Janjatiya Gaurav Divas Marked with Tributes to Birsa Munda

Janjatiya Gaurav Divas was observed on 15 November 2026, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, with floral tributes at his statue at Prerna Sthal inside the Parliament premises in New Delhi. The day has been kept every year since 2021 in memory of the sacrifices made by tribal freedom fighters.

Who paid tributes

Flowers were laid at the statue by President Droupadi Murmu; Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan; Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; and Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State with Independent Charge in the Ministry of Law and Justice and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Members of Parliament and other invited dignitaries joined them. Six tribal folk artists drawn from different states performed at Prerna Sthal as the dignitaries arrived, so that the morning opened with music and dance from the communities the day belongs to.

The leader the day remembers

In a message posted on X, the Vice-President described Bhagwan Birsa Munda as a figure of courage and of resistance, a leader who took the tribal community into a fight against British rule and who spoke up for its rights, its dignity and its identity. His call of Ulgulan, the Vice-President wrote, grew into a strong voice in the wider struggle for freedom and for justice. The message also recorded that it had been inspiring to see the cultural performances staged in his memory.

Why the day is kept

Tribal communities took part in India's freedom struggle through a long line of revolutionary movements, and the day is meant to place that record before the country. Events are held across the nation to mark it, and they are built around the history, the culture and the heritage of tribal society. The purpose set out for the observance is to build a sense of unity and pride, and to see that the part tribal communities played in winning freedom and in building the nation afterwards is recognised rather than forgotten. The tribute at Prerna Sthal, attended by the holders of the highest constitutional offices together, is the formal centre of that national observance each year.