Rahul Gandhi to address public meeting at Mangarh Dham on World Tribal Day

Rahul Gandhi (Photo:ANI)


On the International Day of World’s Indigenous People and to pay homage to the sacrifices of the unsung tribal heroes and martyrs of the freedom struggle, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP, will visit famous Mangarh Dham in Banswara district tomorrow.

This will be his first visit to any state on getting back to Parliament after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in the Modi surname case. The Rajasthan Pradesh Committee leaders including its in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa have been camping in Mangarh Dham and Banswara for the last couple of days and holding meetings after meeting with the partymen and workers with great enthusiasm.

Just three months ahead of upcoming assembly polls in Rajasthan, Rahul will also address a mammoth Congress rally in the afternoon, a party spokesman said here today. The Pradesh Congress is planning to woo voters of about 40 assembly seats despite the presence of Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) with two MLAs in the present Vidhan Sabha.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has been recovering from his foot surgery in both legs since June 29 and doing the CM office work while sitting on a wheelchair, has scheduled his visit to Udaipur and Mangarh Dham tomorrow by a special plane and helicopter.

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.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited this place on November 1, 2022, he had asked four state governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to work together and have a detailed discussion about preparing a ‘road map’ so that this memorial site of Govind Guru finds a place on the world map. However the PM did not meet the demands of the public to declare Mangarh Dham as a National Monument.