THE BHILS : The Largest Indigenous Population of Asia

The pre-historians of India and Europe have called the Bhils residing in the Indian subcontinent as autochthons. Their origin and history is totally concealed in the mystery and mist of timeof the remote past. One thing is certain to the pre-historians, physical anthropologists, cultural anthropologists, historians that they are different race having their own blood group, world views, values, religion and folklore ,etc. The culture of the Bhils or the Nishadas in Vedic and even pre Vedic era had reached a certain level of cultural growth. Remnants of the same we can see in Ramayan, Mahabharata in the unique charachters of Eklavya,Shabari etc. The Asuras of that time were not the real giants but the Nishada, Deshaj, Adivasi or the tribal kings and royal kings and pricnes of those bygone and glorious days of the present day Adivasi whose history, culture and society regressed after the coming of non adivasi peoples into their geographical space. The Great Nishad-Desh was stretching from Central, North(including Pakistan) Wedstern and partly Southern parts of India to many other regions. A fact that is not known to many but cannot be denied. Dr. Stephen Fuchs, Dr. S.L.Doshi, Dr. Wilhelm Koppers, Prof. Brij Raj Chauhan, L. Jungblut, Dr. T.B.Naik, Dr. Nemichand Jain. Dr. J.K. Doshi, Dr. Y.V.S.Nath and many others hold to this view. The Nishadas of those days and their major persisting social group in the form of the Bhils and their values still persist up to this day. This is because this was th different race altogether.

Today this race in the form of Bhils, known also under many regional and local names is thrieving for the physical, social and cultural survival. If we put together all these persisting groups of Bhils spread over many states of India specially Rajasthan, Punjab, Pakistan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Chhatisgargh, West Bengal, Tripua, Assam, etc it will form the biggest or the largest indigenous proup of India. Hence it shall be able to form its own geographical space in the form of a state within the of the healthy survival to maintain thier own human and cultural and religious rights with are very much denied today.

Powered By Black Soft

BHILVANI. Weekly News Magazine of Bhils to Protect their Human and Cultural Rights

The Bhils are possibly more that 150 millions all over the country known under various regional and local names. They are spread in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhatisgargh, West Begal, Assam, Tripura and also in Pakistan. This is one of the community of India which is largely neglected by the mainstream communities even though some claiming to work for them about their society, culture, folklore, language, religioun, worldviews and values, festivals, tribal heroes, folk-history, ancient Bhil land, demographic presence, schedued areas, etc including by the Church NGOs working in the Bhil regions claiming to be honestly dedicated to the uplisftment of the Bhils. By and by, the Bhils under these external influences, forms of tribal development imposed and exploitations, even though billions and billions of Rupees came for them did not reach to them. It is a matter of seriuous regrett. On the contrary, the others in the name of developing the Bhils have far and wide developed themselves and imposed on the Bhils their own way of life, including the missionaries of regular and free churches.Some of the so called NGOs are working among the Bhils for more than 100 years under whom the Bhils have regressed and not progressed. If they continue to impose their ideas and life style the existence of the Bhils will be vanished.

Bhilvani is but a humble attempt to elevate the Bhils through a methodology called adivasikaran, as the eminent cultural anthropologist of India Prof. Sachidananda calls it a wholistic and ideal approach for the tribal development in India.
Bhilvani is a weekly news and views magazine committed for the protection of their human and cultural rights against the mainstream invasions under several damaging factors, while innovating, preservng, promoting and integrating the Bhils in the national mainstream as the respectable citizens of the country. Bhilvani has made a humble beginning. It is being written, edited in Bhili Mathias Bhuriya and published by a Bhil himself from Jhabua. All the NGOs if they are interested in the Bhils should promote the language, culture and society of the Bhils otherwise a day is not far when the Bhil community shall face the final face of suppression.

