Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will pay tributes to tribal freedom fighters at Mangarh Dham in the state’s Banswara district on November 1, an event that will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi too.
During the freedom struggle, more than 1.5 lakh Bhils and other tribes engaged in a long stand-off with the British rallied at Mangarh Hill on November 17, 1913 under the leadership of Govind Guru.
The British opened fire at this gathering, leading to the Mangarh massacre where approximately 1,500 tribals were killed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Mangarh on November 1, which is being seen as an attempt to woo tribals ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls.
According to an official programme of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, he will reach Mangarh Dham by a special aircraft at 9.30 am. Gehlot is on a Gujarat tour right now and scheduled to return to Rajasthan on October 31. Gehlot had earlier written twice to Modi demanding that Mangarh Dham be declared a monument of national importance so that true tributes could be paid to Govind Guru. Eight districts in Rajasthan–Banswara, Dungarpur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Sirohi, Pratapgarh and Pali–come under this region. There are a total of 37 Assembly constituencies here. The BJP holds 21 out of 37 seats while the Congress has 11, independents three and the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) two seats. There are a total of 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan and 71 are held by the BJP. The influence of the BTP in the tribal belt of Rajasthan is a matter of concern for both the BJP and the Congress, hence, both major parties are trying to woo tribal votes.
