CM Soren pays tributes to Kharsawan tribal martyrs: What was the massacre likened to ‘Jallianwala Bagh’

On X, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad paid his “heartfelt tributes to all the tribal brothers who were martyred in the Kharsawan Massacre”.

On January 1, 1948, the police opened fire at a crowd gathered for a protest in Kharsawan, killing hundreds, or by some accounts, thousands of Adivasis.

Here is the story of the incident, which is referred to by many as Independent India’s Jallianwala Bagh tragedy.

The history

In 1912, the Bengal Presidency was partitioned to create the Bihar and Orissa Province, which included present-day states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha.

There existed a large Adivasi population with its distinct culture in this province that wanted a separate tribal state.

The Simon Commission, mandated to report on constitutional reforms in India, had observed in 1930: “The province of Bihar and Orissa… is the most artificial unit of all the Indian provinces. It was formed by bringing under a single administration three areas which differ markedly, not only in physical features, but in many social, linguistic and cultural characteristics.”

When Orissa was carved out in 1936, the demands of Adivasis remained unheard. The Adivasi Mahasabha was formed to continue the struggle in 1938, and Jaipal Singh Munda (1903-70), former captain of the Indian hockey team, became one of its tallest leaders.

Subsequently, during the time of Independence, Kharsawan, alongside 24 other princely states in eastern India, decided to accede to the Union of India and join the state of Orissa.

But most Adivasis did not support this merger and wanted a separate Adivasi state. In protest, a huge meeting was called at Kharsawan on January 1, 1948, the day when the merger was to take place. This was also the day of the weekly haat in the town. Jaipal Munda was supposed to be present and address the crowd.

“It was on his [Munda’s] call that more than 50 thousand tribals gathered in Kharsawan,” journalist Anuj Kumar Sinha wrote in Unsung Heroes of Jharkhand Movement (2017). The crowd comprised young and old, men and women, those from nearby villages and those living hundreds of kilometres away. While the merger of Kharsawan was a major issue, many had come to simply catch a glimpse of Jaipal Munda.

Echoes of Jallianwala Bagh

On the day of the massacre, Kharsawan resembled a “police camp”, Sinha wrote. Amidst this, the 50,000-strong crowd gathered, raised their demands, and waited eagerly for Jaipal Munda to show up. Moreover, many more were shopping at the nearby haat. Kharsawan, which had a population of less than 7,000 in 2001, was full to the brim.

However, due to some reason, Munda could not show up. Many believe that his mere presence could have averted the tragedy that followed.

Suddenly, the cops opened fire with their Sten guns. “People were constantly getting shot at… By the time the firing stopped, the entire ground was littered with dead bodies,” Sinha wrote.

There was a well near the spot where the massacre took place and the police started disposing of dead bodies in it. After the well was filled with bodies, the rest were taken to the jungle and dumped there.

“It was the winter season. A few unconscious people kept lying there in the cold, shivering,” Sinha wrote. As hunger and thirst crept in, many were denied treatment until the next day.

To date, there is no consensus regarding just how many lives were lost in the massacre. The then Orissa government confirmed only 35 dead.

However, actual numbers are likely to have been far higher. In “Memoir of a Bygone Era” (2000), P K Deo, a former Lok Sabha MP, stated that at least 2,000 Adivasis were killed, and many more were likely injured.

There is also no clarity as to who was responsible for ordering the massacre.

“Several committees were made, investigations carried out, but no report came out. The world knows about the villain of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, but the Reginald Dyer behind the Kharsawan massacre hasn’t been unmasked, even today,” Sinha wrote.