Birsa meant by the 'Golden Age', a satyug (the age of truth). In this age, Mundas lived a good life, constructed embankments, tapped natural springs, planted trees and orchards, practised cultivation to earn their living. They did not kill their brothers and relatives. They lived honestly. Birsa also wanted people to once again work on their land, settle down and cultivate their fields.

(i) The British favoured settled cultivators because the British were uncomfortable with groups who moved about and didn't have a fixed income.
(ii) They wanted tribal groups to settle down and become peasant cultivators as it was difficult to control and administer the people who were always on the move.
(iii)The British also wanted a regular revenue source for the state; so they introduced land settlements - that is, they measured the land and defined the rights of each individual to that land and fixed the revenue demand for the state

(i) Mundas were known by different names in the society.
(ii) Traditionally they were the worshippers of Lord Shiva.
(iii) Once their society was mother dominated. Now, it is dominated by father.
(iv) They have their own morals.
(v) Usually they are blackish, curly-haired and dwarf in size.

(i) A series of uprisings took place in Assam during 1883-84. The main cause of these revolts was 50- 70% increase in revenue demand in the district of Kamrup and Darrang.
(ii) Failure to pay the revenue on time led the British to seize their lands.
(iii) The peasants organized mass meetings in protest against the increased land revenue demanded, but they were suppressed by the British government.

Major causes of the tribal revolt are listed below:
(i) Colonial policies.
(ii) Effect on joint ownership of their land.
(iii) Exploitation of forests by Dikus. 
(iv) Cruel policies of the landlords and undesirable activities of the Christian missionaries.

Tribal population of India:
(i) Their population constitutes only 8% of the country's population.
(ii) They live in about 15% of area of country and almost around 500 tribes are found in India.
(iii) Fifty percent of the total population of tribals live in and around the region of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Island groups of India.
(iv) The largest population of tribal people resides in Orissa (about 62%).

Gaddis: They are a pastroal tribe of Himachal Pradesh and are shepherds by occupation. The Gaddis women are hard-working, have their own traditional dance form. Due to conversion of pasture lands into grazing lands and tax on pastures and animals, they suffered a lot during the British rule. After independence, Gaddis were restored with their respective lands. The government has begun various welfare schemes and provided reservation to them.

The Birsa Munda Movement's achievements were:
It impacted the thinking of the British so that they were forced to make laws due to which tribal land could not be easily taken over by outsiders or non-tribals.
It proved that the tribals could effectively protest against any repression or exploitation indulged by anybody, particularly the Britishers. The methods adopted by the tribals were unique to them.

Through their agents, the traders dealing in silk collected the cocoons from the tribals living in Hazaribagh area.
The growers were paid only Rs 3 to Rs 4 for a thousand cocoons.
These were then sent to Burdwan or Gaya for sale to the exporters at five times the price paid for them.
The middlemen - so called because they arranged deals between the exporters and silk growers - made huge profits.

The British favored settled cultivators because:
The British were uncomfortable with groups which moved about (like jhum cultivators) and did not have a  fixed home.
They wanted tribal groups to settle down and become peasant cultivators, who were easier to control and administer than people who were always on the move.
The British also wanted a regular revenue source for the state, they introduced land settlements, i.e. they measured the land, defined the rights of each individual to that land and fixed the revenue demand for the state accordingly.

Traders came to the tribals with goods for sale at very high prices, in return for forest produce. Moneylenders gave loans with which the tribals met their cash needs, adding to what they earned. The interest charged on the loans was very high, making the tribals debt-ridden and poor. Ultimately they came to see the moneylenders and traders as outsiders on whom they were dependent and caused them hardship in paying back the loans taken. 

In tribal society, diku means 'outsider' or someone who comes from outside, like moneylenders, traders, zamindars, contractors, the British etc. The reasons for the anger of the tribals against the dikus were: 
(i) The tribals practiced shifting cultivation, but the British forced them to follow settled agriculture and also forcefully introduced land settlements.
(ii) Under British rule, the tribal chiefs lost the authorities they had enjoyed earlier amongst their people and were unable to fulfill their traditional functions. Further, they had to pay tribute to the British.
(iii) By the introduction of forest laws, the British evicted the tribals from their own lands. As a result, they became homeless and were forced to find other work to earn their livelihood.

The tribal chiefs were important people. They enjoyed a certain amount of economic power and had the right to administer and control their territory. Under the British rule the functions and power of these tribal chiefs changed to a great extent:
They were allowed to keep their land tides over a cluster of villages and rent outlands, the administrative, judicial and economic powers they enjoyed before the arrival of the British were removed.
They were required to follow British laws, pay tribute to the British and discipline the tribal groups on behalf of the British.
As a result, they lost the authority they had earlier enjoyed among their people and were unable to fulfill their traditional functions.

The problems faced by shifting cultivators under British rule were:
(i) The life of shifting cultivators was directly connected to the forest. So, when the British brought changes in forest law, their life was badly affected.
(ii) The British extended their control over all forests and declared that forests were state property.
(iii) Some forests were classified as Reserved forests for their produced timber which the British wanted. In these forests, people were not allowed to move freely and the jhum cultivators. Many cultivators had to move to other areas in search of work. 

The conditions of work in the mines have changed now. But still there are accidents but less as in past.Many miners die in mines every year. The main reasons for this are:
(i) Flooding of the coal mines
(ii) Caving in the mine walls.
(iii) Breaking out of fire in the mines.