Ranchi, Sept. 5: Amid raging controversy regarding the origin of the legendary tribal leader Birsa Munda, a research report published by the Jharkhand Tribal Research Institute, Ranchi, has concluded that Birsa was born at his native village of Uliyatu village in Ranchi district between 1874 and 1875.

A five member committee headed by Ajit Prasad, director, Archaeological Survey of India, Ranchi, appointed by the state government on the directives of the Jharkhand High Court is still trying to find out the exact birth place of Birsa Munda. Though the committee was slated to finalise its findings by June this year, the proceedings have been delayed after Prasad suffered a heart attack while researching at the Patna archives.

Various theories have been floated regarding the birth place of the great tribal leader with even historians divided on the issue.While a number of historians have claimed Uliyatu as the birth place of Birsa, others have claimed Chalkad, Bamba, Kundi and even Khatanga as the martyr’s place of birth.

The Jharkhand Tribal Research Institute, Ranchi (JTRI) research document drawn up by its director P.C.Oraon and research associate Soma Munda said evidence indicate that Birsa’s ancestral house was located at Uliyatu where he was born. The document said as per tribal customs, Birsa’s ancestors had planted a commemorative stone at their Munda tribe burial ground at Uliyatu which was still intact.

JTRI director P.C.Oraon told The Telegraph that as per prevailing tribal customs, tribes are allowed to plant commemorative stones only at their ancestral village burial grounds known in local parlance as sasandaris and not anywhere place else. “Tribes migrating to Ranchi from other places are not allowed to even step into the Ranchi sasandari (burial place) indicating that Birsa hailed from Uliyatu,’’ Oraon said.

The document added that even the mukhiya (headman) of Uliyatu village, Mahta Munda, a former principal of GEL Primary School,Uliyatu, produced the record of land rights which indicated that Birsa’s ancestors, including his elder brother Konta, father Sugna and mother Karmi hailed from Uliyatu. It adds that Birsa’s grandsons Budhram and Sukhram had in their deposition before the JTRI team had conceded that they had no objections if a Birsa mausoleum was built at Uliyatu.

The document added that all books written by eminent historians from Sarat Chandra Ray in 1912 to Mahashweta Devi in 1985 called Uliyatu as Birsa’s place of birth.

Oraon pointed out that once it was established that Uliyatu was the ancestral village of Birsa Munda, it was immaterial where the great tribal leader was born as all people are known by their place of origin, irrespective of the actual birth place.

Regarding the claim of eminent historian Puroshattam Kumar that Kundi was Birsa’s birth place , the document said neither any record of land rights nor any commemorative stone from Birsa’s family could be found in the village.

The document adds that an 1868

reference in the baptism register of GEL Church where Birsa's father,

Masihdas alias Sugna accepted the christian faith does not establish

Sugna's relationship with Birsa.

Of the other places, Chalkad, the document points out that Birsa

belonged to the Purti 'gotra'thoughnot a single person from the gotra

could be located anywhere in the village.

The document adds that all munda tribesmen have indicated that they

would have no objection if the Birsa memorial is constructed at Uliyatu.

However the findings of JTRI has been hotly contested by Puroshattam

Kumar, eminent tribal historian who has claimed that historians have

long refused to accept tribal commemorative stones as evidence of place

of origin. He said that such stones are found everywhere in Jharkhand

and added that he would challenge the findings before the high court.

EoM

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