Tribal Pride Day: Honouring India's unsung tribal freedom warriors

On 15 November, India celebrates Tribal Pride Day— but for Madhya Pradesh, which has the country’s largest tribal population, the day carries a profound historical and emotional significance.

- KAILASH VIAYVARGIYA

It is not just a commemoration, but a reminder of the countless tribal heroes whose courage and sacrifice against British oppression never received the recognition they deserved.

Birsa Munda: The visionary who lit the first flame of rebellion Long before the rise of Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad or Mahatma Gandhi, Birsa Munda had already sparked a powerful freedom movement in the forests of Jharkhand. At a time when the national struggle lacked organisation, he united tribal communities scattered across remote hills and valleys and built a mass movement against colonial exploitation.

Revered as Dharti Aaba, he inspired people with the call: "Abua raj ete jana, Maharani raj tundu jana." His influence so alarmed the British that in 1900, police and military forces opened fire on a gathering at Dombivadi Hill, killing nearly 400 tribals-an incident that predated Jallianwala Bagh by 19 years yet remains absent from main-stream history. Birsa Munda was later arrested and paraded in chains, but thousands came out to honour him. Confined to solitary imprisonment and allegedly poisoned, he died at just 25, becoming an eternal symbol of resistance.