Context

In the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, a more horrific massacre than Jallianwala Bagh was committed by the British, and about 1,200 tribals were martyred.

• On the 100th anniversary of this unknown historical event, the Gujarat government will highlight it through tableaux, named as 'Gujarat's tribal revolutionaries', at the Republic Day Parade.

About

• The 45-feet long, 14-feet wide and 16-feet high official tableau from Gujarat for the Republic Day parade will represent the incident of indiscriminate firing by the British army on the tribal revolutionaries of Pal Dadhvaav village.
• A seven-feet statue of Motilal Tejawat, who was regarded as the ‘Gandhi of Koliyari’ by the tribals, will be the main highlight of the tableau.
• A statue of H G Saturn, the British cavalier who gave the firing order, will also be depicted in it.

Protest of Bhil tribal in freedom movement

• About 600 innocent civilians were killed at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab on April 13, 1919.
• Later in 1920, Gandhiji started the non-cooperation movement in Calcutta. The freedom struggle had started all over the country.
• In the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, the Bhil tribals, who lived a lavish life in the Aravalli hills, also protested the:
  • exploitation
  • harsh taxes
  • tyranny of the British and the feudal lords

About the forgotten horrific incident

• Date:March 7, 1922
• Location: Sabarkantha district of Gujarat
• Tribal leader: Motilal Tejawat
• British Officer: Major HG Stern
• This horrific incident took place in the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, three years after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• Freedom-loving tribals met under the leadership of Motilal Tejawat, known as the Gandhi of Koliyari.
• An armed military force of the British paramilitary force called Mewar Bhil Corps (MBC) was stationed on the Jaramara hills.
• Major HG Stern, the British officer of the MBC, ordered to shoot at the thousands of tribals, who had gathered, and around 1,200 innocent tribals were shot dead.
• The sound of gunshots from machine guns erased the dance and drums of the tribals forever.
• There were piles of dead bodies everywhere.
• Like a battlefield, the whole field was filled with corpses.
• The nearby Dhekhaliya Kuwa and Dudhio Kuwa were filled with the bodies of around 1,200 innocent tribals.
• Motilal Tejawat was also shot twice. Later, his companions made him sit on a camel and took him to the hills along the river.
• The tribals of this region still sing songs of this event in their wedding songs.