Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the revamped Habibganj railway station, now renamed after Rani Kamlapati, the first Gond queen of Bhopal, on November 15, marking Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas or Tribal Pride Day.
The Madhya Pradesh government said that the renaming is being done to “honour the legacy and bravery” of the 18th-century queen, Rani Kamlapati.
In a letter to the Union home ministry on November 11, the state government’s transport department said the renaming the station is also in accordance with the Centre's decision to celebrate November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in remembrance of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda, a PTI report said.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan thanked Modi for accepting the state’s request. He said the move is a symbol of respect and empowerment of women.
“Rani Kamlapati was forgotten. Neither the Britishers nor the Congress gave her an appropriate position in history. But PM Narendra Modi renamed Habibganj railway station after Rani Kamlapat,” Chouhan said on November 15.
Who was Rani Kamlapati?
Rani Kamlapati was the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah, whose Gond dynasty ruled Ginnorgarh, 55 km from Bhopal, in the 18th century.
Kamlapati is known for her bravery in facing aggressors during her reign after her husband was killed. She was the “last Hindu queen of Bhopal”, who did great work in the area of water management and set up parks and temples, Chouhan said in a video message released last week.
The queen built the seven-storeyed Kamlapati Palace that overlooks the Upper and Lower Lakes in Bhopal and is now an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) - protected monument. According to a Gond legend, on moonlit nights, Kamlapati would emerge from her waterside palace and appear on the lake, carried afloat by a lotus flower and attended to by 500 maidens following her in boats, a report in the Times of India said.
The Gond are one of the largest tribal communities in India, with a population of more than 1.2 crore spread across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Odisha.
BJP’s tribal outreach
During his Bhopal visit, the PM will also address a meeting to mark Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary on November 15.
Both events – the renaming of the station after Rani Kamlapati and the address – are being seen as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attempt to win back the crucial Scheduled Tribe (ST) votes, which it failed to garner in the 2018 assembly polls.
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The tribal community forms around 20 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s population. Out of 230 assembly seats, 84 are influenced by tribal voters. As many as 47 assemblies in the state are reserved ST seats.
In fact, a series of developments in Madhya Pradesh of late suggest that the BJP is trying to woo tribal voters.
In March, for example, the state government invited President Ram Nath Kovind to participate in a Janjatiya Sammelan (tribal convention) organised by MP government's Tribal Welfare department at Damoh. On September 18, Union home minister Amit Shah attended a function in Jabalpur marking the 164th anniversary of the martyrdom of tribal heroes Raja Shankar Shah and his son Raghunath in the 1857 uprising. Chhindwara University College in former chief minister Kamal Nath’s home town was also renamed Raja Shankar Shah University
On November 14, Chouhan announced the Raja Sangram Shah annual award of Rs 5 lakh that would be given to people in the field of tribal art and culture. Sangram Shah was the 48th ruler of Gond dynasty.
The party got a boost recently when it snatched Jobat (Scheduled Tribe) Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh from Congress in the by-election.
The other attempts
During the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas Mahasammelan at Jamburi Maidan, Bhopal, Modi will launch the ‘Ration Aapke Gram’ scheme aimed at delivering the monthly quota of rations under the public distribution scheme to beneficiaries from the tribal community in their own villages every month.
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The PM will also hand over genetic counselling cards to beneficiaries marking the launch of the Madhya Pradesh Sickle Cell Mission. The mission has been developed to screen and manage patients suffering from sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia and other haemoglobinopathies, whose impact is seen to be more harmful on the tribal community of Madhya Pradesh.
Political war of words
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on November 14 alleged that the BJP was using the names of tribal icons Birsa Munda and Rani Kamlapati for political benefit but in reality, some leaders of the ruling party are committing “atrocities” against tribal people in the state. Hitting back, BJP spokesperson Neha Bagga said that instead of levelling baseless allegations against the saffron party, Singh should come clean on the alleged land-grabbing done by his son-in-law.
(With inputs from PTI)
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