An enigmatic tribal icon from the turn of the last century suddenly becomes the toast of all political parties. Why? Because adivasi votes are crucial in a spate of upcoming elections
Left: PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to Birsa Munda at Parliament House (Photo: ANI) | Right: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the icon’s birth anniversary celebration in Jhargram, Nov. 15
LAND, FOREST, IDENTITY, FAITH: The themes that relate to India’s tribal communities seem as ancient and unchanged as the jungles of Chhotanagpur where, on a monsoon-soaked night in 1895, a 21-year-old youth named Birsa Munda experienced an epiphany. It was the onset of a remarkable story; an inflection point in Adivasi history. The one change that came with electoral democracy is that identity is now also political—in the party politics sense. For a man who’s a totemic figure of rebellion for Adivasis—indeed, of armed resistance to exploitation by all outsiders—it’s ironic how every party is scrambling for a piece of Birsa.