The claim of Ulihatu rests on Birsa's elder brother Komta Munda living in the village, where his house still exists albeit in a dilapidated condition.

Birsa's father, mother Karmi Hatu,[11] and younger brother, Pasna Munda, left Ulihatu and proceeded to Kurumbda, near Birbanki, in search of employment as labourers (sajhedari) or crop-sharers (ryots).

Folklore refers to his rolling and playing in sand and dust with his friends, and his growing up strong and handsome in looks; he grazed sheep in the forest of Bohonda.

Birsa soon started to challenge the Christian missionaries and revolted against the conversion activities along with the Munda and Oraon communities.

Soon after leaving Chaibasa in 1890 Birsa and his family gave up their membership in the German mission, ceased being Christian, and reverted to his original traditional tribal religious system.

He participated in the agitation stemming from popular disaffection at the restrictions imposed upon the traditional rights of the Mundas in the protected forest, under the leadership of Gideon of Piring in the Porhat area.

In West Singhbhum as in Lohardaga, the forest settlement operations were launched and measures were taken to determine the rights of the forest-dwelling communities.

In 1894, Birsa had grown up into a strong young man, shrewd and intelligent, and undertook the work of repairing the Dombari tank at Gerbera damaged by rains.

While on a sojourn in the neighbourhood of village Sankara in West Singhbhum district, he found a suitable companion, presented her parents with jewels, and explained his idea of marriage.

Birsa is credited for reviving the traditional tribal culture which was mostly negatively affected by British Christian missionary works.

Contemporary and later folk songs commemorate the tremendous impact of Birsa on his people, their joy, and expectations at his advent.

As the tribals with their primitive technology could not generate a surplus, the non-tribal peasantry was invited by the chiefs in Chhotanagpur to settle on and cultivate the land.

[citation needed] To the twin challenges of agrarian breakdown and culture change, Birsa along with the Munda responded through a series of revolts and uprisings under his leadership.

On 28 January 1898, after being released from jail he went with his followers to Chutia to collect the record and to re-establish racial links with the temple.

[citation needed] It is said that around 7000 men and women assembled around Christmas of 1899, to herald the Ulgulaan (Great Tumult) which soon spread to Khunti, Tamar, Basia, and Ranchi.

He allegedly urged the killing of Thikadars and Jagirdars and Rajas and Hakims and Christians and promised that the guns and bullets would turn to water.

On 7 January, they attacked the Khunti police station, killing a constable and razing the houses of local shopkeepers.

In 1908, the colonial government introduced the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT), which prohibits the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals.

Earlier, on January 9, 1900, police fired on Birsa's supporters at Sail Rakab Hill in Dumari, but the death toll remains unknown.

[24] Ulgulan, the annual college festival of the National University of Study and Research in Law, in Ranchi, is inspired by the independence struggle of Birsa Munda.

Gopi Nainar, the director of Aramm, is set to direct a movie, in Tamil, on the life of Birsa Munda.

[25] Well known Tamil director and anti-caste activist Pa. Ranjith will direct a Hindi movie which is based on Birsa Munda's life.

[26] He is commemorated in the names of the following institutions and organizations: In 2004, a Hindi film, Ulgulan-Ek Kranti (The Revolution) was made by Ashok Saran.

[30] Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, writer-activist Mahasweta Devi's historical fiction, Aranyer Adhikar (Right to the Forest, 1977), a novel for which she won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Bengali in 1979, is based on his life and the Munda Rebellion against the British Raj in the late 19th century; she later wrote an abridged version, Birsa Munda, specifically for young readers.