#388 - The Incredible Life of Birsa Munda
by Swati Sengupta and illustrated by Devashish Verma
“The Incredible Life of Birsa Munda” by Swati Sengupta and illustrated by Devashish Verma. Published by Talking Cub, the children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger. A short illustrated biography of Birsa Munda, a great revolutionary leader who stood up against the British for the cause of Adivasis being treated fairly.
Birsa Munda was born in the 1870s in the Chhotanagpur region in today’s Jharkhand. As a child he was a dreamer with an unusual quality of mesmerising anyone including animals and birds with his words as well as music. He and the people from his community who were adivasis belonging to the Munda tribe led extremely difficult lives laced with poverty and hard labour. They were deprived of the lands that they traditionally owned by rich landlords and outsiders who were backed by the British government. Birsa studied in a school run by missionaries and education opened up new doors for him. It gave him a view of the world beyond his tiny village and made him realise how dire the situation of his community was.
Birsa decided to retaliate when he felt that too much had passed and he had to stand up to fight for all the rights being denied to his people. Even if it meant being expelled from the school and going back to his old life without any privileges. He realised that the missionaries who he thought were fair also didn’t care about the plight of the adivasis when it came to their land rights. They expected the adivasis to remain the way they were and not raise their voices against the injustice being meted out to them. This was a turning point in Birsa’s life. He had to create awareness in a community which was boggled by poverty, illiteracy, superstitions, bad habits and complete lack of awareness as to what was happening with them. He had to first make them aware and unite them to stand up for their rights. He ended up becoming like a god for many of them and came to be known as “Dharti Aba” or the father of the earth. He led them in armed confrontations against the British police force as peaceful petitions and protests were not leading them anywhere. Read the book to know the extraordinary story of this great leader to know how he transitioned into an unforgettable revolutionary from being just a simple boy.
My 8.5 year old son and I loved reading the book. He was fascinated by Birsa’s unusual story and couldn’t stop reading the book till we finished. We managed to read it in almost one single sitting. The story is a testament to what can be achieved if one sets their heart and mind to a cause that they strongly believe in. And Birsa was a pioneer from the Munda community who set an example for many other communities to follow and stand up for their basic rights. Rising from such a humble background, Birsa became one of India’s greatest tribal leaders and icons of resistance. His war against the British was one of the first such protests by ordinary people. His story needs to be spread far and wide beyond the community and the region. And what better way than a book for this! The book is part of a new series of short and illustrated biographies of Indian icons for younger readers by Talking Cub. The series aims to introduce readers to a diverse group of Indian achievers, both well-known and those who should be. The other books that we’ve read and loved in this series so far are “The Incredible Life of Milkha Singh” and “The Incredible Life of Jhalkari Bai”.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 9/10+.
Reasons to Read
The book is a good means of introducing a new dimension to the awareness about freedom struggle through the story of a local resistance.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Talking Cub here.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Talking Cub, for review. Thank you to Tanu, from Talking Cub, for sending across the book!