RANCHI: Descendants of tribal icon and one of India's earliest freedom fighters, Birsa Munda, are hoping that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also pave the way for the realisation of one of their cherished dreams - that of a 'pucca' house.
On Birsa Munday's birthday on Wednesday, Modi is scheduled to visit Ulihatu village, where the great leader's descendants live in an asbestos house.
Birsa Munda was a young freedom fighter and a tribal leader, whose activism in the late nineteenth century is considered to be one of the key milestones in India's two-centuries-long fight against British domination.
Sukhram Munda, the great-grandson of Birsa Munda, rued that his family continues to live in penury 23 years after the formation of Jharkhand, which was expected to give a boost to the development of the tribal population in the area.
“Just look at my house…… it has turned into shambles. Several dignitaries visited this place in the name of paying homage to Birsa Munda but our condition remained same. Government should think in the direction of providing a ‘pucca’ house to us as we would never be able to make one on our own,” he said.
Despite repeated requests made to the district administration, no action was taken in this regard, he added. The district administration and public representatives have so far given the family only false promises.
Currently, the house is being given a makeover by the district administration as the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the place and meet the family. However, it is temporary as all paintings and decoration will vanish within a week or so.
“Now, since Prime Minister Modi himself is coming to Ulihatu, I am quite hopeful that the matter will be taken up and our lives will change,” said Sukhram Munda.
Notably, Narendra Modi will be the first Prime Minister to visit Ulihatu.
Before Modi, no Prime Minister has ever visited the place, which shot into prominence after Jharkhand was created on Birsa Munda's birth anniversary in 2000.
Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu visited Ulihatu last year, while Home Minister Amit Shah had also visited the place in 2020.
After paying homage to Birsa Munda and interacting with his descendants on November 15, Modi will launch the ‘Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ on November 15 at Khunti.
This yatra will cover 2.5 lakh gram Panchayats and 3700 urban local bodies at more than 14,000 locations with more than 2500 IEC vans.
The yatra will start from tribal areas and will last for two months.
Before flying to Ulihatu on November 15, Modi is also scheduled to visit Bhagwan Birsa Munda Museum in Ranchi, the city where Bhagwan Birsa Munda sacrificed his life.
The museum, containing a 25-foot statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, highlights his contribution, along with those of other tribal freedom fighters. Modi had inaugurated the museum on November 15, 2021.
On his latest visit, Modi will inaugurate the new campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi and the newly constructed buildings of IIT-ISM Dhanbad. He will also lay the foundation stone for a new building for IIIT Ranchi on November 15.