Mangarh 1913: The Forgotten Bloodshed of the Bhil Tribes by the British

On the morning of November 17, 1913, thousands of Bhils gathered at Mangarh Hill, situated on the border of present-day Rajasthan and Gujarat. They had travelled from the regions of Banswara, Dungarpur, Kushalgarh and Kherwara in Rajasthan to attend a religious gathering around the sacred dhuni and participate in a yajna led by Govind Guru. But before the day was over, this peaceful gathering would turn into one of the most devastating massacres in the history of Adivasi resistance against colonial rule.

For years, the Bhil community had faced exploitation under colonial and princely-state rule through forced labour (begar), which required them to work without payment, and heavy taxation. Around 1907, Govind Guru began the Bhagat Movement, bringing social and religious change among the Bhils. He encouraged them to give up alcohol, practise vegetarianism, and maintain cleanliness and discipline. But his message went beyond personal reform. He urged the Bhils to stand united, reject forced labour and refuse to accept exploitation. This growing unity began to worry the British authorities. Meanwhile, thousands of Bhils continued arriving at Mangarh for the religious gathering. The authorities ordered them to leave the hill by November 15, but they refused to disperse.

Two days later, on the morning of November 17, armed British forces surrounded Mangarh Hill. As the troops advanced, the Bhils stood their ground, with the defiant words, "ओ भुरेतिया, नइ मानूँ रे, नइ मानूँ" ("O Britishers, I will not bow before you; I will not surrender!"). But their defiance was met with bullets. British commanders Major S. Bailey and Captain E. Stoiley ordered their troops to open fire with machine guns and artillery. The Bhils, many armed with little more than bows, arrows, and a few traditional weapons, were no match for the heavily armed forces. Gunfire tore through the gathering, killing men, women, elderly people, and children. The firing stopped only after a British officer came across a child trying to suckle milk from its dead mother's body. By the time the attack ended, the hill had become a scene of devastation. More than 1,500 people were killed, while around 900 were captured. Govind Guru, who was wounded during the attack, was also arrested and later released in 1919.

Today, Mangarh Dham stands as a reminder of the thousands who gathered there and lost their lives. Six years before Jallianwala Bagh, these hills had witnessed another tragedy of colonial rule. Yet the courage and sacrifice of the Bhil community deserve to be remembered as an important chapter in India's freedom struggle.

But the history of the Bhil community did not end with the Mangarh massacre. Across generations, they continued to preserve their identity through their art, folk songs, dances and ancestral traditions. Their traditional wall paintings, known as Mandno, and ritual Pithora paintings carried stories of their deities, forests, animals and everyday lives. Their folk theatre, Gavari, kept their community stories alive, while ancestral memorial pillars preserved the memories of those who came before them.

Today, this legacy is remembered at Mangarh Dham, where the Shaheed Smarak stands in honour of the tribal men and women who lost their lives in 1913. Its towering memorial pillar symbolises their sacrifice, while the sacred dhuni continues to hold spiritual significance for the Bhil community. On 1 November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mangarh Dham, paid tribute to Govind Guru and the tribal martyrs, and attended the programme Mangarh Dham Ki Gaurav Gatha. More than a century later, Mangarh remains not just a memorial to a massacre, but a symbol of Adivasi courage, cultural identity and collective memory.