Bhopal: Even as the State government gear up to celebrate Tribal Day on Thursday, it has completely forgotten about the descendants of first Gond queen, Rani Kamlapati, who live in oblivion here in state capital. Rani Kamlapati Palace, which stands tall in the city, is a reminder of glorious Gond era.
Dr Salman Shah, who claims his lineage to the Gond Tribal queen, decried that the government has failed to give them recognition. Shah retired from JP hospital and is now serving the Red Cross hospital. Born in the family of Rani Amar Kunwar, the great granddaughter of the tribal queen, Shah was married in the family of Chain Shah of Badi.
While the government is celebrating Tribal Day, however, it has failed to recognize us as the ancestors of the queen, said Shah. Even on occasion like this they have not called us, he added. “I am well settled and we do not need anything from the government but at least they should recognize us, said Shah while talking to Free Press.
Refuting the government assertion that they have lost their tribal status as one of the ancestors got married in different religion, Shah claimed that the family’s tribal lineage remain intact as there is no such rule. I have the documents which support our regal tribal lineage but still no one from the government has approached us on any occasion or function including the when it is gearing up to celebrate world tribal day, said Shah.
Rizwan Ansari, a historian, has corroborated the Shah’s tribal ancestry, stating that the family has documents from National archives on which he (Ansari) had carried out a research work. The family is always neglected by the government and their presence in the city has almost been forgotten, said Andari. On occasions like tribal day, the government should at least give them their due recognition as they do not need any financial assistance, he added.
