17, November, 1913 :Mangadh Massacre: The Jaliyanwala of Gujarat

Arun Vaghela

                                                                                                    Prof.,& Head , Department of History

Gujarat University, Ahmedabad-380009

Email - arun.tribalhistory@gmail.com

M. – 09638981388

17, November, 1913 :Mangadh Massacre: The Jaliyanwala of Gujarat

The moment the word massacre hits our ears, we shudder with unknown fear, pain, and agony. Those acquainted with history may immediately be reminded of the Fall of the Bastille (France 1789), the Bloody Sunday (Russia 1905), and Jaliyanwala Garden (Amritsar 1919). These were to be sure some of the goriest massacre, but how many of us have heard of Mangadh massacre? Those few who have heard of it know no details of it, and worse still, connect it, rightly or wrongly, with the freedom movement of India. This creates a lot of confusion, misinterpretations, and isunderstandings not only among the common men but also among the government officials and professional historians. One may argue perhaps that complete ignorance is better than half-knowledge. The present note is a result of a prolonged field work in the area coupled with a perusal of contemporary documents housed in the National Archives, New Delhi.

The Mangadh Massacre took place on 17 November 1913 on the hill of Mangadh situated on the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan. It was a great event of the unforeseen sacrifice of the Adivasis. The word ‘sacrifice’ has been used advisedly. And to understand this, we will hae to make a small detour.

Guru Govind was a spiritual leader of the Bhils. He was born in a Vanjhara (itinerant merchants) family in 1863 at Vedsa, Dt. Dungarpur, Rajasthan. Completely illiterate, Guru Govind got a Call, and started living an ascetic’s life. He also had a meeting with Svami Dayananda Sarasvati, the founder of Arya Samaj, in Udaipur. The famine of 1899–1900, popularly known as Chhappaniyo Dukal (named so after the Vikrama year 1956), took a heavy toll on the tribals of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Guru Govind migrated to the Panchmahals district of the present-day Gujarat and got settled at Natva village. There his wife and three children succumbed to death because of hunger. These deaths completely shattered Guru Govind. Then on he devoted himself for the uplift of the tribal society. He started preaching monotheism, cleanliness, obstination from wine, meat, robbery, murder and other criminal activities. He also emphasised to observe fasts on religious days. For a systematic dissemination of his ideas, Guru Govind founded Samp Sangathan, a religious organisation, in 1905. He was instrumental in establishing ‘dhunis’ (sacred hearths) throughout the area. He convened big sabhas in Rajasthan and Gujarat. His movement came to be called ‘Bhagat Movement’ and his cult ‘Bhagat Cult’. The adivasis who became his disciples were called ‘Bhagats’. They would wear saffron turban, a rosary of rudraksha nuts, and keep a pair of tongs.

While reading the foregoing, one may wonder as to how this Bhagat Movement is related to the Mangadh Massacre. We know that at the turn of the 20^th century, the adivasis were backward on almost every score: their society was badly gripped with socio-religious evils. For instance, wine was so thoroughly interwoven in their life, one can’t imagine of any adivasi event wherein wine was not served. They even had formed a proverb for that: ‘The God gave you (the Upper Castes, so-called) ghee, and he bestowed us (the Bhils) with wine.’ They were pitilessly exploited in the forced labour imposed upon them from above by the British Raj and the Princely States. In such circumstances, Govind Guru and his cult provided the Bhils a sense of self-respect, an awareness of their inhuman exploitation, and rejuvenated them by providing them a sanguine picture of better life ahead.

