Question

The Bhagat Movement is related to which among the following tribes of India?
A) Khond
B) Munda
C) Bhil
D) Kol

Answer 1

Hint: The Bhagat Movement is a religious movement involving Bhils from four Indian states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Govindgiri began the social reform movement in 1883, when he founded Samp Sabha, an organisation dedicated to uniting one among the given tribes.

Complete answer:
Let us look into the given options:
A) The Khond are a tribe from Odisha's hills and jungles. They speak Kui, a Dravidian language. The majority of Khond are now rice farmers, but some, including the Kuttia Khond, still practise slash-and-burn agriculture. The Dongria Khond, an Especially Vulnerable Tribal Tribe, lives in the Niyamgiri hills of Odisha. On several occasions, the Khonds have defied authority. They revolted against the East India Company's rule in 1817 and 1836, for example.

B) The Munda are an Indian ethnic group who speak the Mundari language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are present in Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal, mostly in the northern parts of the country. The Mundas were forced to pay rents and serve as bonded labourers during the British Raj in the late 1800s. Birsa Munda, a Munda freedom fighter, led the first protest marches, demanding non-payment of rents and remission of forest dues. He overthrew the British Raj and established Munda Raj through guerrilla warfare. He was the father of millenarianism in the tribal belt.

C) The Bhagat Movement led by Govindgiri. A devotee is referred to as a Bhagat. When a Bill becomes a Bhagat, he is expected to abstain from eating meat, eggs, and drinking alcohol. He also refuses to accept the bride price. The movement dates back three centuries, and the oldest Bhagat is considered to be Mavji of Rajasthan. Govindgiri began the social reform movement among the Bhils in 1883, when he founded Samp Sabha, an organisation dedicated to uniting the Bhils. Mavji was considered to be the tenth incarnation of Vishnu, and he had a significant following in Rajasthan's Banswara and Dungarpur. In West India, the Bhils or Bheels are an Indo-Aryan speaking ethnic group in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

D) The Kol uprising, also known as the Kol rebellion in British Indian records, was a revolt of the indigenous Kol people of Chhota Nagpur that took place between 1829 and 1839 in response to unjust treatment brought about by British land tenure and administration structures in the region.

The correct option is (C) Bhils.

Note: The Bhils had unrestricted forest rights prior to British rule. The states of Mewar, Dungarpur, and Banswara signed treaties with the British in 1818, forming a new order. In 1818, the Bhils revolted against this order. Also, under this order, the native forces were dissolved but the Bhils were employed in these forces and they became unemployed.