Call for separate ‘Bheel’ state gains momentum in Rajasthan

Jaipur: The call for the creation of a distinct tribal state, or "Bheel Pradesh," is becoming stronger. At a massive gathering on Thursday at Mangarh Dham in Banswara, thousands of tribal people from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra made this demand.

The tribe want to create a new state by combining 49 districts from 4 states into one, and they will shortly send a delegation to meet with the PM and President to push for this demand.

This large tribal march took place in the Banswara area of Rajasthan, with tribals travelling from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra to Mangarh Dham, the New Indian Express reported.

At this massive gathering organised by 35 tribal organizations—the largest organisation in the Bhil community—many MPs and MLAs from the tribal community also took part. They want to combine 12 districts from Rajasthan, 14 from Gujarat, 13 from Madhya Pradesh, and 6 from Maharashtra to form a "Bheel," or tribal state.

Speaking at a large public gathering called by tribal leaders at the holy site of Mangarh Dham, newly elected Member of Parliament Rajkumar Roat stated that the Bharatiya Adivasi Party (BAP) is actively pursuing the long-overdue demand for Bhil state.

The BAP leader Rajkumar Roat asserted “the demand for Bheel state is not new. BAP is strongly raising this demand for a long time. After the mega rally, a delegation will meet the President and the Prime Minister with the proposal to establish Bheel state.”

He added that “the sacrifice of over 1,500 tribals in Mangarh in 1913 was not just for the Bhakti movement but for the demand of Bhil province.” Umesh Meena, BAP MLA from Aspur, and Dhariyawad MLA Thawarchand Bhil participated in the rally donning T-shirts with slogans of ‘Bhil state’.