Jaipur
The tribal outfits and their political wing in Rajasthan are demanding a separate state Bhil Pradesh for them which comprises the tribal areas of not only Rajasthan but MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra also.
THE GEOGRAPHY
The state will have around 40 districts of all 4 states that have the tribal population in majority. The tribal organisations have recently given memorandums of the demand in 136 blocks of 4 states.
"We were divided into four states after the Independence and the consequences of that division can be seen now as tribal community is facing problems in all the states. We are deprived of our rights and facing the problems of displacement in the name of various development projects, ' said the memorandum to the President and the home minister given to the SDMs in different blocks by the Bhil Pradesh Mukti Morcha and its political wing Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP).
TRIBAL DOMINANCE
It may mentioned here the southern part of Rajasthan is tribal dominant. The districts like Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Chittorgarh, Sirodhi and parts of Udaipur have a tribal majority.
Till now the demand for a separate state was confined to these districts only, but now the tribal outfits are demanding a major state.
The state president of BTP Dr Velaram Ghoghra said, "We are demanding a separate state to protect our culture, traditions and our dignity and this is not a new demand. We are demanding it for several years as the tribal areas of Rajasthan, Gujrat, MP and Maharashtra are connected so it can become a separate state.
DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS
The tribal leaders of BJP and Congress have different views. The former MP from Udaipur and a senior leader of Congress from this region Raghuveer Meena said if it is feasible and is in the interest of the tribal community then we should think over it. When asked whether it is the stand of Congress he said that it is not a matter of party by of larger interest of the tribal community.
On the other hand, Jitendra Meema the state president of BJP’s ST Morcha has opposed it and said this is an attempt to divide the Hindu community as these are the same people who once said that we don’t follow Hinduism. One should not demand a state based on caste, religion or a community, he added. The reports say tribal outfits are gaining ground in these areas of Rajasthan. BTP had emerged as a strong political party in the tribal Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Banswara as 2 MLAs had won the 2018 assembly poll when the party had contested the election for the first time.
Both the MLAs of BTP had supported CM Ashok Gehlot during the political crisis of July 2020. They had shown their strength once again in the agitation that took place last year in Dungarpur in a matter related to teachers recruitment. The agitation lasted for several days.
AN INSIGHT
Bhils or Bheels are an Indo-Aryan speaking ethnic group in West India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.[4] Bhils are listed as indigenous people of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan—all in the western Deccan regions and central India—as well as in Tripura in far-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages. Most Bhils now speak the language of the region they reside in, such as Marathi, Gujarati or a Hindustani dialect. —Source Wikipedia
