The sad tale of Budhni Manjhiyain, Nehru’s ‘tribal wife’, who died in exile

As she lived, so she died. Budhni Manjhiyain, a woman from the Santhal tribe, passed away at the age of 80 at her residence near Panchet in Jharkhand. But what made this 80-year-old special? Why is it that her demise, albeit lonesome and in the absence of her tribal members, making news? We take a closer look at who was Budhni Manjhiyain, and her link to Jawaharlal Nehru that made her ‘infamous’. Nehru’s tribal wife Budhni Manjhiyain was a Santhali woman and lived an ordinary life in the village of Dhanbad in West Bengal until 1959 when her life took an unbelievable turn and a simple gesture by the then prime minister changed the course of events for years to come. On 6 December of 1959, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru travelled to Dhanbad in West Bengal to inaugurate a dam over the Damodar river, also known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’. Nehru had then insisted that a woman working on the project be a part of the inauguration and the Damodar Valley Corporation selected 15-year-old Budhni, along with Ravan Manjhi, a Santhali man, to welcome the PM. However, what happened next would remain with Budhni forever. In reciprocation of Budhni garlanding him, Nehru garlanded Budhni. He also insisted that the teen press the button at the power station to signal the start of operations. She was flanked by Nehru, which offended the tribal community. When Budhni returned to her village that evening after all the fanfare, the village elders at Karbona told her that by garlanding the PM at the function she had in effect married him. Furthermore, since Nehru was not a Santhal, she was no longer a part of the community and was told to leave the village. The inflexibility of the community ensured that the excommunication was complete. Left with no option, Budhni left her home behind and then took shelter in Panchet with the help of a Sudhir Dutta. In 1962, Budhni, who was employed by Damodar Valley Corporation, was thrown out of her job and found herself helpless. A life in exile Budhni then took up work as a daily-wager in Purulia and became closer to Sudhir Dutta. Reports state that the two wanted to marry but couldn’t because they feared the repercussions they could face if they did so. The two had a daughter, according to a report by The Hindu, who also lived in exile like her mother. Interestingly, in 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi learnt of her plight, he met with her and it was at this meeting that she requested that she be reinstated at her job in Damodar Valley Corporation. Her request was approved and she worked there until 2005 when she retired. In 2001, a news report uploaded on the website www.ambedkar.org, wrote about Budhni headlining it as ‘tribal wife of Nehru is outcast and driven to poverty’. The article had then recounted the details of Budhni’s life in which she said, “I wish they would allow me to go back to Karbona.” Bidding goodbye Following her retirement, Budhni lived a quiet life and passed away on 17 November following a prolonged illness. A Times of India report states that there are now calls for a monument be built in her honour and for pension to be provided to Budhni’s daughter, Ratna. Bhairav Mandal, the chief of Panchet panchayat, have written to the DVC management about the memorial. Sumesh Kumar, deputy chief engineer of DVC at Panchet, told Times of India that no decision had been taken so far. “These decisions can be taken only after consulting top officers." With inputs from agencies