Do you known, what is bhlistan movement ?

Bhilistan Movement : Lull Before the Storm





Dr. Lalit Latta








INTRODUCTION


India has been home to tribals since time immemorial. Called native or indigenous people, tribes like Santhal, Munda, Bhil, Meena, Ho, Gond, are well-known even beyond India’s borders for their distinct historic and cultural identity. Among them the Bhils of Rajasthan occupy a place of pride as they have history full of valour and splendour. There were many kingdoms the Bhils had established across the Rajputana. For instance, Dungaria Bhil had his kingdom in Dungarpur, Basia (or Bishna) Bhil had Kota and Jetasi Bhil had his kingdom in Abu area. Another prominent figure revered by one and all is Rana Punja Bhil, who was one of the main army commanders of the famous Rajputana warrior king Maharana Pratap.


Yet they have been victims of socio-economic and religious exploitation and atrocities down the ages. Looked down upon by the larger society, they find themselves at the lowest ladder of the social hierarchy. This is reflected in their educational deprivation and economic exploitation in the form of bonded labour. The government is well-aware of this fact. According to a news item carried by Hindi daily Jansatta quoting Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Smt. Meera Kumar, there are 16 crore people in India, who bear the brunt of untouchability and atrocities. However, Smt. Meera Kumar is not the only leader to air such concern. Union Home Minister Shri Shivraj Patil has been candid in his admission that even after five decades of Independence communities belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes face discrimination, which can be changed only through affirmative action. Union Law Minister Shri Hansraj Bhardwaj has also been quoted in the media as saying that the discrimination needs to be tackled at the grassroots level. The excesses will continue until the upper castes change their attitude. However, the victims of caste discrimination and atrocities only get up sympathies. That sums the state of affairs.


However, true to their tradition of valour, the tribals of Rajasthan have time and again fought against the discrimination and atrocities under their illustrious leaders like Shri Gobind Guru, Shri Mama Baleshwar, Sadguru Surmal Das, Sant Devadas Latta, Shri Motilal Tejawat, Shri Manikyalal Varma, Shri Bhogilal Pandya. However, the movement launched by Shri Gobind Guru for a separate state of Bhilistan stands out among all struggles the tribals of Rajasthan have waged to win their rights and dignity. The state as envisioned by Shri Gobind Guru would include the tribal areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Mahdya Pradesh. It was first organised expression of tribals angst against repression and denial of democratic rights.


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND


Gobind Guru is known to be the first proponent of a separate state, Bhilistan, for tribal communities inhabiting in various parts of western and Central India. Born in Basiagaon to a Banjara family, he was influenced by Arya Samaj, particularly after he met its founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati. He carried forward the reformnist agenda of Arya Samaj by creating awareness among his fellow tribesmen against social evils like, superstitions, addiction and delinquent behaviour.


Apart from leading a reformnist movement which had socio-religious overtones, Shri Gobind Guru set-up a tribal organisation christened Samp Sabha in 1883 and launched a movement to fight exploitation of tribals and restore dignity to them. He demanded a separate state for a tribals, which he called Bhilistan. This was essential to bring exploitation of and atrocities on tribals to an end. This infuriated the local rulers, who in turn instigated their British masters against Gobind Guru. Retribution came thick and flying in 1908, when over one lakh tribals congregated on Mangarh hilltop. The British and local rulers attacked them when they were singing devotional songs. Over 1500 tribals were massacred and Gobind Guru was sentenced to a rigorous imprisonment. He was released only after serving 10 years in jail. This extreme repressive measure though suppressed the overt aspirations of a separate Bhilistan, the movement played an important role in creating social and political awareness among the tribals to a great extent.


The British left long back and after them the reign of oppressive local rules came to an end as India got independence and became a democratic republic. Yet the ground realities, as far as upliftment of tribals is concerned, remain abysmally hopeless. It is no denying the fact that there are many constitutional safeguards in the form of laws that have been put in place to stop exploitation and atrocities that the tribals and other marginalised sections of society suffer at the hands of non-tribals and upper castes. In order to bring them into the mainstream several programmes and schemes have been launched by both the Union and state governments for their educational, social and economic upliftment. According to an estimate about Rs 4237 crores has been spent so far by various governments in the Tribal Sub Plan areas of Rajasthan on this account.


