A tribal freedom fighter who took on the British Empire with nothing but conviction and a battle cry is being remembered today — 151 years after his birth. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to Bhagwan Birsa Munda on Sunday, 15 November 2026, marking both the icon's birth anniversary and the national observance of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.

Singh's post offered a sweeping tribute in Hindi, calling Birsa Munda's life 'adamya sahas, swabhimaan aur matrubhumi ke prati samarpan ki anupam gatha' — 'an unparalleled saga of indomitable courage, self-respect, and dedication to the motherland.' He praised Birsa Munda for raising his voice against British exploitation and for fighting to protect the identity and rights of tribal society.

Who was Dhartee Aaba — the 'Father of the Earth'

Bhagwan Birsa Munda, reverentially addressed as Dhartee Aaba ('Father of the Earth'), was born on 15 November 1875 in the Chota Nagpur region of present-day Jharkhand. A leader of the Munda tribal community, he organised resistance against British colonial land-alienation policies and the exploitation of Adivasi communities in the 1890s. His movement, known as the Ulgulan ('The Great Tumult'), forced colonial administrators to reckon with indigenous land rights. He died in British custody in 1900, aged just 25 — but left behind a legacy that tribal communities across India still invoke.

Janjatiya Gaurav Divas: from 2021 to a national fixture

Singh noted in his post that it was under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Birsa Munda's birth anniversary was formally declared Janjatiya Gaurav Divas starting 2021. The day is designed to give national recognition to the contributions of India's tribal heroes — leaders who, for decades, occupied the margins of official freedom-struggle narratives. The Defence Minister extended warm wishes to all on the occasion, writing that Birsa Munda's life and ideals 'will continue to inspire generations to stand against injustice, take pride in their culture, and fulfil their duties to the nation.'

The observance is now in its sixth year, and has steadily grown into a fixture on India's official commemorative calendar — with central and state government programmes held across tribal-majority regions of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

One hundred and fifty-one years on, a young man from Chota Nagpur who refused to accept colonial rule is recognised at the highest levels of the Indian state — a measure of how profoundly the terms of national memory can shift.