The Bhils and the Rajputs

Vinita Tatke writes:

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet up with the Bhils and Rajputs in remote villages of Badgaon block in Udaipur district, Rajasthan. That is the place where Maharana Pratap fought the famous battle of Haldi Ghati. He is said to have defended Mewar against the occupation of the Moghuls. The battle field, which was famous for its yellow soil and hence called Haldi Ghati, now has red soil, reddened by the blood of the defenders.

The Rajputs are the royality here, while the Bhils the nomad tribe. Both are fighter tribes, however, the Bhils ruled in the forests while the Rajputs owned kingdoms and extracted taxes.

Here is an account of the relationship between the Rajputs and the Bhils, and the Bhil version of the battle.

Ambalal Gameti is a Bhil from the Kak Mandara village, also a member of the Village Development Committee. Seva Mandir, an NGO from Udaipur, has been working in this village for last several years. They have undertaken work on soil and water conservation activities and attempted to restore the common grazing lands to the collective ownership of the people.

Ambalal Gameti (Bhil) on the relationship between Bhils and Rajputs

The rest of this post is essentially a paraphrase of the words of Ambalal Gameti

I have seen the differential treatment given by the Rajputs to the Bhils during my childhood. The Rajputs were particular about not sitting close to a Bhil. Slowly, this behaviour changed. Today, the Bhils and Rajputs are together in many functions. The Rajputs treat the Bhils with greater respect. Though each community is engaged in their daily routine, they do come together on occassions especially to discuss issues of the village or work that is to be done in the village. However, the two communities do not enter each other’s homes, nor do they eat or drink water at each other’s place.

Sardar – Rajputs are the money lendors. 2% interest rate. Sardars sometimes charge 5 to 10%.

Rajputs are a proud people. They are very particular of their caste. They don’t like people proclaiming themselves as equal to the Rajputs.

However, when each caste is having its own function, then other castes are not allowed to participate.

Many people are going to the city and there they forget their castes.
Our traditions and theirs are different. We have different Gods. So there is very little opportunity to mix socially. However, in the issues related to village development, we do discuss.

Earlier, all village related work was done through the village Panchayat. We have not done any work collectively before Seva Mandir. It is only this time for the watershed that there has been an opportunity to come together.

The Battle of Haldi Ghati

Maharana Pratap had almost given up the battle and had run off from the battle field, when the diety of Bhils visited the Maharana in his dreams. The diety gave him confidence and told him not to loose hope. Maharana said that he did not have any funds, but the diety told him not to worry about it. An unknown entity called Vamasha then visited the Maharana and provided the funds. Vamasha told the Rana to prepare his army with the funds. The Bhils supported the Maharana and formed most of his army. Together, they were able to defeat the Moghuls.

Rana Punja, the Bhil leader, was thus rewarded with half the throne of Maharana Pratap. On one side is the Bhilu Rana and on the other side of the throne sits Maharana Pratap. Both have one hand on the throne. Babri Mandi has a photo of Bhilu Raja.

Today, the whole story is commemorated in a museum at Haldi Ghati.