Mangarh Hillock is now a ‘monument of national importance’

Context

Mangarh hillock in Rajasthan declared a monument of national importance as a tribute to 1500 Bhil tribal freedom fighters.

Mangarh Hillock is located in Banswara District, Rajasthan.
It is situated in the Aravali mountains on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border.
It is a site of a tribal uprising where a massacre of over 1500 Bhil tribal freedom fighters took place in 1913.

Govind Guru, influenced by social reformers like Dayanand Saraswati launched the ‘Bhagat movement among the Bhil Tribals asking them to adhere to vegetarianism, and abstain from all types of intoxicants.
The movement slowly took on a political hue and turned into a movement against the oppressive policies of the British.
The Bhils began opposing taxes imposed by the British and forced labour imposed by the princely states of Banswara, Santrampur, Dungarpur and Kushalgarh.

Worried by the tribal revolt, the Britishers and princely states decided to crush the uprising.

From October 1913, Govind guru asked his followers to gather at Mangarh hill from where they would conduct their operations.
The British asked them to vacate Mangarh hill by November 15, but they refused.

On November 17, 1913, the tribals were gathering for a meeting when the British forces opened fire from cannons and guns on the crowd.

Over 1500 people were killed and Govind guru was captured and exiled from the area.

He was imprisoned in Hyderabad jail and released in 1919 on grounds of good behaviour.
But as he was exiled from his homeland, he settled in Gujarat where he died in 1931.