Forgotten clan

The clansmen worship Birsa Munda and practise non-violence. They are strict vegetarians, cook their own food and wear white clothes and walk barefoot. Every Thursday, they gather inside a hut in Lumbai village to pray together. Among them is 52-year-old Mangra Munda, who acts as their priest. Like his father and generations of Birsaites before him, Mangra was born into the sect. But the hold of the clan might not last forever. ‘‘Unlike in the days of yore, the children were not ready to stick to our religion. We have allowed them to attend school and wear uniform,’’ said Mangra. Budhwa and Etwa Munda, both illiterates, have eight children who attend school and wear uniform but their parents aren’t allowing change yet. ‘‘When they return home, they wear the white clothes,’’ says Budhwa.

With school uniform having come only so far, elections are far behind. Mangra, Budhwa and Etwa and 2000-odd Birsaites like him are voters on paper. Most of them are illiterates or dropouts and are not interested in making a choice.

Eking out a living by farming their lands that are not even irrigated, these tribals expect little from the administration. Scattered around Dewa, Giru, Urkiring and Serengda villages in Ranchi’s Khunti Lok Sabha constituency, they were represented in the dissolved Lok Sabha by the BJP’s Karia Munda.

The state-run school is about the only sign of development in these villages. Even at Lumbai, less than a kilometre from the block office at Bandgaon, there is no electricity, no road. As many as 75 households share the water from eight wells and six hand pumps. These, too, turn dry in summer and residents have to fetch water from a pond, five kilometres away.

None of them has raised a demand before state government officials. Says Bandgaon Block officer Jadu Munda who is posted here since 2001: ‘‘The followers of Birsa Munda are introverts, with innocence writ large on their faces. Unlike their leader who led a violent movement against the British, they sre non-violent. They have never asked the government for anything.’’

They have their reasons for never approaching the BDO office. ‘‘We know we won’t get anything from any one of them…At the block office, no file moves without money. We stand for truth and honesty and we can’t indulge in corruption,’’ says Mangra. And no, ‘‘we have never approached MP saheb’’. That because, the few who did vote were in favour of Karia Munda’s rival, the Congress’ Sushila Kerketta.

They won’t disclose who they will vote this time but they have demands — bijli, sadak, pani and a guesthouse at Lumbai. ‘‘Our most pressing need is for a guesthouse for our brothers who come here from far-flung areas for the Thursday prayer,’’ says Mangra.