The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi attended a public programme ‘Mangarh Dham ki Gaurav Gatha’ today and paid homage to the sacrifices of unsung tribal heroes and martyrs of the freedom struggle. After arriving at the venue, the Prime Minister performed Dhuni Darshan and paid floral tributes to the statue of Govind Guru.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that it is always inspiring to be in the holy land of Mangarh which is a symbol of tapasya, sacrifice, bravery and sacrifice of our tribal bravehearts. “Mangarh is a shared heritage of the people of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat”, he said. The Prime Minister paid tributes to Govind Guru whose death Anniversary fell on 30th October.

 

As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the Prime Minister recalled serving the region of Mangarh which is part of Gujarat and informed that Govind Guru spent the last years of his life here, and his energy and knowledge can still be felt in the soil of this land. The Prime Minister remembered that the entire area which was a barren land earlier got transformed with greenery after he urged everyone via the platform of Van Mahotsav. The Prime Minister thanked the Tribal Community for selflessly working for the campaign.

The Prime Minister said that the development not only resulted in an improvement of the life quality of the local people but also led to the propagation of the teachings of Govind Guru. “Great freedom fighters like Govind Guru were the representative of India’s tradition and ideals”, the Prime Minister continued “Govind Guru lost his family but never lost his heart and made every tribal person his family.” If Govind Guru fought against the British for the rights of the tribal community, the Prime Minister pointed out, he also campaigned against the ills of his own community as he was a social reformer, spiritual leader, a saint and a leader. His intellectual and philosophical aspect was as vibrant as his courage and social activism, the Prime Minister said.

Remembering the massacre of 17th November 1913 in Mangarh, the Prime Minister remarked that it was an example of extreme cruelty by British rule in India. Shri Modi said, “On one hand we had the innocent tribals who were seeking independence while on the other hand, it was the British colonial rulers who after surrounding the hills of Mangarh, massacred more than one thousand five hundred innocent men, women, elderly and children in broad daylight.” The Prime Minister interjected that due to unfortunate circumstances, such a significant and impactful event of the freedom struggle could not find its place in the history books. The Prime Minister exclaimed, “In this Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, India is filling this void and correcting the mistakes that were made decades ago.”

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Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Mangubhai Patel, Union Minister of State for Culture, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal were also present on the occasion.

On the occasion, in his welcome address, Shri Arjun Ram Meghawal said that this is indeed an historical moment that Shri Narendra Modi has come here to this land of sacrifices. He added “In the period of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav PM Modi has given the important duty of remembering and honouring the unsung heroes of India, to the Ministry of Culture, and I was here at this iconic place on 13th August for the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and people expressed the desire for the PM to visit the place and today this has been fulfilled”. He also said that the vision of PM Modi is that the unsung heroes must get their due respect and place in our history.

On the occasion, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that, we got Independence after thousands of freedom fighters sacrificed their life and purified the land of Mangarh and India with their blood. He added that there were many unsung heroes who sacrificed but were not celebrated and it is our PM Modi who has taken the initiative to celebrate Janjatiya Gaurav Divas on 15th November every year all over India.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel said that one of our commitments in this Amrit kaal is to be proud of our legacy, and we all must be proud of Freedom fighters’ legacy. He added “Today I want to pay tribute to all the tribal freedom fighters who fought for our Independence.”

 Chief minister of Rajasthan Shri Ashok Gehlot said that the land of Mangarh has its own history. On November 17, 1913 under the leadership of Govind Guru, tribals have fought for our Independence where more than 1,500 tribals were shot dead by the British. The sacrifice which took place on the soil of Mangarh has now come to be engraved in history in golden letters.

 Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Members of Parliament, MLAs were also present on the occasion.

 

Background

As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the government has initiated several steps to celebrate unsung tribal heroes of the freedom struggle. These include declaring 15th November (birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda) as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’, setting up tribal museums across the country etc to recognise the contribution of tribal people to society and increase awareness about their sacrifices in the freedom struggle. In yet another step in this direction, the Prime Minister attended a public programme - ‘Mangarh Dham ki Gaurav Gatha’ at Mangarh Hill, Banswara, Rajasthan, to pay homage to the sacrifices of the unsung tribal heroes and martyrs of the freedom struggle. During the programme, the Prime Minister paid homage to Bhil freedom fighter Shri Govind Guru and also addressed a gathering of Bhil Adivasis and other tribal populations of the region.

Mangarh Hill holds special importance for the Bhil community and other tribes of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. During the freedom struggle where Bhils and other tribes engaged in a long stand-off with the British, more than 1.5 lakh Bhils rallied at Mangarh Hill on 17th November 1913 under the leadership of Shri Govind Guru. Britishers opened fire at this gathering, leading to Mangarh Massacre where approximately 1500 tribals were martyred.

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