Khunti Birsa Munda Birthplace Tribal Heritage

Khunti district is the birthplace and action centre of Birsa Munda (1875-1900), the Munda tribal freedom fighter and folk deity who led the Ulgulan (Great Tumult) uprising against British forest laws and tribal land dispossession. Birsa was born at Ulihatu village in Khunti, organised the Munda community into a millennial movement combining political resistance with religious reform, and is revered today as Dharti Abba (Father of the Earth) by millions of tribal people across Jharkhand and Odisha. The Birsa Munda memorial museum and pilgrimage sites in Khunti attract thousands of tribal visitors annually, and Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi is named in his honour, making him the most prominent symbol of Jharkhand's tribal identity.