It is not the government and its agencies only which are still trying ‘hard’ to make it happen. This overriding concern for the welfare of tribals over the years has also spawned many NGOs, scrupulous or unscrupulous, which are getting government and international funding that runs into millions of rupees. Still there is no big change in their lot. Rather the amount of funds the government spends every year to stave of famine in tribal areas only points to the fact that there is little progress in tribal welfare and socio-economic development, though it has been 57 years since we got independence. It’s perhaps the poverty of development that has left the tribals largely dependent on government doles as they are unable to meet even their basic needs. This has led to their further marginalisation as it has rendered them vulnerable to more socio-economic exploitation and atrocities the incidence of which are only increasing in quantum and intensity. In fact, there has never been a concerted effort on the part of the state machinery to curb such incidents and bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice. Even the recommendations made intermittently by the Kalyan Samiti before state Assembly have never been followed up with any effective action. As if to rub salt on their wounds, the casteist media has only added to their sense of alienation by projecting them in poor light and distorting their history and cultural traditions. Nor has there been any conscious attempt to eradicate caste discrimination either in government departments or in the ranks of political parties.


It is in the backdrop of these factors that the simmering dissent across the tribal communities should be seen as a prelude to the growing demand for Bhilistan, particularly in southern parts of Rajasthan. However it would be erroneous to presume that the resurgence of the demand for a separate state of Bhilistan is a recent phenomenon. In fact, there have been efforts, though sporadic, to keep the issue alive since Independence. For instant, the All India Tribal Development Council (Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad) has been spearheading the campaign for Bhilistan under the leadership of its Chairman Shri Somjibhai Damor of Dahod, Gujarat. Shri Damor, who has been a seven time Lok Sabha MP, had in 1984 brought out a detailed blueprint with the map of the proposed state that included tribal areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. While Shri Damor has been rigorously trying to unite various tribal communities at a common social and cultural level, the blueprint brought out by him has become a rallying point for many tribals, who are running the movement in their respective areas. One such revered figure is former Minister of State, Tribal Area Development Department of Rajasthan, Shri Nand Lal Meena. He has helped the cause immensely raising the issue at various forums. Another leader who has pritched in for a separate state for tribals is Shri Bakshi Ram Latta, who fought the 2003 Assembly election on this issue, thus lending it a political voice and making it a focus of popular debate. His call for a tribal homeland filled the youth with vigour and a vision, which if harnessed properly will go a long way in making it a reality. Political parties though ham handed in their approach, have also not lagged behind in lending their support to the movement. For instance, the then state President of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) on September 2, 1989 declared that BJP would demand creation of an autonomous council for the tribals of Rajasthan on the line of Gorakhaland and if the party was restored to power it would keep the promise by implementing it. However, such promises are seldom kept by the Indian political class and BJP is no exception.


While the tribal leaders are uniting their community for the cause, there are individuals like Sadguru Mohanji Sharma, who are contributing their might by bringing awareness particularly among the tribal youth. An ardent reformist Mohanji Sharma has been working for the economic and educational development of the tribals in South Rajasthan and thus taking them on a path of dignified existence.


CAUSES


The movement, which has a strong presence in Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara, Chittorgarh (Pratapgarh Tehsil) district of southern Rajasthan, has its roots in various socio-economic, cultural and political factors. Some of these factors have been discussed here in detail.


