This year, India celebrated the 75th anniversary of its independence. Dubbed ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the celebrations remind us of the past and the price our previous generations have paid for us to reach this day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a series of events and programs in March 2021 to be spread out over 75 weeks. One essential aspect of the celebrations is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the freedom struggle.
Hundreds of people can be credited with helping India obtain its independence. From Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, all played essential roles in the freedom struggle. Although the tribal population’s contributions are less well-known, they played a huge role in laying the groundwork to make India a country ruled by democracy.
India was freed from British rule on August 15, 1947. But before that day, many Indians fought bravely against the might of the British and their administrative personnel. We all know about famous names like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and several others, but do you know who Tilka Manjhi, Budhu Bhagat, Ramji Gond or Rami Gaidinliu are? Do you know how the foundation of the freedom struggle was laid much before 1857 to thwart British colonialism? Or, do you know what these warriors did after India attained independence? This book is an attempt to provide a brief overview of their contributions and stories.
We are often not aware of the important historical figures who have made an impact on our lives. That’s why books such as ‘The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat’ play a crucial role in telling the stories of these unsung heroes and recounting their efforts, courage and heroism. This book, co-authored by Tuhin A Sinha and Ambalika, tells 17 inspiring stories from India from periods of colonial rule.
The book owes its success due to the authors and the insightful foreword by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. The foreword opens up about the need to explore the lives of unsung heroes in rural India.
A crucial lesson from the unknown history of Bharat
This book retells the stories that history books have repeatedly overlooked. The contributions of these Tribal heroes to the struggle for independence and the challenges they faced in fighting against British control are important, poignant lessons that every generation needs to hear. More importantly, this book also highlights the inadequacy of efforts by local, state, and central administrations to preserve history in the past.
For example, the first chapter tells the tale of Tilka Manjhi, the Santhal Tribal leader from Bhagalpur, Bihar. In the 1780s, he rebelled against the British administration. He had attacked British collector Augustus Cleveland with a poisonous arrow that put him in bed for months. An act that made him the first recorded Tribal leader to take up arms against the British.
Manjhi was captured after years of efforts on January 12, 1785. He was tied to four horses and dragged for miles. The next day, he was publicly executed by hanging to a banyan tree. While Augustus Cleveland found all the space in history, the story of Manjhi was lost to time until a few years ago. As a matter of fact, the official records suggest that Cleveland’s poor health was due to harsh climatic conditions and stress and has no mention of Manjhi’s attack.
A tribute to brave Tribal women of Bharat
Everyone knows about the great women who have contributed to the fight for independence. From Bhikaji Cama to Sarojini Naidu, plenty of women have space in history books. However, have you heard of Helen Lepcha, Dashriben Chaudhury or Rani Gaidinliu? These are a few of the many women tribal leaders who played an important role in the struggle for independence.
Do you know Helen Lepcha helped Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who was under house arrest in Kurseong, to flee India? Inspired by Gandhi, Helen Lepcha left school and joined the Non-Cooperation movement. Her life revolved around fighting British exploitation against Tribals as a labourer. Helen Lepcha, alias Sabriti Devi was 14 when she joined the struggle for independence. She participated in the Khadi movement led by Gandhi in 1918. Participating in Congress and radical women’s groups, she was influenced by Sister Nivedita, Bhikaji Cama, Annie Basant and Sarojini Naidu. After Independence, Sabriti continued advocating for causes and eradicating social evils.
OpIndia had a conversation with Tuhin A Sinha, co-author of the book. We discussed his journey while writing this book and the previous one on Birsa Munda.
OpIndia: What inspired you to write the book?
Tuhin: Right from my first book in 2006, was a tale of complex relationships in urban society, to a cricket thriller after that to three socio-political thrillers, to a book on Kashmir to an espionage thriller with a Covid backdrop on Mission Shengzhan, I have always enjoyed probing and experimenting with new genres.
Post-2014, we have seen a significant transformation in our society in our country. For the first time, the characters from our history who did not get their rightful place, like Birsa Munda and even Subhash Chandra Bose, are getting the deserved recognition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated their contribution and made genuine efforts to provide them with the space they deserve in the history books.
So after eight or nine books, I was struggling with a subject. I was trying to figure out 2019-20 what the next big subject I would like to attempt on would be. When PM Modi started talking about our tribal heroes, our unsung heroes, I felt this was the right subject I would like to experiment on.
The journey began with Birsa Munda. I have a special connection with him. I grew up in Jamshedpur. It was common to have a small colony named after him. However, information on his life was rare. When PM Modi invoked Birsa Munda on several occasions and talked about his contributions, I also started working on and researching the project. This was how the first book on Birsa Munda, the first of the Tribal Trilogy, was conceived.
The second was The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat because when you enter a genre and move ahead with a theme, it makes sense to probe that theme deeply. The third book on the genre will come out in the middle of next year. The name of the book will be revealed later.
I think the inspiration was the socio-political narrative in the country where the unsung heroes had begun to be celebrated, and it is my humble contribution to that narrative.
OpIndia: What problems were faced in researching historical facts about these warriors?
Tuhin: The biggest challenge was research because history has always been written from the point of view of rulers and kings. So first-hand information on Tribal warriors was not easy to find. There was brief information about Birsa Munda but no comprehensive book. The research for The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat was even more difficult. This is where my co-authors, Ankita Verma for Birsa Munda and Ambalika for The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat, were extremely helpful in digging out research content. We took the information available in the public domain as the base. In addition, we used books and articles written by the British, especially on the Santhan incident of 1855. So research was the most complex and challenging part of writing these books.
OpIndia: What is your message for the young Indians in regard to the unsung heroes?
Tuhin: My only message to the youth is to choose your icons and your idols wisely. The world has changed. The time of the dynast, especially the incapable dynast, has ended. You have to look into our subaltern areas to dig out the suitable icons and the good stories. That is what we are trying to do through these books. There are a lot of motivational stories that were never appreciated. This is an extension of the social equality and social justice project that this government has initiated. So celebrating the unsung heroes is an effort to correct history. My message to the youth is to find their heroes, icons and role models wisely so they can work towards building the nation and not the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’.
OpIndia: In your view, what more can the state and central government do to popularise such stories?
Tuhin: I think the state should include the stories of these freedom fighters, the unsung heroes, in all our study materials and our school syllabuses. One of the steps I am trying to explore is to get these books converted into Children’s format, which can be utilised in educating standard four and standard five students. I am also starting communication with National Book Trust for the same. The government should also try to popularise these characters among the children because when children grow up reading and hearing about these stories, their priorities will be on the path as far as nation-building is concerned.
OpIndia: How can we include these stories in school and college history books? What could we do to get people to start talking about Tribal heroes?
Tuhin: As I mentioned earlier, these characters need to be included in the books in schools and colleges. I am attempting the same in which National Book Trust can play a vital role. Our education policy has changed considerably in the last few years. The new education policy aims to Indianise or localises the content of education. Over time, the more awareness we create about these characters, the more we will succeed in creating a narrative among the youth and the children. Also, I am trying to cinematically adapt these books. Viacom has bought the rights to Birsa Munda. I hope sooner or later, it will be made into an OTT or TV series. These are small ways to try to popularise these characters as much as possible and get them included in the study material, possibly going ahead.
This is just the beginning
Without the contributions of tribal heroes, India would not have achieved freedom. Some aspects of this rich heritage are still waiting to be explored, which is one reason why we need more research done.
The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat is available on Amazon and Rupa Publications.