SEO By Black Soft

ALCOHOL IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF BACKWARDNESS OF JHABUA BHILS

The Bhils or Adivasi community who Jhabua district including the present district of Alirajpur is the archaic or the indigenous tribal community of India as an eminent cutural anthropologist of India Dr. Stephen Fuchs SVD often called. Prior to the coming of Outsiders to the home land of the Bhils called Nishad Land in the ancient days in the North India, they were the rulers, village cheifs, petty kings, kings of ranks who are described indiscriminately described as Asuras or Rakshashas or Giants in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Upnishadas or other sanscritic literatures. Ever since the coming of non-Nishadas, or non Bhils to the land of these indigenous peoples, they have constantly fought unsuccessful wars with Aryans, Rjputs, Moguls, Marathas and Brtitish peoples and all others till today since the outsiders were more able and competent as compared to these indigenous folks . As a consequence of these encounters,in the history from prehistoric times till today, the incoming peoples have done great injustice to the Nishadas or the Bhils till today. Their geographial space vastely shrunk like that of the ancient Gondwana, or their land was alienated, society and culture was damaged and destroyed, language and folklore was discouraged, they were illogically or irrationally assimilated, destory and their history was unwritten , their heroes were killed and their names are wiped away from their history, as a whole their till today being wiped away from the face of Nishad-Land. But the Constitution of India under the pioneering leadership of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar upholds their overall human rights with dignity for the safe and legal revival if need be.

To forget these historical, social, cultural and over all psychological tradgedies they drink, sing and dance. The money lenders, alcohol merchants and the non tribals encourage them to drink more and more so that the resources which are further remaining may go to them easily and automatically. Only from the district of Jhabua including Alirajpur some worth of over 100 crores worth of alcohol is being consumed and no NGOs have seriously taken the cause of uplifting the tribals since they too want to be beneficiries of the inheriting the remaining resources of the Bhils.

Website By Black Soft

The Need of Today for Tribal India

Today the SC, ST & OBC communities are most deprived, marginalised and neglected by all the sections of Indian communities including 98% of the Christian and non christian NGOs who claim to have come to the isolated regions of these communities to save from being lost in oblivion, with exceptions to Jesuit Missionaries and SDB Missionaries in certain Central and Eastern tribal zones of India with practically no exceptions,filling their own pockets, channellising tribal and other funds elsewhere, further impoverishing these communities espcially the tribals while establishing their communities and kins, as it very evident in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat besides other states in India. The need of the hour is to protect frm the so called social workers, NGOs etc the human rights of all types, Otherwise the second slavery of the tribals shall be impossible to lberate from the clutches of their Indian bretheren.

Powered BY Web 2.0

BJP Gains More Strength in Tribal Areas of Madhya Pradesh

Bharatiya Janta Party of typically of Hindutva ideology led by Mr Shivrajsingh Chauhan the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, under whose leadership and guidance the BJP contested the Madhya Pradesh state Assembly election, appears to have done well in the last voting in the month of November, 2008. Even though the results of the voting in the state are yet to come on the 8th, but from many walks the news is being flashed that Mr. Chauhan’s performance and the reputation he has appeared to be positive, among the SC, ST and OBC folks have helped the BJP party return to power is very likely.

All this is due to the tireless efforts, selfless attitude and will to genuinely uplift the poor masses of the state has helped the party. There was nothing left undone for the people by the Chauhan Government in the state. Hence the Congress Party led by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi could not find substantial ground for critically evaluating the functioning of the Chauhan’s Government, except making some stereo type of criticisms applicable to former Congress Government too in the Madhya Pradesh state. It is promised that if the voters bring back Chauhan as the future Chief Minister the state shall witness, enormous development as being seen under Mr. Narendra Modi rule in Gujarat, in the state of Madhya Pradesh as it is already initiated in the last three years by Mr. Chauhan.

