Tribal icon Birsa Munda’s village of Ulihatu in Jharkhand’s Khunti Lok Sabha constituency has newly-tarred roads, schools and drinking water supply in most homes. It has been visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu, and the freedom fighter’s birthday, on November 15, has been designated as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (Tribal Pride Day)’. But 400 km away, in Rajmahal Lok Sabha seat, another village with an older anti-colonial history lies largely forgotten. Bhognadih village was the epicentre of ‘Santal Hul’ — an organised rebellion against the British which took place in 1855, two years before the 1857 mutiny. Every year, Jharkhand celebrates Hul Diwas, marking the beginning of the rebellion, on June 30 and the birthday of Siddho Murmu — the leader among the six brothers and sisters spearheading the movement — on April 11. The freedom fighter’s village, however, lacks basic amenities such as regular water supply despite pipelines being given to most of its 90 houses. “It is a feudal mindset of politicians who reduce the development of any area to rituals. Every year on April 11 and on June 30, politicians arrive to pay homage at the busts of Sidho and his siblings: Kanhu, Chanda, Bhairav, Phulo and Jhano. No one cares to enter the village to see the bad roads or the water scarcity,” says Hemlal Hansda, 19, a first-time voter and a geography student in BSK college of Barharwa, 25 km from Bhognadih. The village falls under former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren’s Assembly constituency, Barheit, and its incumbent MP is JMM’s Vijay Hansda, who is contesting for a fourth term. It is a Schedule Tribes (ST)-reserved seat and a JMM stronghold. Experts say that members of Schedule Caste, ST, Mulsims, Christians form close to 60 percent of the electors of the constituency, who are likely to vote for Vijay Hansda with sentiments running in favour of jailed Hemant Soren. However, JMM leader Lobin Hembrem has turned rebel and will cut into JMM vote share as he is also contesting independently. On a weekday, the women and the elderly are sitting around a dried hand pump, saying that it has become very difficult to get drinking water, especially during the summers. Hemlal Hansda’s mother Suruj Tudu said: “There are four hand pumps, out of which three have dried up.” She said one water solar pump has been installed, but the motor is dysfunctional. “There is a large water tank outside the village, through which piped water is supposed to be given to every household. The pipes have been installed, but there is no water in the water tank. We have to go to dug wells to get water. However, every April 11, and June 30, water supply starts, but vanishes soon after the program is over.” Villagers say that in the last 10 years — under both the BJP and the JMM-led government — the water problem didn’t get resolved. Residents say the two main candidates, Vijay Hansda and BJP’s Tala Marandi, have not visited the village. Anil Besra, a Class 10 class pass out, said that he couldn’t complete his studies due a leg injury and later due to economic hardships. He is a salesperson for a local cosmetics brand and travels to Barharwa daily. He complained: “I can count only three persons who are pursuing graduation from my village, and Hemlal Hansda is one of them. Economic hardships due to lack of crop diversification or enough rainfall has led to distress migration. Moreover, even primary school education is not good. There is one Eklavya Model Residential School, where the education is good, but entrance is not very easy, and there are stories of how parents had bribed some people to get their way into the school. How would the poor gain access to good education?” He added that access to health is also a challenge with locals being referred to Bhagalpur district in neighbouring Bihar for better treatment. “I would say it is because of distance that Bhognadih couldn’t get the recognition it deserves. The Santal rebellion happened much before even Birsa Munda was born,” said Mandal Murmu, descendant of Sidho Murmu, one of the six siblings who got married. He said that despite many challenges, the government and the administration must consider giving continuous water supply as their top priority. “We have protested, given numerous applications for water and have not listened. Will anything change after the elections?” said Mandal Murmu.
