Country: Bihar, India

Group: Munda

Date: November 14, 2023

Name: Ariana Jackson (Lead), Cheyenne Barron, Isabelle Kolnacki

Content Warnings: Lethal Violence, Murder, Terrorism

Approximate Time Period: 2000-2020

The Munda are an Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent who are mainly concentrated in the South and East Chhotanagpur Plateau region of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal (Wikipedia, 2023). Since the early 2000’s, a revolutionary communist group known as the Naxalites have committed serious violations of international humanitarian laws and have murdered more than 500 Mundas. The Naxalites are considered a terrorist organization by the government of India and are reportedly active in 16 of the state’s 22 districts. The Naxalites follow various versions of Maoism and recently have spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand from West Bengal . On September 11th, 2005, Naxalites killed at least 15 villagers and injured six others during an attack at Bhelbadari village under Deuri police station in Giridih district (Encyclopedia.Com, n.d.).

Additionally, bonded child labor is still found in Jharkhand, despite the existence of anti-child labor legislation. Munda child laborers have been documented mining for mica in the districts of Koderma and Giridih. This has led to the death of many children due to mine collapse, and diseases such as silicosis, asthma and bronchitis, tuberculosis, and malnutrition. In parts of rural Jharkhand, many Mundas do not have access to health care, which has led to increased deaths and has further exacerbated their current humanitarian crisis (Encyclopedia.Com, n.d.).

Data quality was rated as a ⅓ as there was a significant amount of data available showing specific cases of lethal violence against the Mundas in Bihar, however, the data was not from reputable sources.

Sources

  1. Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). Mundas.  Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mundas
  2. Wikipedia (n.d.). Munda people. (2023). Retrieved October 23, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Munda_people&oldid=1177752274