Tilka Majhi

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Tilka Majhi
Statue of Tilka Majhi, Dumka, Jharkhand.
Born	11 February 1750 Sultanganj, Bhagalpur district, Bengal Subah
Died	13 January 1785(1785-01-13) (aged 34) Bhagalpur, Bhagalpur District, Bengal Presidency
Names Tilka Murmu Majhi
Dynasty	Murmu
Occupation	Santal leader, Tribal leader

Tilka Majhi alias Tilka Murmu Majhi was the first adivasi leader from Santal community, he fought against the destruction of forests and the acquisition of tribal lands which they held as sacred commons.^[1] His father's name was Sundara Murmu. ^{[2] [3]} Majhi or Manjhi title is the honored title of the village headman or village leading person among Santal tribes since immemorable time. Since, Manjhi plays a crucial role for worship and leading the Santal community and revered as Majhi Baba. He took up arms against the British in the 1784, around 70 years before Mangal Pandey. He organized the adivasis predominantly Santal to form an armed group to fight against the resource grabbing and exploitation of British.^[1]

In 1784, the first armed rebellion occurred against the British, and was the beginning of Santal revolt. It was due to great famine in 1770 and the consequences of Court of Directors order influenced by William Pitt the Younger—Court of Director issued ten year of the settlement of zamindari and later in 1800 - this resulted in minimum chance to negotiate between local zamdindars and Santhal villagers. Baba Tilka Majhi attacked Augustus Cleveland, British commissioner lieutenant, and Rajmahal with a Gulel (a weapon similar to slingshot) who died later. The British surrounded the Tilapore forest from which he operated but he and his men held them at bay for several weeks. When he was finally caught in 1784, he was tied to the tail of a horse and dragged all the way to the collector's residence at Bhagalpur in Bihar. There, his lacerated body was hung from a Banyan tree. Such inhumane punishment is still condemned by Santal tribes.^[4]

Manjhi declared that:

Our people have lived here since the dawn of creation. We have never been the lords of the earth. The earth is our mother. We are all her children. We are the trustees of this land. It is our responsibility to see that the land continues to sustain future generations that we have not even imagined. This is our heritage. Then how can you, British, an alien race, declare yourselves the lords and masters of the forests that sustain us and give us life? How can you deny us entrance to the only home we have ever known? We will die before we accept this rule.^[5]

A statue to him was erected at the spot where he was hanged, after Indian independence, which is the nearby residence of S.P. Bhagalpur and named after him. Also, the Bhagalpur University was renamed after him - Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University.^[6]

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