Birsa Munda was an Indian tribal independence activist, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe. He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Presidency in the late 19th century, during the British Raj, thereby making him an important figure in the history of the Indian independence movement. The revolt mainly concentrated in the Munda belt of Khunti, Tamar, Sarwada and Bandgaon.
The Kurukh or Oraon, also spelt Uraon or Dhangad, are a Dravidian speaking ethnolinguistic group inhabiting Chhotanagpur Plateau and adjoining areas - mainly the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. They predominantly speak Kurukh as their native language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family. In Maharashtra, Oraon people are also known as Dhangad.
The Munda people are an Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. They speak Mundari as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concentrated in the south and East Chhotanagpur Plateau region of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. The Munda also reside in adjacent areas of Madhya Pradesh as well as in portions of Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Indian state of Tripura. They are one of India's largest scheduled tribes. Munda people in Tripura are also known as Mura. In the Kolhan region of Jharkhand the Munda people are often called Tamadia by other communities.
Ranchi district is the most populous district of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is the district headquarters.
The tribes of Jharkhand consist of 32 scheduled tribes inhabiting the Jharkhand state in India. In 1872, only 18 tribes were counted among the scheduled tribes from which Banjara, Bhatudi, Chik Baraik, and Mahli were marked as semi-Hindu aboriginal and Kora as proletariat Hindu. In the 1931 census, including the above four semi-Hindu aboriginal and Kora, a proletariat Hindu, the number was raised to 26 from 18. They were Birajia, Godait, Karmali and Paharia, but Kisan was excluded from the list. In the 1941 census, Baga, Bedia and Lohra were included again taking Kisan in the annexure and the number came to 30 which prevailed till June 2003. Kanwar and Kol were added on 8 June 2003 in the annexure and the number of Schedule Tribes came to 32.
The Kol people referred to a group of tribal communities of Chotanagpur in eastern parts of India. Historically, the Mundas, Santhal, Ho and Bhumijs were called Kols by the British.
The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and northern Odisha where they constitute around 10.7% and 7.3% of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively, as of 2011. With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals, Kurukhs, and Mundas. Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighbouring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001. They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.
The region have been inhabited since the Stone Age. Copper tools from the Chalcolithic period have been discovered. This area entered the Iron Age during the mid-2nd millennium BCE.
Ranchi district is one among the twenty-four districts of the state of Jharkhand in Eastern India. This region was under the control of the Magadha Empire, then it was a part of the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka and later a part of the Gupta Empire. After the fall of the Gupta Empire a legendary king named Phanimukut established the Nagvanshi dynasty and controlled the Chota Nagpur plateau region for several centuries thereafter.
Ram Dayal Munda, known as R. D. Munda, was an Indian scholar and regional music exponent. He was awarded the Padma Shri of the year 2010 for his contribution to the field of art.
Below is given a chronological record of tribal and peasant revolts in India before independence from British rule in the 1947. The list covers those tribal uprisings that occurred during the period of British rule in India.
The Nagvanshis of Chotanagpur, also known as the Khokhra chieftaincy, was an Indian dynasty which ruled the parts of Chota Nagpur plateau region during the medieval and modern periods. Phani Mukut Rai, considered the first king of the dynasty, claimed to be the son of Pundrika Naga, a mythical Naga. Lal Chintamani Sharan Nath Shahdeo (1931–2014) was last ruling king of the dynasty, until the estate was merged to the Republic of India.
The Nagpuria people, also Nagpuri or Sadan, are an Indo-Aryan speaking ethnolinguistic group who are the native speakers of the Nagpuri language and natives of the western Chota Nagpur Plateau region of Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Sadan are the native Indo-Aryan-speaking ethnolinguistic groups of Chota Nagpur Plateau consist of Indian state of Jharkhand and neighbouring states who speak Nagpuri, Khortha and Kurmali language as their native language.
Pandey Ganpat Rai was a revolutionary and rebel leader in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a chieftain in Lohardaga district of Bihar.
Budhu Bhagat was an Indian freedom fighter. He had led guerrilla warfare against British. He was leader of Kol rebellion and Larka rebellion in 1831—32 in Chhotanagpur.
Dripnath Shah was a Nagvanshi king in the 18th century. His capital was at Palkot. He succeeded Maninath Shah and ruled from 1762 to 1790 CE. He became a vassal of the East India Company in 1771. He submitted list of Nagvanshi kings to Governor general of India in 1787.
Jagannath Shah Deo was a Nagvanshi king in the 19th century. He succeeded Govind Nath Shah and ruled from 1822 to 1869 CE. During his reign, Kol uprising and Sepoy mutiny of 1857 happened. He was ally of British East India company. During his reign, Beniram Mehta had written the book Nagvanshavali, the genology of Nagvanshi kings in Nagpuri language which was published in 1876.
Edward Tuite Dalton CSI was a British soldier and anthropologist. He was posted in Assam, then became commissioner of Chota Nagpur Division. He was posted in Chotanagpur for two decades. Later he became major general of Bengal Lancer. He commanded both European and native people during the sepoy mutiny of 1857. Dalton, along with justice Campbell, Herbert Hope Risley, John-Baptist Hoffmann and P.O.Bidding initiated ethnographic studies in Chotanagpur. His work Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal formed a part of the Census in British India in 1872.
