Those who forget History,cannot be in the History...Kharsawan Massacre (1 January 1948).Jharkhand.

Kharsawan Massacre (1 January 1948)

The Kharsawan massacre was one of the earliest post-Independence state firings in India, in which Adivasi (tribal) protesters were shot dead by police in the princely state of Kharsawan, then part of Singhbhum district (today in Jharkhand).

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📍 Background

• Kharsawan was a small princely state ruled by Raja Ram Chandra Singh Deo.
• After Independence, princely states were being merged into the Indian Union.
• The Kharsawan ruler decided to merge the state with Odisha (then Orissa).
• Local Adivasi communities (Ho, Munda, Oraon) strongly opposed this.
• Their demand: Kharsawan should merge with Bihar, not Odisha, because:
  • Cultural and linguistic ties were with Bihar
  • Fear of loss of land, identity, and tribal rights

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🗓️ What happened on 1 January 1948

• Thousands of Adivasis gathered peacefully near Kharsawan palace.
• They had come to submit a memorandum opposing the merger.
• Police and state forces opened indiscriminate firing on the unarmed crowd.
• People were shot while sitting, running, even hiding in fields.

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⚰️ Casualties (numbers disputed)

• Official figure: 19 deaths (widely considered false)
• Independent & Adivasi accounts:
  • 200–300 killed (many historians)
  • Some Adivasi organisations claim up to 1,000–2,000 deaths
• Bodies were allegedly:
  • Dumped in rivers
  • Buried secretly
  • Never officially recorded

👉 Like Jallianwala Bagh, the real death toll was suppressed.

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🧭 Why it matters

• One of the first massacres in independent India
• Shows continuity of colonial-style repression after 1947
• Highlights:
  • Marginalisation of Adivasi voices
  • Forced integration without democratic consent
  • Systematic erasure of tribal resistance from national history

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🧠 Ambedkarite & Adivasi perspective

• Though Dr. B. R. Ambedkar did not comment directly on Kharsawan, his warnings are relevant:
  • Political freedom without social justice is hollow
  • Democracy cannot survive if minorities are ruled by force
• Kharsawan is often cited as proof that:
  • The post-colonial Indian state inherited Brahmanical–colonial power structures
  • Adivasis were treated as subjects, not citizens

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🕯️ Remembrance

• 1 January is observed by Adivasi communities as:
  • Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs’ Day)
• Memorials exist locally, but:
  • No national recognition
  • No official apology
  • No justice or compensation

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🔎 In short

Kharsawan (1948) = Adivasi Jallianwala Bagh of independent India
Peaceful protest → Police firing → Mass death → Silence

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