The First Revolutionary

 “Dear students, tell me who was the first revolutionary in the history of Indian Independence?” asked Surbhi, the teacher of VII grade.

“Bhagat Singh madam,” came the instant answer

“No,” she politely replied.

“Subash Chandra Bose?” another student asked her back

“No”

“Chandrashekhar Azad,” one more reply

“Though your replies are all correct, you all need to dig deeper into this subject,” she encouraged.

“Mangal Pandey,” one boy screamed.

“Wow, this was 1857, but then his heroics had some precedence as well.”

“Dear students, the names you all called out were lucky ones, they found a mention in our history books. There are many more unsung heroes who laid their lives down for our Motherland; their sacrifices either went unnoticed or unmentioned. A few local villagers of those times knew about the ultimate sacrifices. With the passage of time, even such stories get buried.

The first act of revolution, much before 1857 had happened in 1784-85. This act was recognized and credit is rightly given to a Santhal leader, Tilka Manjhi. Have you heard of his name before this?”

“No” the students shouted.

“Would you like to know about him?”

“Yes madam” another chorus.

--x--

Surbhi teacher, as she was called, had gained popularity in her school for being an experimental teacher. She taught textbooks but shared more knowledge out of those as well. Her storytelling abilities caught the imagination of young minds in the classroom. Every student looked forward to attending her lectures attentively as she ensured to add some value to her lectures each day.

--x--

“So, dear students, Tilka Manjhi was born on 11^th February 1750 in Bihar.  Since childhood, Tilka lived in the shadow of forest civilization. Those days, as you all understand, there were no schools but the children would learn life lessons for survival since childhood.

Being a Santhal, his affection towards the forest was immense. He used to practice wrestling, climbing on big trees, walking in the valleys, playing with the wild animals, hunting them, roaming in the forests. These activities were a part of his daily routine which him a tough person mentally and physically.

While he grew older, he saw many atrocities meted out by the Britishers on his community members. He saw that his community members would cultivate land but the British Officers would stake claim over the crops. The Britishers would take away a majority of the cultivation and leave the poor tribal farmer family starving. Even the collection of woods and other natural products stored by them would be forcibly taken away by the British regiment.

While doing so, the women and the children were abused as well. The elderly men of the village were warned against spreading violence through stories. These visuals had a deep impact on the young minds of Tilka and revenge against Britishers was in his mind.

Tilka formed his army with youngsters of the Santhal community. Knowing the inside of the forest they won many small combats with British soldiers. They practised the “Guerilla Warfare” technique even during those days. Tilka Manjhi and his army became a threat to the Britishers. The Britishers’ were aware of Manjhi’s efforts and kept a vigil on his movements. A few officers were specially appointed with a special task to eliminate the enemy strength which was piling up strength each passing day.

Many of the British efforts proved futile as the revolutionaries disappeared into the woods easily. It was impossible for them to get hold of any captive from the gang. However, they continued their search for the gang or any inputs related to them.

During one such combat led by Superintendent Cleve Land, Tilka and his men climbed the trees of the jungle and shot arrows secretly. One arrow of Tilka found the neck of the British Superintendent and he collapsed. This sent a warning signal to the British camp about the growing strength of the Santhal Army. They did not take this lightly and intensified their efforts to capture Manjhi.

Known for their “Divide and Rule” policy, the Britishers were successful to lure one of the warlords of the area. From him, they got a confirmed report of a celebration being organized by the army men. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Britishers attacked.

The surprise ambush caught the Santhals’ unaware.

All the members ran helter-skelter. Many of them were martyred, some imprisoned as well but the mastermind, Manjhi, vanished. He took refuge in the surrounding mountainous area along with a few of his men.

The Britishers had made up their minds to end the revolution and the revolutionary together. They laid a siege around the mountainous area. Slowly and steadily, Manjhi and his men began to be killed for lack of food as starvation followed. The days were very tough.

Though the gang camouflaged in the mountainous areas and hid successfully, the hunger was becoming uncontrollable each passing day.

Manjhi decided to come out of the hiding spot and attack the Britishers. He was aware of the ultimate fate but had to take chances to save his fellow men. Unfortunately, Tilka Manjhi’s calculations failed and he found himself trapped by Britishers’. He was captured by them.

To discourage such acts of revolution in the future, the Britishers awarded capital punishment to the young Manjhi and hanged him to death on a banyan tree for everyone to see. He was physically tortured before hanging.

Though Manjhi was martyred, he sowed the seeds of Free India and the Uprising of 1857 happened thereafter.”

When Surbhi finished her story, the class was stunned. There was no reaction instantly. However, it was followed by a huge cheer and clapping. One boy shouted, “Jai Hind” followed by “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”.

While patriotism was flying high, Surbhi noticed a boy with a moist eye and reactionless.

She went near him and asked, “What happened, you seem to be disturbed?”

“No madam, I’m fine. I actually belong to the Santhal community and I have heard stories about Baba Manjhi. There is a statue of Baba Manjhi erected at the exact place where he was executed (The Banyan tree) and there is also a Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in Bihar named after the first revolutionary son of Mother India. He inspires always.”

The class cheered the boy with another round of applause.

==xxx===

Author’s Note: The majority of the sharing about the revolutionary Baba Manjhi is collected through the internet. The story premise is my imagination and any shortcomings in exhibiting the great personality should be considered as my writing failure. Do share your views to improve my writing skills.