The Tana Bhagat Movement: A Peculiar Tribal Rebellion Against Oppression

Tribal protests date back to the earliest movements of mass aggression and suppression. Tribals were estranged from the chaos of the city residents, and were often exploited at the hands of oppressors like the British. Colonization can break the spirit and hope to a great extent. This can be vividly seen in the Oraon tribe of Chotanagar who started disbelieving their ancient gods and spirits. The Tana Bhagat Movement is a perfect example where a strong tribal community abandoned their traditions because of their disappointment with colonisation.

Tribals live in harmony with nature, Source: Pinterest, Juicebox gallery

Tribals are humble people. All they ask for is sustained survival. Forests are their home hence, they worship every element of nature that fosters them. That was the case before self-proclaimed rulers crammed the earth, colonizing even the forests inclusive of the tribals who inhabited there. But how far one can keep one’s cool when the world seems to be breaking at the seams? When the other humans, those who have created their worlds called cities by snatching the property of nature audaciously, without caring to ask for permission or heed to any advice of control.

It's difficult to act the same way when the whole world seems to be existing in a paradox. The tribal communities of India are diverse according to their diverse state of residence. They are the legacy of the forests, humans who have learned to live with an understanding of nature and ensure harmony and peace. Just like the gentle caress of nature through soft winds which makes a forest dance, tribals are always considered to be gentle beings who do not intend to commit any harm as long as they are not harmed. They never attack, they respond. A similar response started on a broader and more organized basis in the form of the Tana Bhagat Movement, in 1914, in the forests of the Chotanagar plateau of Bihar, presently in Jharkhand. It was a rebellion started by the Oraon tribe of Chotanagar and was an extension of a desperate wish for elevation, in a world that was plagued with hollow land laws, which prohibited the tribals from using their lands which have been passed down in their cultures from one to generation to other.

The tribals never claimed to own nature solely as their own, like the British tried to do on paper. The former believed that they belong to the forests but the forests don’t belong to them. The rebellion was started by a youth of the Oraon community called Veer Jatra Bhagat, who once claimed that he dreamt about foreign spirits and claimed that if the community would worship the foreign spirits through exorcism or other supernatural ritual practice then the Oraon people would be elevated from their degraded position of subjugation and oppression.

Jatra started this movement with the motive of securing the communities from many evils like diseases or famines which can wreck both the tribals and nature. New traditions and prayers cropped up because of a disbelief in the past ways of practice and worship, believed to have turned obsolete.

The Oraon tribe, Source: Society survival2

The rebellion was initially named the ‘Kurukh Dharma Movement’ because under this a new Dharma was formed which stated that worshipping new deities would end the evils of colonisation, that is the Zamindari system, land revenue taxes, etc. Veer Jatra became a messenger of the new spirits and proclaimed that the tribals faced so much pain earlier because the Oraon gods wanted to keep the tribe isolated and imprisoned with a rope of helplessness. The need for new gods was felt who could authorise the real power of nature and end the oppression that the Oraon people are subjected to.

The rebellion was based on a very superstitious foundation but it had a modern approach in the sense that it was non-violent from its beginning to its end in 1920. The leader, Veer Jatra admired and respected Mahatma Gandhi greatly and knew that the future of every person in the country can be improved only through non-violent protests against the anarchy of every superior community, like the British, the Hindus, and the Christians.

The Movement died down by 1920 because it found its saturation in national unity and the national struggle for independence through non-violence. By that time, Gandhi had become very focused to attain India’s independence and it was considered a golden signal for the Oraons to merge their non-violent movement with that of Gandhi and hence, the chief oppressor was recognized. Even though the movement died down with no specific conclusion, Veer Jatra Bhagat has become an inspirational figure in modern tribal communities. It's remarkable how an aspirational native rebellion found its roots in the united goal of independence. It was the first time when a sense of alienation was demarcated and India stood still and straight as a single united country.