What’s in News

• Gujarat’s tableau for the Republic Day parade this year has been themed on tribal revolutionaries from the state who devoted themselves to India’s independence struggle, with a special focus on an event that took place in Sabarkantha in 1922 that some historians refer to as “Gujarat’s Jallianwala Bagh”.

About the incident

• The tableau comprises a statue of Motilal Tejawat, one of the heroes of the event who was regarded as the ‘Gandhi of Koliyari’ by the tribals.
• The incident, in which some 1,200 Bhils were massacred, happened in the Pal-Chitariya and Dadhvaav villages in Gujarat, then part of Idar state.
  • The Bhil are one of the largest tribal communities, having presence in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
• On March 7, 1922, the day marking Amalki Ekadashi, a major festival for the tribals, villagers from Pal-Chitariya and Dadhvaav gathered under Tejawat’s leadership to protest against the land revenue tax  imposed by the British and feudal lords.
• Soldiers arrived at the site and fired on the tribals. In the unprovoked firing 1,200 innocent tribal were killed.

References:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/gujarat-to-depict-british-massacre-of-tribals/article38316009.ece
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/republic-day-tableau-gujarat-to-pay-homage-to-tribal-revolutionaries-who-fought-for-independence-7737337/