NEW DELHI: Tuhin A. Sinha, a distinguished author, who is also a member of BJP on Saturday has written letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to confer “Bharat Ratna” to Birsa Munda who is known as the revolutionary icon in tribal belt of Jharkhand. Recently, Tuhin A. Sinha released his book ‘The Legend of Birsa Munda’, co-authored with Ankita Verma, has researched comprehensively on Birsa Munda’s life.
In his letter to PM, author Sinha has also demanded the creation of India’s biggest war memorial at Dombari Hills in Jharkhand, where Birsa Munda’s resolute warriors had put up an incredible fight against the British soldiers in January 1900.
He has ingrained for the need to weave in a strong cultural narrative around Birsa Munda in Jharkhand’s development plans. He has also appealed for the creation of a Birsa tourism corridor that would generate immense local employment opportunities, besides an extension of the term ‘Scheduled Tribe’ to mean Vanvasi, instead of Adivasi in Hindi.
Tuhin Sinha’s book ‘The Legend of Birsa Munda’ has been published by Amaryllis, an imprint of Manjul Publishing House and will soon be available in multiple Indian languages. Among other initiatives, the author, in collaboration will Indic Academy, plans to travel to Birsa Munda’s village Ulihatu, near Ranchi, and distribute 50 free copies to the descendants of Birsa Munda and the clan.
“The state of Jharkhand, which came into existence on 15 November 2000, is yet to realize its true potential. As we get ready to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda in 2024, there is a growing sentiment among the people of Jharkhand that a lot more needs to be done to ensure justice to the magnificent yet largely unexplored legacy of Birsa Munda. The state with its rich reservoir of mineral resources, vast forest cover and concentrated industrialist belts deserves more”
“The thing about subaltern historical heroes is that during their lifetime, there was hardly any documentation of their life or their movements. We took cognizance of their greatness only in hindsight, long after they were gone.
But when looking at the extraordinary life of Birsa Munda, and his efforts in raising a private army to take on the Britishers, it is quite likely that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose too may have drawn inspiration from him. Netaji raised a private army on a much grander, international scale in the early 1940s… something that Birsa too did, but on a much smaller scale four decades before Netaji,” said the author.