Demand for separate Bhil Pradesh| Statehood demands in India

Demand for separate Bhil Pradesh

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Context:

A large number of people from the Bhil tribe recently gathered at a rally in Rajasthan’s Mangarh Dham and raised the “long due” demand for an independent ‘Bhil state’.

What is ‘Bhil Pradesh’?

The Bhil community has been demanding that 49 districts be carved out of the four states to establish Bhil Pradesh.
49 districts are spread across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

History of demand

Pre-independence:

Hundreds of Bhil tribals were killed by British forces on November 17, 1913, in the hills of Mangarh on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border.
It is sometimes referred to as the “Adivasi Jallianwala”.
After the Mangarh massacre, which took place six years before Jallianwalla Bagh, Bhil social reformer and spiritual leader Govind Guru first raised the demand for a separate state for tribals back in 1913.

Post-Independence:

The demand for Bhil Pradesh was raised repeatedly.
The BTP was formed in 2017 in Gujarat, with this issue as a major agenda.
The demand for a separate tribal state in western India was previously put forward by regional parties such as the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP).
In 2023, the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) was formed a few months before the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, amid differences within BTP leaders.
Most state leaders and workers of the BTP joined the new organisation and it drew considerable support among voters.
BAP leaders have also asserted a distinct tribal culture in opposition to Hinduism and the influence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Article 3 gives Parliament the power to change the boundaries, names, or areas of existing states. For example, Parliament can create a new state by removing territory from another state, uniting states, or joining areas to other states.

The process for creating a new state as outlined in Article 3 of the Constitution:

The President sends a reference to the state assembly.
The assembly passes a resolution and tables a bill to create the new state.
Parliament must ratify the bill with a simple majority

However,

●The bill can be introduced in Parliament only after the President recommends it.

●The state legislature can pass the bill with or without recommendations, but Parliament isn't required to follow the assembly's opinion.

● If the state legislature doesn't pass the bill within the specified time, Parliament can introduce it after the time period ends.

Why do the tribals want a separate state?

Division of Bhil Unity:

Earlier, the Dungarpur, Banswara, Udaipur region in Rajasthan and Gujarat, MP, etc. was part of a single entity. But post-Independence, the tribal majority regions were divided into various districts falling in different states.
According to the 2011 census, tribals comprise almost 14% of Rajasthan’s population and are mainly concentrated in the Vagad region, comprising Pratapgarh, Banswara Dungarpur and parts of Udaipur districts.

Delayed implementation:

Several laws, benefits, schemes, and committee reports on tribals went slow on their execution and implementation.

Example:

The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 is a law meant to decentralise governance and empower gram sabhas in tribal areas. The law was enacted in 1996.
The Rajasthan government adopted the law in 1999, and came out with its Rules in 2011.

Bhills

●They are considered as one of the oldest tribes in India.

●Once they were the rulers in parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

●Bhills could be identified as one of the Dravidian racial tribe of Western India and belong to Austroloid group of tribes.

●They speak a language of Dravidian origin.

●Bhills are Hindus by religion. They appease deities of forest and evil spirits beside pujas of Lord Shiva and Durga.

●Small percentages among them follow Christianity.

Read in detail about Bhils here:

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/bhils#:~:text=Population%20and%20Classification%3A%20Bhils%20are,Indian%20government's%20positive%20discrimination%20program.

Important articles for reference :

Tripura Land and demand for statehood in other states

Sources:

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Critically analyse the factors contributing to the demands for separate statehood and assess the challenges and opportunities they present for the Indian federal structure.( 250 Words)