"When Modi goes abroad, he gets respect," says Rajasthan CM Gehlot: Mangarh Dham declared a national monument in honour of martyred tribals

Mangarh (Rajasthan)  

Rich tributes were paid on Tuesday, Nov 1, to tribals massacred by the British army in 1913 in Mangarh in Rajasthan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat counterparts Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bhupendra Patel on the occasion.

There was a large gathering of Bhil adivasis and members of other tribes at the Mangarh Dham in Banswara district.

The Prime Minister has declared the dham a national monument, according to a government statement.

“PM @narendramodi declares Mangarh Dham as National Monument, #Rajasthan," PIB said in a tweet. 

At the event, Gujarat Chief Minister Patel claimed that the massacre of tribals at Mangarh in 1913 was more gruesome than that at Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab, while his Rajasthan counterpart Gehlot said Modi gets respect in the world because he is the prime minister of a country where the roots of democracy have been strong.

“When Modi goes abroad, he gets so much respect. Why he gets the respect, he gets the respect because Modi is the prime minister of a country that is the country of Gandhi, roots of democracy are deeper and even after 70 years, democracy is alive. People know this and give respect,” Gehlot said. 

PM Modi recounted their days as Chief Minister saying Gehlot was the most senior among CMs when he was one, and he is still the senior-most in the dias. 

“Ashok ji (Gehlot) and I had worked together as CMs. He was the most senior in our lot of CMs. Ashok ji is still one of the senior-most CMs among those who are sitting on the stage right now,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan said the tradition of worshipping martyrs has been started once again by PM Modi. “It is PM Modi who decided to celebrate ‘Janjati Gaurav Diwas’ on Nov 15 in the whole country,” said Chouhan.

Mr Modi also said that the struggle and sacrifice of tribal communities didn’t get their rightful place in history written after independence. 

The country is of course rectifying that decades-old mistake, he maintained.