Pal-Dadhvav massacre

Published on: 10-Mar-22
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Modern Indian History 1921-1932 Add to Study Deck

Context: On 7th March 2022, the government of Gujarat marked the 100 years of the Pal-Dadhvav massacre.

About Pal – Dadhvav massacre

Took place on March 7, 1922, in the Pal-Chitariya and Dadhvaav villages of Sabarkantha district, then part of Idar state (present-day Gujarat).
Villagers from Pal, Dadhvav, and Chitariya had gathered on the banks of river Heir as part of the ‘Eki movement’, led by one Motilal Tejawat.
The movement was to protest against the land revenue tax (lagaan) imposed on the peasants by the British and feudal lords.
British Paramilitary force was on hunt for Tejawat. It heard of this gathering and reached the spot.
Nearly 200 bhils under the leadership of Tehawat lifted their bows and arrows. But, the Britishers opened fire on them. Nearly 1,000 tribals (Bhils) fell to bullets.
Tejawat, however, escaped and later “returned to the spot to christen it ‘Veerbhumi’.”

Legacy: A Gujarat government release on the centenary of the massacre described the incident as “more brutal than the Jalliawala Bagh massacre of 1919”.