1. Lack of Development


As has been told earlier, one of the main causes that has led to the widespread alienation among the tribals and its resultant expression in their demand for a homeland of their own, is lack of development. Contrary to the government claims, tribal areas have largely not seen friction of any development programme, which could uplift their socio-economic status. Whatever programmes and schemes were launched by successive governments seldom succeeded in benefiting the majority of tribal population. It is no wonder then that the tribal areas severely lag behind in development. They lack even basic facilities like potable water, electricity, health care, schools while they have no access to modern means of transport and communications. Lack of irrigation facilities only compounds their problems. All these have severely restricted their choice of livelihood and they are forced to migrate to faraway urban centres of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, etc to get employment as unskilled labour. Various employment generating schemes have also not benefited them, partly because they neither possess resources nor skills to get gainful employment and partly because of their ignorance. The rampant corruption in departments implementing such programmes and schemes only discourages them even if they muster courage to access them. This is ture particularly for those schemes which have a subsidy component.


Their stroy of deprivation does not end here. A look at their representation in administrative services of the state is enough to shock anyone out of their wits. For instance, 600 posts of RAS and RTS filled with tribals candidates so far only 15 (2.5%) belong to the tribal of southern Rajasthan, whereas they have no representation at all in Indian Administrative Services. They also lag far behind in terms of higher education particularly technical and vocational. While they have to suffer along with the non-tribal students for lack of amenities like class-rooms, library and reading rooms, furniture and well-equipped labs in largely ill-staffed educational institutions, they are often discriminated against by their teachers and classmates on grounds of their caste. The hostels meant to help them study properly are least conducive for talented students as they are ill-equipped in every respect. This reflects poorly on their overall educational attainment further making them feel deep down cheated and marginalised.


2. Precedence of Self Interest Over Community Upliftment


Every man is expected to be responsible towards his society and his nation and strive consciously to contribute his might towards their upliftment. But with changing times when moral conscience is losing currency, self-interests have taken precedence over community interests—and tribal leaders and volunteers are no exception to this phenomenon as for them reasons of succumbing to serving self-interests are aplenty. Foremost among them is reservation which ensures them not only government jobs but also gives them access to legislative bodies like Parliament , state assembly and Panchyati Raj Institutions like districtboards, Block Panchayats and gram Panchayats. While it has led to empowerment of the individual, community empowerment has taken a beating as self interests and party politics have dispensed with the purpose affirmative action was intended to fulfil. The unity of Tribal Panchayats has given way to party-politics, in which members are expected to promote a certain ideology and work according to the diktats of party leadership. This poorly reflects in development works done by elected representative be it a Sarpanch, an MLA or a MP. More often the representatives conduct development works only in areas where their voters and supporters reside. This latent bias in the approach of the representatives robs any development work of its distributive character. The tribal representatives seldom enjoy the freedom to act independently for the benefit of their community as they have to toe their party line. Used by their parties as mascots to garner votes of their community, their plight is no less pathetic. In the name of discipline they are not even allowed to exercise their conscience. If any tribal representative acts differently and strives for the development of his fellow tribesmen he is branded as casteist by his party bosses and is cut to size. Nothing illustrates better the position of tribal politicians than this single incident. When the Delimitation Commission proposed to reserve Udaipur Lok Sabha constituency for tribals, it created a nasty storm in political circles. Resisting the proposal, a local leader Shri Chhagan Lal Jain said that reserving Udaipur constituency would hit its international prestige. As if in unison another prominent leader Shri Laxmi Narayan Pandya, was quoted by Rajasthan Patrika (February 10, 2003) as saying: “This is a regressive decision for this historic city. Tribals are a minuscule community here and this change won’t serve any prupose.” How can anointment of a Dalit or tribal to an elected office be regressive ? Only parochial and feudal minds would consider it as degrading. However none of the tribal politicians worth his name rose against this diatribe.


It is obvious that the party-politics and the vested interests that it serves is doing more harm to tribals than any good. It has, in fact, divided the tribal society along partylines and has thus hampered the harnessing of talents and energies of its members for a common good.





