Bhil Pradesh

Bhil Pradesh

News: The demands for a ‘Bhil Pradesh’ have of late begun to be raised again.

About:
• It is a demand for a separate state for tribal people in western India.
• The demand is to carve out a separate state from 39 districts spread over four states: 16 in Gujarat, 10 in Rajasthan, seven in Madhya Pradesh, and six in Maharashtra.
• Bhil social reformer and spiritual leader Govind Guru first raised the demand for a separate state for tribals back in 1913 after the Mangarh massacre.

Bhils – Who are they?
• Bhils are an Adivasi ethnic group in West India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
• They are one of the largest tribal group in India who speak the Bhil Language.

Need for Bhil Pradesh?
• After the division of states, tribals in the region were scattered.
• As a result, their collective voices were suppressed. Subsequently, most schemes related to their development have not benefitted them.

The Mangarh Massacre:
• The massacre, which took place six years before Jallianwala Bagh and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Adivasi Jallianwala’, saw almost 1000 Bhil tribals being killed by British forces on November 17, 1913 in the hills of Mangarh on the borders of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

To read more about Mangarh Massacre you may click on the following link:
https://www.myindiamyglory.com/2019/07/18/mangarh-massacre-sacrifice-of-1500-bhils-against-british-in1913/