Rich tributes paid to Bhagwan Birsa Munda on his death anniversary

Jamshedpur: Adivasis (tribal people) living in Jamshedpur have reiterated their demand that the Government grant them powers for �self-rule� and declare the areas inhabited by them as �schedule area�. The demand came at the death anniversary observance of adivasi leader Birsa Munda on Monday.

Birsa Munda was a revolutionary tribal leader who died fighting for the cause of adivasis during the British rule.
Raju of Birsa Munda Society said the Scheduled Tribe and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act of 2006 had its genesis in the struggle of Birsa Munda.

He was the source of inspiration for the tribal people to continue their agitation for �self-rule� and �schedule area� status across the country, except Jammu and Kashmir, Raju said.
Ramdev Manjhi described Birsa Munda as a symbol of adivasis’ fight for justice.

He said that upper castes always dominated the adivasis and exploited them. If the Government delayed the implementation of the Act, they would have to resort to legal remedies, he added.

Srikanth of the Development Through Education (DEED), a non-governmental organisation from Hunsur, recalled how Birsa Munda became a revolutionary after seeing the sufferings of his people at the hands of the British. Munda advocated the idea that the land inhabited by the adivasis belonged to them, he said.