

Birsa Munda, a young boy from Ulihatu village in present-day Jharkhand, rose to lead a resistance at just 25. He mobilized his people not only against economic oppression but also cultural destruction. His movement, known as Ulgulan (The Great Tumult), forced the British to enact laws to protect tribal land rights. Birsa’s vision connected land ownership with cultural autonomy, asserting both economic rights and traditional values.

Today, however, tribal communities face an even greater threat.

Corporate Greed Targets Tribal Land

Most of India's major development projects are being implemented in Fifth Schedule areas—constitutionally designated tribal zones. These regions are rich in resources:

- 71% of the country's forests

- 92% of coal reserves

- 92% of bauxite

- 78% of iron ore

- 100% of uranium

- 85% of copper

- 65% of dolomite

- and 70% of water sources

These lands have always sustained tribal life and India's industries alike. But now, corporations—domestic and global—view them as assets to be seized. Displacement is accelerating, and no adequate solution has been implemented to rehabilitate the affected.

According to a 2016 report by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, between 1950 and 1990 alone, 8.7 million tribals were displaced—making up 40% of all displaced people in that period. In the Narmada Valley alone, nearly a million people have been affected by proposed dams.

Adding to this crisis is the forced eviction from tiger reserves. Across 19 states, 84,808 families from 848 villages—mostly tribal—are to be relocated from the core zones of these reserves. Already, 25,007 families have been removed from 257 villages. On June 19, 2024, the National Tiger Conservation Authority issued directives for the urgent relocation of another 64,801 families from 591 villages.

This so-called development promises prosperity but delivers destruction. It begins by raising hopes and ends by compromising the very foundations of community life. It demands monopoly over shared resources, forcing tribal people to become refugees on their own land.

The False Promise of Development

In 1986, the UN declared that development is a human right. India is a signatory. Three conditions were laid down for just development:

1. Informed consent of the affected people

2. Equitable sharing of benefits

3. Protection of their livelihood resources

Again in 2007, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reaffirmed the tribal right to land and livelihood. But India has largely ignored these international commitments.

For thousands of years, tribal communities have preserved forests, rivers, hills, and biodiversity—not through coercion, but through tradition and way of life. They never claimed exclusive ownership. Yet now, in the era of corporate globalization, these same communities are being pushed out by the very forces that claim to be advancing the nation.

If Birsa Munda led his people against British colonialism, today's tribals face the corporate-colonial nexus. The challenge is no longer external empires, but internal exploitation masked as progress. The state, politicians, administrators, and middlemen are complicit in silencing dissent—through fear, bribery, or brute force.

Constitutional Responsibility and the Fifth Schedule

In light of these systemic violations, the Government of India—on the recommendations of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (14th Report, 2018–19)—issued instructions on April 29, 2022, reminding state governors of their constitutional duty under the Fifth Schedule.

Governors are empowered to examine all laws, regulations, and notifications applicable to Scheduled Areas, and to withhold or amend their implementation based on tribal welfare. Under Article 244 of the Constitution, any law meant for Scheduled Areas must first be evaluated by the Tribal Advisory Council. But these provisions remain largely symbolic.

As the late Dr. B.D. Sharma, a former Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, rightly observed:

“The greatest tragedy for India’s tribals is that they won independence from British rule through sacrifice—but were again enslaved by post-colonial laws.”

This Martyrs’ Day, let us not reduce Birsa Munda to mere symbolism. To truly honour him, we must halt the plunder of tribal resources and restore the constitutional, legal, and moral commitments to indigenous communities.

Only then will Birsa Munda’s ulgulan echo meaningfully across this land.

---

*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Union, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)