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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:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-politics/bhil-pradesh-tribals-rajasthan-9463871/
• https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/tribals-demand-new-state-bhil-pradesh-by-breaking-rajasthan-gujarat-2-other-states-6133716

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)