Brief History of merger of Seraikela and Kharsawan with Bihar - Remembering the sacrifice of Adivasis on January 1, 1948

 

Krishna Ballabh Babu's pledge for martyr

The Martyr's Memorial at Kharsawan

History records that Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel approved the merger of the two princely states namely Seraikela and Kharsawan with Orissa on the plea that they formed parts of the “Orissa State”, even though V.P. Menon did not favour the decision, who favoured a referendum to sort out the issue.

The decision was also opposed by the Raja of Kharsawan, who in a meeting in Cuttack on December 14, 1947, specifically favoured the merger of the State with Bihar.(Correspondence with Dr S. K. Sinha’, File No.: 19-C/48, Col.: I, Dr Rajendra Prasad Private Papers, (Courtesy: National Archives, New Delhi)

As soon as these princely States were merged with Orissa, the civil and police administration was taken over by the Orissa Government which posted three companies of police battalions here. The adivasis on the other hand started mobilising themselves to oppose the decision. Popular tribal leader Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh gave a call for a rally at Kharsawan on January 1, 1948.

On that fateful day, adivasis in large numbers gathered at the Haat Maidan in Kharsawan. Unfortunately, Jaipal Singh could not reach the venue. His presence could have averted any unpleasant situation. Worse still, the Orissa Police placed the Raja of Kharsawan under house arrest.

The Orissa police then resorted to indiscriminate firing on the gathering which led to the death of over a hundred innocent tribal. The firing reminded one of the heinous Jallianwala Bagh massacre and it was deplored by leaders across party lines. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel who was in Calcutta was particularly severe in his criticism.

The deepening crisis led to an urgent meeting between Hare Krushna Mahtab, Premier of Orissa and Dr S. K. Sinha, the Premier of Bihar, Dr A.N. Sinha, the Finance Minister and K.B. Sahay, the Revenue Minister of Bihar at Patna on March 22, 1948.

In May 1948, the princely states of Seraikela and Kharsawan finally merged with Bihar and became part of the Singhbhum district.

K.B. Sahay did not forget the supreme sacrifice of the tribal. When he became the chief minister of the province fifteen years later, K.B. Sahay built a ‘Martyr’s Memorial’ at the site of the massacre in the year 1965. A library was also established here to commemorate the memory of the martyrs. K.B. Sahay’s government also started a pension scheme for the kin of the 87 tribal who laid down their lives in the shoot-out. Jaipal Singh helped him to prepare the list and the formalities of pension to their dependent were completed. (Addressing a public meeting along with Jaipal Singh and S. K. Bage, Ministers at Kharsawan after inaugurating a Martyr’s Memorial on January 4, 1965, ‘The Searchlight’, January 5, 1965 (Courtesy: Sachchidanand Sinha Library, Patna:1)

On January 1, 1967, the K.B. Sahay government notified January 1, to be observed as ‘Shaheed Diwas’ and made it a State function in remembrance of the 87 tribal who were shot down by Orissa police on January 1, 1948. (‘Shaheed Diwas observed’, ‘The Searchlight’, January 3, 1967(Courtesy: Sachchidanand Sinha Library, Patna:1)