A Man Who Worked Tirelessly to Restore Overall Human Rights of Bhils the Deprived Indigenous Peoples of Remote Past
Historically the Bhils are the largest and the most important tribe of Indian subcontinent. The tribe inhabited Central, Northern and Western parts of India since prehistoric times. Many of them are found even in the South and Eastern parts of India. Prior to the coming of other peoples to Nishad Desh, or Bhilanchal, etc. they lived happily in their own states and had achieved a certain level of social and cultural development whose over all growth was disturbed by the incoming peoples and invaders hence they are suffering regression and exploitation till today.
Those who are narrated as Dasyus, Rakshsas and Asuras are the Bhil or Nishad heroes of the ancient Bhilanchal or Nishad Desh. It is this Bhil race that has vehemently suffered the breach of total human rights, socially, culturally, politically, geographically, even religiously in other words successively deprived in each century and rendered them in modern India today as semi nomads, vanvasi, powerless, impoverished and in various clandestine ways being deprived of chances of development, possibly a process, slowly and silently geared to wipe them out from the face of the earth.
The Bhils have rich social, cultural, political, and religious folklore perpetuated to this day by their oral tradition, word of mouth. The Bhil myths, legends, folktales, proverbs, riddles, rituals, rites, cultural symbolisms, depict their traditional wisdom, indigenous culture knowledge, native values, folk religion, a whole system of maintaining and governing their society, Adivasi states, inner life and social institutions of the Bhil the tribe. Dr. Wilhelm Koppers SVD, Dr. Brijraj Chauhan, Dr. T.B. Naik. Dr. Nemichand Jain, Dr. S.L. Doshi, Dr. J.K. Doshi, Dr. Stephen Fuchs SVD, Leo Jungblut SVD, and many other serious scholars have described the royal past of the bhil. In the records of the princely states especially in the Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan by Col. James Tod, and others, records of Kathasaritsagar, oral traditions such as oral epichs of the tribe, that once upon a time these particular states belonged to the Bhils, the Nishads, Bhilas of the past centuries.
Gradually as Muslim invasions intensified, irresistible, the Rajput ruling families or clans took shelter in the land or states of the Bhils of Nishad Desh suppressing and repressing them continuously. Ever since even the remaining states of the Bhils gone with the political, social and cultural invaders the records of whom found in many references of in Hindu political history. The themes are ignored for further researches in social sciences since it the past states would be credited to the Bhils but it is urgently needed for the protection of the Bhil human rights. And today the Bhils still inhabit in the thickly populated regions of their own ancient regions, in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are systematically being deprived, bit by bit even today what is still left over with them. The process of modern way of assimilation without developing their personal and social resources, sanskritisation, massive conversion to Hinduism, deprivation is socially rendering them sheer Dalits or including them only in fourth section of Varna-Jati system of the Indian society.
It is to this land and this social and cultural background, in the district of Jhabua a place called Bhabhara, Dist. Jhabua, in Madhya Pradesh, Mama Baleshwar Dayal a famous Gandhian, freedom fighter and socialist leader arrived in Bhilanchal from Etava district of U.P. Mama knew the pre history, history and royal past of the Bhils well. Seeing the Bhil Langoti in Bhabhara in Jhabua district then in the year in early thirties, was much grieved. He thought, is this the only material symbol or historical remnant of the royal Bhils of the past, to speak their glorious history....and the modern tribal development in India......? From that day on Mama vowed to redeem the Bhils in all possible ways thus gaining socially, culturally and even politically the status of Bhil Messiah. Since he worked for the total Bhil development and as a socialist leader the Indian history other political parties could have made use of his strategies for the tribal development in India have conveniently forgotten him.
Mama Baleshwar Dayal was born in a place called Nivadikalan Dist. Itava, (UP) on March 10, 1905 in a high class Brahmin family. While he was studying in the college, participated in the Indian freedom movement for which the British Government's rules that, was rusticated from the college. Mama left UP and arrived in Jhabua State, to a remote place called Bhabhara the place of Chandrasekhar Azad. In early thirties of the last century Mama Baleshwar Dayal started Bhil Ashram in Bamania with a noble vision to educate the Bhils through Dungar Vidyapeeth (Mountain University) from where he started his Bhil Movement for the overall development of the tribe. He was a member of Congress party, worked with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other prominent political leaders of Congress in British India. Mama, was the first to begin formal education for the Bhils be it Indian political movement for Freedom, Indian politics, opposing 12 Princely states in Bhilanchal for the abolition of taxes, trained a violent tribe in Ahinsa (non violence), Panchayati Raj, edited Bhili news paper in Bamania called Gobar, taught them how to dress well, use of local herbs, bare foot social and political worker, lived in Bhil style in a tapari (Bhil hut), ate makka no roto( maize roti), trained social and poitical leaders, starved like the Bhils, lived in the company and village of the Bhils, animated to abandon Daru (country liquor), freed from forced labour (beggar) of Maharajs, showed them the art of living, increased their swabhiman (self-respect), gave them concept of Bhilanchal ( Bhil country), advocated for the round the year employment, worked for women's liberation, promoted water shade or water conservation programmes, revived Bhil Panchayats, fought for tribal Arakshan (reservation), fought for Bhil land rights, advocated to grant them fair prices for agricultural products, conducted huge public meetings in indigenous style or with no much expenses, consistent man, did not divert Bhil funds or cheat them in money matters , printed books and pamphlets in Bhili, symbol of Bhil society and unity, composed bhajans and stories in Bhili, and many other contributions Mama Baleshwar Dayal made for the Bhil in Bhilanchal for which the Bhils addressed him with love and honour Mama meaning mother's own brother.
Mama Baleshwar Dayal was rich at heart but not with money, a loyal man to his vision and people, Lived till his death in abject poverty and simplicity. For all his plans and implementation of his vision the Brahmins, Seths and Jain community supported him with sufficient money and service. Seva (selfless service) to the Bhils and their development was their main mission. In coming contact with the Bhils, they grew in all fields but their Guru remained same poor, austere, simple, humble Hungry and alone. The Bhils made tremendous progress in that transitional period but Mama decreased in health and wealth. They increased day by day. Many times he went to jail for fighting for the Bhil human rights. Days or nights he remained Hungry, sick and even thirsty. Walked bare foot for thousands of miles in Bhilanachal guiding his Bhil children who worship and honour him as deified hero......Lived and loved them for over 7 decades in a Bhil hut which he himself maintained.
The hut in the Bhil ashram of Bamania, still bears the testimony of that Fakir and Bhil saint whom India and the media does not remember but the illiterate and badly exploited Bhils still do even today. Never raised huge funds from India or abroad and diverted like the NGOs today in Jhabua. Under his shadow the Bhils grew to maximum heights. But under the shadow of the some 150 NGOs working in Jhabua region the Bhils are growing poorer day by day socially, culturally economically and even politically. Mama often alerted the Bhils saying that you are being enslaved under Deshi Imperialism from whose chains of slavery you shall find difficult to be freed if not impossible. In near future before the Bhils are fully exploited and annihilated, will a new Mama in the form of a Messiah, take incarnation to free the Bhils from Deshi imperialism....?
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