God said don’t drink Hadiya…27 thousand tribals stood up due to the roar of Jatra, story of Gandhi of Jharkhand

New Delhi: It was about 110 years ago, in a small village of Chhota Nagpur, a 25 year old youth named Jatra Oraon stood at his/her crossroads early in the morning. Jatra, who had received religious training from an exorcist, suddenly gathered everyone and said that Dharmesh, the biggest god of Oraon, had ordered him/her to ban meat, liquor, bones and sacrifices. This is what is stopping you all from moving forward. Dharmesh has asked all of us to live with cleanliness and not believe in ghosts and witches. It was from here in Chhota Nagpur, Jharkhand that the fire of change took the form of a movement. Jatra started spreading this message from village to village, due to which the Tana Bhagat movement started in the entire Jharkhand. The followers of Jatara were called Tana Bhagat. Let us know the story of this Tana Bhagat movement.

Jatara instilled hope among the tribals without fear

According to Rai Bahadur Sharat Chandra’s book The Oraons of Chota Nagpur: Their History, Economic Life, and Social Organization, the Tana Bhagat movement developed under the leadership of Jatra Oraon. This sect had about 27 thousand members in 1914. Jatra Oraon was born in 1888 in Chingari village of Bishunpur block of present Gumla district. he/she started a new lifestyle by being virtuous and fearless against superstitions like ghosts. This gave rise to a new perspective of fighting against exploitation and injustice.

God’s order and stop drinking Hadiya

According to Dr. JP Singh’s book ‘Social Change in Modern India’, in April, 1914 Jatra Bhagat announced that he/she had received a direct message from Lord Dharmesh (Lord of the Oraon community) to revive the Oraon religion, because Some bad practices like exorcism, animal sacrifice to God and alcoholism etc. have crept into their religion and these practices should be abandoned by any means. Hence all these religious issues provided the platform for the movement in the initial stage.

Raised voice against Pahan and Mahato

In Chhota Nagpur, landlords were exploiting the Oraon community by charging extra rent for the land. Such rebellious behavior of the landlords enraged the Oraon community. The role of Pahan (priest) and Mahato (village representative) in the village gave way for Jatra followers to raise their voice against these people, as they believed in ghosts and other evil practices. The Oraon people were made to work as laborers by their local landlords without wages. Apart from this, the British government had also snatched away their lands.

Ban on animal sacrifice and ban on drinking alcohol

The result of the Tana Bhagat movement was that animal sacrifice was stopped. Drinking alcohol became prohibited. Superstition did not receive importance. People were exempted from taxes imposed. The followers decided that they would not serve as porters or labourers.

Non-violent army against feudal lords, moneylenders and British rule

Under the leadership of Jatra Oraon, thousands of tribals became members of the ‘non-violent army’ organized against feudal lords, moneylenders and British rule. Under the leadership of Jatra Bhagat, it was announced that they will not pay land revenue, will not do forced labor and will not pay taxes. With that, Jatra Bhagat’s rebellion came into limelight as ‘Tana Bhagat Movement’.

Frightened by the movement, the British arrested Jatra

Unable to understand the basic character and policy of the movement, the British government panicked and arrested Jatra Oraon in 1914. he/she was sentenced to one and a half years. Jatra Oraon died suddenly after being released from jail. In fact, the British government tortured Jatra so much in jail that he/she could not survive for more than 2 months after his/her release.

When Tana Bhagats gave 400 rupees to Gandhi

Due to its non-violent policy, the Tana Bhagat movement continuously developed and got connected to the Swadeshi movement of Mahatma Gandhi. It is also recorded in the history of Congress that a large number of Tana Bhagats participated in the Gaya Conference of Congress in 1922 and the Nagpur Satyagraha of 1923. In 1940, Tana Bhagats in Ramgarh Congress had given 400 rupees in a bag to Mahatma Gandhi.

Jatra Bhagat followers of Gandhiji, movement is non-violent

The Tana Bhagat movement started in April 1914 under the leadership of Jatra Bhagat. Originally the Tana Bhagat movement was started to stop the bad practices happening in the Oraon community of Chhotanagpur and to protest against the policies of the landlords who were directly exploiting the Oraon people. To make this movement successful, people adopted non-violence as their strategy because the followers of this movement were influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.
Har Ghar Tiranga: Tricolor is worshiped every day before eating here, a tradition going on for 105 years.

Became a part of Gandhiji’s non-cooperation and civil disobedience

The Tana movement later joined Mahatma Gandhi’s national movement and adopted his/her principles of truth and non-violence. Apart from this, the followers of this movement also participated in the Congress sessions of Calcutta, Gaya and Lahore. In this way the followers of Tana Bhagat movement participated in national movements against British rule. Even at present, people of Oraon community follow Gandhian ideas. This movement was very unique in its nature, as it attempted to connect with the national movement and played an important role in Indian independence.

Many branches were formed due to different customs and traditions.

Later, due to differences in customs, many branches of Tana Bhagats came into existence. Their main branch is called Saada Bhagat. Apart from this, there are many branches like Bachhidan Bhagat, Karma Bhagat, Lodri Bhagat, Nava Bhagat, Narayan Bhagat, Gaurakshani Bhagat etc. In 1948, the independent government of the country passed the ‘Tana Bhagat Raiyat Agricultural Land Restoration Act’. This Act in itself tells the importance of the movement of Tana Bhagats against the British rule. In this Act, a provision was made to return the land auctioned to the Tana devotees of the British Government during the period from 1913 to 1942.

Tana Bhagat movement was the legacy of Birsa

During the colonial period, tribal rebellions were taking place in different parts of India due to local reasons and the Tana Bhagat movement is one of them. This movement was initially religious, but gradually its goal became political. This movement is considered a major part of the Birsa movement.