Rajasthan: Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Calls for National Memorial Status for Mangarh Dham to Honour Tribal Martyrs of the 1913 Massacre

 

In a resolute call to correct a long-neglected chapter of India’s freedom struggle, the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has passed a strong resolution demanding that Mangarh Dham be declared a National Memorial. The demand was formally adopted at the ongoing meeting of the organization’s Central Executive Committee in Bhilwara and announced by National President Shree Satyendra Singh at a press conference.

 

The resolution underscores the extraordinary sacrifice of the janjati communities on 17 November 1913, when British forces opened fire at Mangarh Dham to crush the Bhagat Movement led by Sant Govind Guru of the Vagad region. More than 1,500 tribal men, women and children were martyred in the massacre, an atrocity that occurred six years before the Jallianwala Bagh carnage yet remains far less acknowledged in the national narrative.

 

The Kalyan Ashram stressed that this was not merely a local tragedy but a defining moment of resistance that awakened janjati society across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra against colonial repression while simultaneously rekindling pride in their culture, faith and traditional values.

 

Sant Govind Guru’s Bhagat Movement, the organization noted, challenged oppressive British laws and instilled a deeper consciousness of self-respect and cultural identity among the tribal communities. The bloodshed at Mangarh further strengthened the spirit of defiance against foreign rule in the tribal heartlands.

 

The resolution recalls that Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute at Mangarh Dham on 1 November 2022, and the President of India offered homage to the martyrs on 4 October 2024. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has also advocated recognising the site as a national heritage. Building on this, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has urged the Union Government to formally declare Mangarh Dham a National Memorial and ensure its preservation and development in keeping with its historical and cultural importance.

 

 

It has further called upon the governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to incorporate the history of Mangarh into school and college textbooks so that future generations learn of the janjati contribution to the freedom struggle.

 

National Vice-President Techi Gubin and Rajasthan Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad President Thawarchand Damor were present at the press conference. The Central Executive Committee appealed to social and religious leaders as well as public representatives to set aside differences and work collectively for this national cause.

 

The meeting of office-bearers, which began on 2 October with the blessings of Nimbarkacharya Peethadhishwar Anant Vibhushit Shri Shyam Sharan Devacharya Shri Shriji Maharaj, has drawn more than 300 state-level functionaries from across the country.

 

 

National President Satyendra Singh, Vice-President Techi Gubin, Dr H.K. Nagu, General Secretary Yogesh Bapat and National Organising Secretary Atul Jog were among those on the dais. The deliberations were scheduled to conclude on the evening of 3 October.

 

By seeking National Memorial status for Mangarh Dham, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has placed before the nation a clear demand: that the supreme sacrifice of tribal martyrs in 1913 has finally received the recognition it has long deserved as an integral and inspiring part of India’s freedom movement.