Tana Bhagat Movement

The Tana Bhagat Movement was an agrarian, socio-religious, and non-violent tribal uprising that originated among the Oraon tribe of the Chotanagpur plateau (modern-day Jharkhand) in 1914. Spearheaded by Jatra Bhagat, the movement initially began as a religious reform initiative aimed at purging social evils and superstition from tribal society. It quickly evolved into an anti-colonial and anti-feudal struggle that targeted British authorities, non-tribal landlords (zamindars), and predatory moneylenders (dikus). Unique among tribal revolts for its strict adherence to non-violence (Ahimsa), the Tana Bhagat movement later aligned closely with Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement, making it a prominent example of indigenous participation in the mainstream Indian national movement.

Socio-Religious Origins and Reform Movement

Rise of Jatra Bhagat and the New Faith

In April 1914, a twenty-six-year-old Oraon youth named Jatra Bhagat from Chingri village in the Gumla district of Ranchi announced that he had received a divine revelation from Dharmesh (the supreme deity of the Oraons). He preached a new socio-religious code aimed at purifying Oraon culture and resisting external exploitation. His followers came to be known as Tana Bhagats—derived from the word Tana, meaning “to pull” or “to attract,” symbolizing the pulling together of all Oraons into a reformed way of life, or the pulling out of old, corrupt practices.

Core Tenets of the Tana Faith

Jatra Bhagat called for comprehensive internal reform within the Oraon community to regain moral and spiritual strength against foreign oppressors:

• Monotheism: Rejection of spirit worship (Bonga) and animal sacrifices in favor of worshipping a single supreme God, Dharmesh.
• Abstinence and Vegetarianism: Absolute prohibition of liquor, meat, and intoxicating substances.
• Social Equality: Elimination of class distinctions, exorcism, and superstition within tribal society.
• Rejection of Unpaid Labor: Refusal to perform Beth-Begari (forced unpaid labor) for British officials, zamindars, and contractors.
• Economic Boycott: Refusal to pay land rent to zamindars and taxes to the colonial state, declaring that land was a divine gift that belonged to the tiller.

Evolution into an Anti-Colonial Struggle

Agrarian Distress and Resistance

The Oraons had long suffered under the breakdown of their traditional communal land system, known as the Bhuinhari system. Colonial revenue policies replaced indigenous landholders with non-tribal intermediaries who extracted high rents and forced labor. The Tana Bhagats used non-violent civil disobedience to resist these burdens, stopping all rent payments and refusing to work as coolies or agricultural laborers for colonial authorities.

British Suppression and Leadership Transitions

Alarmed by the rapid spread of the movement across Ranchi, Palamau, Hazaribagh, and Singhbhum, the British administration arrested Jatra Bhagat in 1915 along with his close associates. He was sentenced to imprisonment and died shortly after his release in 1916 due to health complications resulting from prison mistreatment. Following his death, leadership shifted to figures such as Turia Bhagat, Litru Bhagat, and Sibu Bhagat, who continued organizing non-violent civil disobedience across the Chotanagpur region.

Alignment with the Indian National Movement

Integration with Gandhian Ideology

When Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, the Tana Bhagats recognized a strong parallel between their own principles of non-violence, abstinence, and non-payment of taxes and Gandhi’s national program. They became devout followers of Gandhi, adopting the Charkha (spinning wheel), wearing Khadi, and carrying the tricolor flag.

Participation in National Conferences and Agitations

Tana Bhagats actively participated in major nationalist events and campaigns throughout the 1920s and 1930s:

• Gaya Congress (1922): Hundreds of Tana Bhagats walked barefoot from Chotanagpur to Gaya to attend the annual session of the Indian National Congress, where their devotion impressed national leaders.
• Nagpur Flag Satyagraha (1923): Members of the movement joined the nationwide flag movement, courting arrest for carrying the national flag.
• No-Tax Campaigns: They strictly refused to pay land revenue to the colonial government, resulting in the confiscation and auctioning of their ancestral lands by British authorities.
• Civil Disobedience Movement (1930): Tana Bhagats actively picketed liquor shops, boycotted foreign cloth, and broke colonial laws across Bihar and Jharkhand.

Structural Overview of the Tana Bhagat Movement

Legislative Recognition and Post-Independence Legacy

After India achieved independence, the government recognized the sacrifices of the Tana Bhagats, who had lost their holdings during colonial land auctions. The Bihar government enacted the Tana Bhagat Agricultural Land Restoration Act, 1947, which mandated the restoration of lands confiscated by the British government back to the Tana Bhagats or their legal heirs.

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• The Tana Bhagat Movement was started in April 1914 by Jatra Bhagat in Chingri village, Gumla district (Jharkhand).
• The movement originated among the Oraon tribe, belonging to the Dravidian linguistic family.
• Tana means “to pull” or “to draw,” symbolizing the collective pulling together of tribal society to cast off evil customs and external control.
• Traditional communal land ownership practiced by the Oraons is called the Bhuinhari system.
• The Tana Bhagats abandoned the worship of minor spirits (Bonga) and focused on a single creator, Dharmesh.
• It is widely considered one of the earliest tribal movements in India to adopt pure non-violence (Ahimsa) as a core strategy.
• Tana Bhagats attended the Gaya Session of the Indian National Congress in 1922 and participated in the 1923 Nagpur Flag Satyagraha.
• The movement actively supported Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement (1920) and Civil Disobedience Movement (1930).
• The Bihar government passed the Tana Bhagat Agricultural Land Restoration Act in 1947 to return confiscated tribal lands sold during colonial rule.