Tilka Majhi (Aged 34) born on February 11, 1750, in East India Company Raj, Sultanganj, Bihar, India. He was the first Adivasi leader from the Santal community and an Indian freedom fighter. He organized the Adivasis to form an armed group to fight against the resource grabbing and exploitation by the British. Tilka was determined to protect his people and land and organized the Adivasis into an army trained in the use of bows and arrows. For many years, they were at war with the Europeans and their military.
In 1770, there was a severe famine in the Santal area, and people were starving. Tilka plundered the company’s treasury and distributed it to the poor and needy. Inspired by this noble deed of Tilka, many tribes joined the rebellion. This marked the beginning of his “Santal Hull” (rebellion of the Santals), during which he continued to attack the British and their Siobantic allies. From 1771 to 1784, Tilka did not surrender.
1784 is considered the first armed uprising against the British and the beginning of the history of the Santal tribe. The famine of 1770 and the consequences of the court orders of the directors resulted in minimal opportunity for negotiation between the local zamindars and the villagers of Chandal.
Tilka, a former East India Company executive, was attacked and wounded by Augustus Cleveland. The Tilapur forests in which he operated were surrounded by the British, but he and his men held them off for several weeks. When he was finally captured in 13 January 1785, he was tied to a horse’s tail and dragged to the Collector’s house in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India. There, his mutilated body was hung on a tree.
After Indian independence, a statue of him was erected at the place where he was hanged, which is now known as S.P. Residence near Bhagalpur, and named after him. Also, Bhagalpur University was renamed Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in his honor. Another statue was erected at Dumka in the Jharkhand state.
Tilka Majhi
(1750 – 1785) – (Bihar)
Tilka Majhi (Aged 34) born on February 11, 1750, in East India Company Raj, Sultanganj, Bihar, India. He was the first Adivasi leader from the Santal community and an Indian freedom fighter. He organized the Adivasis to form an armed group to fight against the resource grabbing and exploitation by the British. Tilka was determined to protect his people and land and organized the Adivasis into an army trained in the use of bows and arrows. For many years, they were at war with the Europeans and their military.
In 1770, there was a severe famine in the Santal area, and people were starving. Tilka plundered the company’s treasury and distributed it to the poor and needy. Inspired by this noble deed of Tilka, many tribes joined the rebellion. This marked the beginning of his “Santal Hull” (rebellion of the Santals), during which he continued to attack the British and their Siobantic allies. From 1771 to 1784, Tilka did not surrender.
1784 is considered the first armed uprising against the British and the beginning of the history of the Santal tribe. The famine of 1770 and the consequences of the court orders of the directors resulted in minimal opportunity for negotiation between the local zamindars and the villagers of Chandal.
Tilka, a former East India Company executive, was attacked and wounded by Augustus Cleveland. The Tilapur forests in which he operated were surrounded by the British, but he and his men held them off for several weeks. When he was finally captured in 13 January 1785, he was tied to a horse’s tail and dragged to the Collector’s house in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India. There, his mutilated body was hung on a tree.
After Indian independence, a statue of him was erected at the place where he was hanged, which is now known as S.P. Residence near Bhagalpur, and named after him. Also, Bhagalpur University was renamed Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in his honor. Another statue was erected at Dumka in the Jharkhand state.
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