Tana Bhagat Movement

The Tana Bhagat Movement (1914–1919) represents a unique, transformative phase of tribal resistance in modern Indian history. Centered in the Chotanagpur plateau, primarily across the Ranchi, Gumla, and Lohardaga districts of modern-day Jharkhand, the movement was initiated by the Oraon tribe. It began as a distinct monotheistic socio-religious purification movement but rapidly evolved into a militant agrarian and political crusade against British colonial exploitation and local feudal structures. It holds a significant place in the narrative of freedom struggles as it bridged the gap between isolated tribal insurrections and mainstream Gandhian nationalism.

Structural and Economic Triggers

Degradation of the Traditional Bhuinhari Land System

The Oraon tribals traditionally operated under the Bhuinhari land tenure system, which recognized the original clearers of the forest as collective owners of the land. The British administration dismantled this framework by introducing rigid land revenue settlements, transforming communal tribal lands into alienable private property and imposing steep cash assessments.

Exploitation by the Quadriad of Oppression

Following the erosion of Bhuinhari rights, the colonial machinery enabled systemic exploitation by four distinct outside entities, collectively viewed by the tribes as Dikus:

• Jagirdars and Thikadars: Feudal landlords and revenue contractors who arbitrarily hiked rents and evicted tribal peasants.
• Mahajans: Predatory moneylenders who used usurious interest rates to trap tribals in permanent debt cycles.
• Missionaries: Christian evangelical groups whose aggressive proselytization campaigns threatened traditional cultural systems.
• Colonial State: The British Raj, which backed these exploiters through biased courts, police forces, and restrictive forest legislations.

Eradication of Beth-Begari (Forced Labor)

The Oraons were routinely subjected to Beth-Begari, a system of forced, unpaid bonded labor extracted by landlords and colonial public works contractors for infrastructural projects. The economic desperation caused by this practice fueled widespread agrarian radicalism.

Socio-Religious Foundations and Spiritual Tenets

The movement was initiated in April 1914 by Jatra Oraon, a 26-year-old youth from Chingari village in Gumla, who claimed to have received a divine revelation from the supreme deity Dharmesh (the Sun God).

Meaning of Tana

The term Tana translates literally to “pull” or “pulling” in the Kurukh language of the Oraon tribe. It signified pulling or expelling bad spirits, old superstitions, and colonial/feudal oppressors out of their territory, while pulling back their original, pure tribal soul.

The Code of Bhagatism

Followers, who called themselves Tana Bhagats, adopted a strict code of socio-religious purification:

• Monotheism: Complete rejection of minor spirits, ghosts, and witchcraft in favor of worshipping a single deity, Dharmesh.
• Austerity: Absolute prohibition on the consumption of liquor, intoxicating drugs, and non-vegetarian food.
• Agrarian Sacredness: A ban on using cows or bullocks for plowing land, which they viewed as a form of animal cruelty. This led them to temporarily suspend standard agricultural practices as a protest.

Evolution, Spread, and Mainstream Political Integration

The Tana Bhagat Movement evolved through distinct chronological and ideological phases, moving from inward spiritual reform to an active anti-colonial alliance.

The Militant Agrarian Phase (1915–1919)

Following the arrest of Jatra Oraon by the British administration in 1914 on charges of inciting unlawful assemblies, the leadership passed to other charismatic figures like Sibu Bhagat, Balram Bhagat, and Turia Bhagat. The movement spread rapidly to neighboring Munda and Kharia tribes. The Tana Bhagats organized mass non-cooperation campaigns, refusing to pay rent to zamindars and taxes to the British state. They targeted local moneylenders and destroyed colonial revenue records.

The Gandhian Phase (1920 onwards)

The movement underwent a significant ideological shift with the launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement by Mahatma Gandhi. The Tana Bhagats found a natural alignment between their existing vows of temperance, vegetarianism, and simpler living and the Gandhian principles of Satyagraha and Ahimsa. They became the first major tribal community to adopt the spinning wheel (Charkha) and wear Khadi, integrating their local agrarian grievances directly into the national freedom struggle.

Key Leadership Matrix

The movement featured a transition from localized spiritual originators to sophisticated political organizers who participated in national conventions.

Historic Interface with the Indian National Congress

The Tana Bhagats actively participated in mainstream political agitations, transforming their local movement into a recognized wing of the nationalist front.

Attendance at Congress Sessions

The Tana Bhagats traveled on foot over hundreds of miles to attend the historic sessions of the Indian National Congress:

• Gaya Session (1922): A large delegation of Tana Bhagats attended the session, where their disciplined adherence to non-violence earned high praise from national leaders.
• Nagpur Flag Satyagraha (1923): They participated actively in the flag agitations, courted arrests, and hoisted the tricolor.
• Kokoghat Assembly: Organized localized picketing of liquor shops and foreign cloth markets under the Congress banner.
• Ramgarh Session (1940): Held in Jharkhand, this session saw Tana Bhagats presenting a purse of money collected from their meager savings to Mahatma Gandhi as a token of tribal solidarity.

Colonial Suppression and Post-Independence Legislation

British Fiscal Crackdown

The British administration viewed the Tana Bhagats’ absolute refusal to pay land revenue as a direct challenge to imperial authority. The government implemented harsh punitive measures, including the mass confiscation of ancestral tribal lands, auctioning them to non-tribal buyers at nominal rates, and imprisoning thousands of satyagrahis.

Tana Bhagat Agricultural Land Restoration Act, 1948

Following India’s independence, the newly formed government of Bihar passed the landmark Tana Bhagat Agricultural Land Restoration Act of 1948. This specialized legislation made statutory provisions to systematically complement, re-purchase, and restore all lands that had been confiscated and auctioned off by the British authorities between 1913 and 1942 due to the Tana Bhagats’ participation in freedom movements.

Key Historical Trivia for UPSC Prelims

Gandhi’s Favorite Disciples

Mahatma Gandhi held the Tana Bhagats in high esteem, frequently referring to them in his speeches and writings as his “most disciplined and favorite disciples” due to their flawless implementation of non-violent non-cooperation in a region historically prone to violent tribal insurrections.

The Use of the Bell (Ghanta)

During their mass gatherings and prayer meetings, Tana Bhagats used a unique method of communication and spiritual alignment. They rang traditional brass bells (Ghantas) in a synchronized rhythm to signal the collective expulsion of British authority and evil spirits from their villages.

Jatra Oraon’s Premature Demise

Jatra Oraon was arrested within months of starting the movement in 1914 and sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment. The torture he endured in colonial jails broke his health, and he died in 1916, barely a few months after his release, at the young age of 28, making him an early tribal martyr of the region.

The Oraon-Kurukh Linguistic Identity

The Oraons, the chief architects of this movement, belong to the Dravidian linguistic family, speaking the Kurukh language. This sets them apart anthropologically from neighbor tribes like the Mundas and Santhals, who speak Austroasiatic Austro-Asiatic languages.