MPPSC 2020 Prelims Q45: What was the actual name of Tantya

Q: What is the answer to MPPSC 2020 Prelims Q45?

A or D (both accepted by the official key). A (Tantia) or D (Tandra) — both are accepted (grace). Tantya Bhil (c. 1842–1889) was the Bhil folk-hero and anti-British rebel of the Nimar region, remembered as 'Tantya Mama' and often called the 'Indian Robin Hood'. Historical accounts differ on the exact form of his given name, so the commission's key credits both renderings: (A) Tantia — the personal name behind the honorific 'Tantya' — and (D) Tandra, the alternative form recorded elsewhere. Either answer earns the mark.

MPPSC 2020 Prelims Paper-I · Question 45 of 100

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official MPPSC answer key.

What was the actual name of Tantya Bhil?

(a)Tantia
(b)Ganapat
(c)Bijania
(d)Tandra

Answer

A or D (both accepted by the official key)

Why

A (Tantia) or D (Tandra) — both are accepted (grace). Tantya Bhil (c. 1842–1889) was the Bhil folk-hero and anti-British rebel of the Nimar region, remembered as 'Tantya Mama' and often called the 'Indian Robin Hood'. Historical accounts differ on the exact form of his given name, so the commission's key credits both renderings: (A) Tantia — the personal name behind the honorific 'Tantya' — and (D) Tandra, the alternative form recorded elsewhere. Either answer earns the mark.

Why the others are wrong

(b)Ganapat — Not among the name-forms the commission accepted for Tantya Bhil.
(c)Bijania — Not among the accepted forms of his real name; only Tantia and Tandra were credited.

Concept

Tantya Bhil was a leader of Bhil resistance in the Nimar/Khandwa belt of the Central Provinces in the 1870s–1880s. A guerrilla figure who, by tradition, robbed the wealthy and colonial establishments to help the poor, he became a folk hero; the British captured, tried and hanged him in 1889.

This is state-history recall. The 'grace' arises because the sources on his personal name disagree — hence two accepted spellings. For the concept, focus on who he was (a Bhil anti-colonial rebel of Nimar), not on settling the spelling.

Key facts

Tantya Bhil: a Bhil rebel of the Nimar region who resisted British rule in the 1870s–1880s.
Popularly honoured as 'Tantya Mama'; called the 'Indian Robin Hood'.
Captured, tried and executed (hanged) by the British in 1889.
In 2021 the Madhya Pradesh government announced renaming Patalpani railway station after him ('Tantya Mama').

Study next

Bhil and tribal uprisings against British rule in the Nimar/Khandesh beltTribal revolts in India: Santhal, Munda (Birsa Munda), Kol, BhilRebels and freedom-fighters of Madhya Pradesh (Tantya Bhil, Rani Durgavati, Shankar Shah)Colonial forest and revenue policies that sparked tribal revoltsCommemoration of tribal icons (renamed stations, memorials)

Common traps

Confusing Tantya Bhil (Bhil rebel, d. 1889) with Tatya/Tantia Tope of the 1857 revolt — two different persons
Assuming a single 'correct' spelling when the commission accepted two

MP GK asks Tantya Bhil's real name/region or his sobriquet ('Indian Robin Hood'); keep him distinct from Tantia Tope of 1857.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Tantya Bhil, the tribal folk-hero executed by the British in 1889, belonged to which community?
- (a)Bhil
- (b)Gond
- (c)Santhal
- (d)Munda
Answer(a) Bhil — he led Bhil resistance in the Nimar region of central India.
practice — not a real PYQ
By which popular epithet is the Bhil rebel Tantya Bhil often remembered?
- (a)Indian Robin Hood
- (b)Frontier Gandhi
- (c)Iron Man of India
- (d)Deshbandhu
Answer(a) Indian Robin Hood — for reportedly robbing the rich and colonial coffers to aid the poor.