While the first day of the New Year is a symbol of joy and celebration all over the world, for Kharsawan of Jharkhand this date is still like a deep wound. After independence, on January 1, 1948, such bloodshed took place on the land of Kharsawan, which is compared to the Jallianwala massacre.
Thousands of tribals were fired upon that day when they had gathered to raise their voice against the decision to merge the princely states of Kharsawan and Seraikela with the then Orissa. Like every year, this time also a large number of people gathered at the Martyr Memorial in Kharsawan on 1 January in memory of the martyrs.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Minister Deepak Biruva, Singhbhum MP Joba Manjhi, Chakradharpur MLA Surkharam Oraon, Kharsawan MLA Dashrath Gagrai and Ichagarh MLA Savita Mahato also reached the memorial and paid tribute to the martyrs.
The background of this firing is related to the merger of princely states and reorganization of states after the independence of the country. At that time, a proposal was made to include Kharsawan and Seraikela in Orissa, which was strongly opposed by the local tribal society. They were demanding a separate state instead of merger with Orissa.
Regarding this demand, a huge meeting was organized at Kharsawan Haat ground on January 1, 1948, which was to be led by tribal leader Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda. Tribal agitators from many remote areas including Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Chaibasa, Simdega, Khunti, Tamar had reached Kharsawan to participate in the meeting.
Due to some reason Jaipal Singh Munda could not reach the meeting place. After this, the people present there decided to go to Kharsawan palace and inform the king about their demands.
On the other hand, the Orissa government had already deployed heavy police force. As the crowd of thousands moved towards the palace, the police warned them to stop them. When the warning was ignored, the police started firing indiscriminately.
This incident is remembered as the most brutal repression in the history of the tribal movement. Jaipal Singh Munda had said in his speech on January 11, 1948 that dead bodies were strewn in Kharsawan market, the injured were yearning for help and water, but the administration neither allowed anyone to come in nor to go out.
He had alleged that in the evening, the dead bodies were loaded into trucks and dumped in forests and rivers. Even after 76 years of the incident, it is still not clear how many people were actually killed in the Kharsawan firing. The report of the tribunal constituted to investigate this massacre has not yet been made public.
After paying tribute, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that today is Martyr’s Day and also the first date of the year. New Year is Happy New Year day for the whole world. But, this is Martyr’s Day for the tribals, indigenous people, farmers and laborers of Jharkhand. Jharkhand is full of history of martyrs. Hardly any state has so many martyrs.
The Chief Minister said that the martyrs of Kharsawan firing will be searched and honored. Its draft has been prepared. For this, a judicial inquiry commission will be formed. Retired judges will be kept in it. The martyrs of this shooting will be honored before next year’s Martyrs’ Day.
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