3. Poor Grip Over Administrative Machinery


Every society varies in socio-economic status of its member components and tribals are no different in this respect either. This has its own dynamics. The low socio-economic and educational status of tribals reflects in poor coordination between the government authorities and tribal politicians and elected representative. The latter have no grip over administrative machinery of the state to get it around to deliver goods for the welfare of their community. Lack of education and communication skills, ignorance about the constitutional rights and lack of awareness about the development and welfare programmes and procedural mechanism of departments implementing them and above all non-possession of influential position in the power structures of political parties render them ineffective in bringing the fruits of those programmes to their community. Equally responsible for this sorry state of affairs is the mindset of bureaucracy which has its own ways of not cooperating with tribal leaders. The authorities would put forward many excuses, for example, non-availability of funds, or expiration of scheme, non-issuance of government order, to discourage them or would simply refuse to meet them. A tribal leader may become an elected representative but he can seldom use his office for the common good of his fellow tribesmen by circumventing the administrative machinery or cracking the whip to get any work done.





4. Playing Second Fiddle to Non-Tribal Leadership


The tribals of south Rajasthan have often been led, politically or spiritually, by non-tribals since pre-Independence days. Whenever any political party, social or religious organisation needs popular support for their campaigns or programmes they simply mobilize the tribals giving them a false sense of belonging. This, however, makes them vulnerable to exploitation—emotional, economic or social—in more than one way. The tribals go hungry while attending such programmes and if situation terms violent they bear the brunt of police atrocities and are arrested. Used as scapegoats, it is a double whammy for poor tribals, as it takes a monumental effort and resources for them to get through the legal process unscathed. They might know it well that they are being used, yet the tribal leaders realize the fact that non-tribal leaders are indispensable for them as they command influence in power structure of their political parties to help the self-serving tribal leaders with getting them ticket and all the wherewithal for fighting elections and if elected getting them a berth in the cabinet.


5. Increasing Influence of Fundamentalist Orgnisations


It is a well-known fact that efforts are being made at both national and international levels for the upliftment of poor tribals. There are 1005 NGOs and religious organizations active in Udaipur, Dungarpur and Banswara, which are working for their cause. Yet there is no tangible positive impact on their overall situation. Rather if one goes deeper into the activities of these organisations, one would find that a few of them are committed to a fundamentalist ideology. They are mobilising the tribals and training them in their parochial, hate-filled ideology all in the garb of religious and social service. These organizations are using Tribal against Tribal to further their agenda. Now with increasing influence of such fanatical organizations the tribals are finding it difficult to send their children to missionary schools. Thus they are losing an opportunity to get cheap and good education for their kids. The tribals in this way are being tutored into an intolerant society and are being used as canon fodder during civil strife.


This can only be seen as a conspiracy against the tribals. Still there are organizations which have been doing everything to besmirch the tribals by spreading cannards about their social and cultural customs. Media is not behind in depicting the tribals in poor light. They are full of sensational news items which may claim that tribal women are being sold off, they are into prostitution to stave off hunger. Seldom one finds any informed article on the tribals, their customs and cultural traditions, their socio-economic exploitations, etc. What is presented before the larger society is all a negative picture of tribals as if they have committed a crime by being tribal and poor at the same time.


One can draw this unmistakable conclusion from the above analysis given the kind of exploitation and deprivation the tribals have been facing since ages, they have every right to demand a homeland of their own. They have a glorious past, a history full of valour, sacrifice and resistance. But they cannot afford to sit complacent merely resilience nostalgically on that glorious past. It is for them to regain it back by working unitedly and forcefully for Bhilistan.


The desire to attain that goal can be seen in the restless souls of our youth—educated and aware of their rights and ready to assert them. It is happening gradually but steadily in southern Rajasthan. May be the dream Gobind Guru died for will become a reality sooner than later. The writing is clear on the wall: it is a lull before the storm.

Do you known, what is bhlistan movement ?
Bhil, aboriginals or natives of India are the first to own the land in India. Though could not go through your full narration however I included in watch list and would read at leisure.








However I agree that we so called urban Indian or so called Aryan have deprived Bhils of their legitimate rights and in greed of so called growth have encroached their habitat. Now they are forced to come out in our world and adapt to get integrated with so called main stream.





Max what we can do is now adopt then in our society and give them their due respect.
Reply:very very interesting..thanks for making us aware.
Reply:this great to read.........


i simply couildn't take on the facts