Powered By SEO 4 Website

MATHIAS BHURIYA : A Prominent Tribal Writer

Mathias Bhuriya a Bhil was born in a tribal family of Bhuriya clan in the village of Gopalpura near Kalyanpura some 25 km away from Jhabua the district head quarter. He had his early education up to 5th class in his own village, middle school education in Thandla the tehsil and higher secondary school education in Mhow (Indore) and his graduation in Nagpur in the state of Maharashtra in a College called St. Francis de Sales College affiliated to Nagpur University. Later he had training in the Systematic Sociology in the Dev Ahilya University, Indore and then training in Cultural anthropology in the University of Mumbai later her has conducted extensive field work in the culture of the tribal in India especially in the Oral Tradition of the Bhils under a universally renowned Cultural Anthropologist of India named Dr. Stephen Fuchs SVD , then founder and Director of the Institute of Indian Culture, Mumbai. Later he was trained as a tribal author, poet, folklorist etc by Dr. Neminchand Jain a renowned Hindi scholar, Bhil scholar, critic and editor in the University of Indore. Guided by these scholars Mathias Bhuriya contributed extensively for the tribal culture, of India especially about the tribes of Western India. The important books and booklets that he wrote are following:

The Nature of Bhil Folk-Songs, Hira-Bhaiya Publications, Indore, 1977

Bhili Chetna Geet, Hira- Bhaiya Publications, Indore, 1977, 1978

Folk-Songs of the Bhils, Mahipal Publications, Indore, 1980

Bhili Vedna Geet, Hira-Bhaiya Publications, Indore, 1982

Premyogi, a novel, Satprakashan, Indore, 1983

Anthropology as a Historical Science : Essays in Honor of Stephen Fuchs SVD, Satprakashan, 1984

Gavran a novel on the life of a Bhil woman, Hira-Bhaiya Prakashan, Indore, 1996

Eklavya, edited, Prose and poetry on tribals of India, Shabri Kala Mandal, Jhabua, 2006

Adivasikaran(Eng.) First Ed., Mahipal Publications, Jhabua, 2006

Adivasikaran(Hindi) Shabri Kala Mandal, Jhabua, 2007

Adivasikaran(Eng. 2nd ed.), Mahipal Publications, Meghnagar, 2008

Premyogi, Poetry, audio, cassettes, vol I – V, 1983.

Veeh Bhed, Poetry in Bhili singing, 2006,

Daru Nan Geet, Poetry in Bhili singing, 2006

Bhil Vajan na Sala (rythme of Bhil drums), 2006

Powered By SEO 4 Website

Mayawati the Messiah of the Oppressed Indians

Since the days of Mahabharata and Ramayan, the indigenous populations of the Indian sub-continent have suffered vigourously over the centuries till today, their human, cultural, religious, geographical, linguistic, art, music, folklore, festivals and other rights in Central and North India. In the course of time, the Aryans or the upper caste groups, made consistent efforts for regression of the indigenous populations who are knwon today as Sceduled Castes(SC), Scheduled tribes(ST), and Other Backward Communities(OBC). The Government of India and other state governments within the territory of India, made many laws but all these rested and implemented by those who are on the path of systematically depriving the oppressed masses. This has involved a clear and consistent contradiction in the impelentation even though some leaders in the Centre like Rajiv Gandhi and also his mother Indira Gandhi made some strong and genuine efforts to alleviate the problems of these masses and liberate them from these socio-economic, cultural and other bondages. The other major political parties like Congress, BJP and also some at the state level parties too did not make genuine efforts on the political level since they had vested interests and lacked a clear political will. Hence the 10% of the top castes and able groups of people ruled over the 85% SC, ST & OBC in various fields of life ove3r the centuries and further deteriorated these problems among these historically oppressed masses of the country. It is now the voice of Mayavati , the present supremo of the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) is spreading around the country a strong and loud message of hope for the liberation among these oppressed and exploited masses in the country. Even though national leaders of major political parties are harping their political agenda among the same folks, but failing explicitly to give a message of hope that one day they will have liberation in future in happy India, where they shall equal rights and opprtunities for their future survival. In this context, in the vaste and widely active Indian Media, Mayavati has a positive note to strike and lone voice. But the Indian media surely and stongly supporting the ideology and message of optimism of Mayavati that in her adminstration of the country, as the the chances are ahead, SC, ST & OBC who are nearly 80% in the country , shall rule suprmemly in India by making policies suitable to these 85% folks and not only the 15% and the historical deprivation and frustration making their life gloom and miserable in BSP India will have no place.

Powered By