The Bhils not only obstinated from criminal activities, wine, meat and so on, but also dared to refuse to work under forced labour. This was alarming for the vested interest, for the wine shopkeepers, and the Raj. The Bhils were reckoned among the largest customers of wine, selling of which was monopolised by the government. Similarly, forced labour was an integrated part of means of production owned by the British and the Princely States. The Bhagat Movement broke the very spine of the economic structure in the border area of Rajasthan and Guajrat. For instance, the princely state of Santrampur suffered a loss of Rs. 6000 in the revenue generated from the selling of wine. This amount, given the total revenue of the State, was considerable. The loss of revenue and the awakening among the Bhils were thus a major cause of worry for the State. They therefore decided to uproot the Bhagat Cult and curb it’s activities. Most of the sacred hearths were violated, Bhagats were forced to drink wine, their saffron turban, rosary, and tongs were banned, and so on. Govind Guru and his disciples were therefore compelled to move to safer places. They first moved to the hills of Idar and then to the hill of Mangadh. It was at Mangadh that a new sacred hearth was established. Even today this is a major place of pilgrimage for the adivasis. Govind Guru soon realised that it was impossible to carry out his reform movement without a political establishment. He dreamt of a Bhil State. Before the invasion of the Marathas, there were many Bhil States in the region, most of which were subdued, annexed, and removed from the maps. The remaining ones were rendered powerless by the Machiavellian policies of the British and local chieftains. Govind Guru put forward his plan to establish a Bhil State through his disciple Punja Dhirji Pargi. Pargi was one of the well-educated disciples of Govind Guru. It was decided to convene a major sabha of Bhils at Mangadh Hill on 17 November 1913 (the full moon day of the month of Magshir, the second month of the Vikrama calander). A big fair was organised at the place. To invite people to the place, flags of Bhagat Cult were distributed. Resultantly, more than 3000 Bhils flocked to the Mangadh Hill with ghee, coconut fruit, and one anna to offer the the Guru. (According to the local accounts the number was around one to one and a half lakh.) Apart from the things mentioned above, they were also carrying on them guns, swords, bows and arrows, and slings. The Guru had promised them that he would turn the bullets of the enemies into water. This kind of promises were seen in many of the tribal movements throughout India. The Bhis were determined to fight for their state to the last drop of their blood.

From the first week of November 1913, the hill of Mangadh was swarmed with Bhils. The alarmingly large number of Bhils was a major threat to the states of Sunth (Santrampur), Kushalgadh, Vansvada, and Dungarpur. The king of Santrampur requested the British to arrest the Guru and disperse the Bhils from the area. The British well knew the strength of the Bhils in the uprisings of 1857 and in 1967, and they had not forgotten it. Govind Guru had, on his part, written to the British officials to advise the local kings to change their attitude towards the adivasis, however without avail.

On 17 November 1913, at nine o’clock in the morning, the British platoon, aided by Mewar Bhil Corps, Sunth and Dungarpur armies attacked the Hill. There was no comparison between the primitive weapons of the Bhils and the modern weaponry of the British. Yet the Bhils fought bravely and laid their life for their spiritual Guru and for the dream of Bhil State which he had envisaged. According to the British documents the number of Bhils killed in the combat was twenty-five, which is ridiculously small number. The local account puts the number around 1200 which seems to be near truth discounting the exaggeration. It also must be born in mind that the British officials had no interest in noting down the correct figure; nor were they bothered with the deaths.

According to the local accounts, Govind Guru had the spiritual power to turn the bullets into wasps and it was impossible to defeat him. He in fact had almost defeated the British. However, the crafty local kings polluted the Sacred Hearth of Mangadh with the blood of holy cow, and hence the spiritual power of the Guru was greatly diminished, and finally the Bhils were routed. Innumerable songs memorising the great sacrifice of Bhils are sung by the local people even today.

At last, let us try to compare the Jaliyanwala Baug with Mangadh Massacre. Both were gory massacres. The number of martyrs was considerable. The main difference was, however, of ideology. In Jaliyanwala Baug the main villain was Dyer, whereas here were Borrow, Hamilton and local kings. The former was a part of freedom movement of India, the latter was a great attempt for freedom not only from the British but also from the cunning local rulers. The former again is a story of the mainstream society, the latter of marginalised tribals. What makes the Mangadh Masscare stand apart from all other events is its nature: it is a great saga for the search of an identity, for economic justice and social equity.

The governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan are busy concocting histories of Mangadh Massacre to suit their political need; and the Bhils, oblivious of such histories, regularly pay visits to this sacred place on the full moon day of the month of Magshir.[synopsis of my book "azadina jungno adivasi rang,mangadh hatyakand:17 navember 1913-in gujarati (ahmdabad,2012)