MPPSC 2024 Prelims Paper-I · Question 24 of 100

Correct — B, Bhilala tribe. Raghunath Singh Mandloi was a Bhilala tribal leader of the Nimar-Malwa region (around present-day Barwani/Dhar) who fought the British during the Revolt of 1857 — capturing the police post at Balmukund (30 September 1858) and burning the police station at Jamuni (18 October 1858), alongside fellow tribal rebels such as Tantia Bhil, Bhima Nayak, Khajya Nayak and Sitaram Kanwar. His surname 'Mandloi' is itself telling: it is the traditional hereditary title of the Bhilala village headman in the Nimar region, consistent with his Bhilala identity.

• (a)Bharia tribe — A small PVTG confined to the Patalkot valley of Chhindwara district — geographically and culturally unconnected to the Nimar-region Bhilala/Mandloi lineage.
• (c)Korku tribe — A Munda (Austroasiatic-language) tribe of Betul, Khandwa, Burhanpur and Harda — linguistically and culturally distinct from the Bhilala.
• (d)Baiga tribe — A PVTG of the Dindori-Mandla-Balaghat belt in eastern-central Madhya Pradesh — a different tribe from the Nimar-based Bhilala.

The Bhilala are a mixed Bhil-Rajput community of the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh (Khargone, Barwani, Dhar), traditionally understood to have formed from unions between Rajput settlers/chiefs and local Bhil populations. 'Mandloi' is the hereditary title of the Bhilala village headman in this region, still carried as a surname by many Bhilala families. Several Bhilala leaders — including Raghunath Singh Mandloi — took up arms against the British in the Nimar-Malwa region during the Revolt of 1857, alongside better-known tribal rebels like Tantia Bhil and Bhima Nayak.

MPPSC frequently tests the tribal affiliation of lesser-known local freedom fighters via their surname or title — recognising 'Mandloi' as a Bhilala marker is a useful clue, though it should be combined with confirmed facts rather than relied on alone.

• Bhilala — a mixed Bhil-Rajput tribal community of the Nimar region (Khargone, Barwani, Dhar) of Madhya Pradesh.
• 'Mandloi' is the traditional hereditary title of the Bhilala village headman in Nimar, commonly carried as a surname.
• Raghunath Singh Mandloi fought the British in the Nimar-Malwa region during the Revolt of 1857, alongside fellow tribal leaders Tantia Bhil, Bhima Nayak, Khajya Nayak and Sitaram Kanwar.
• Many Bhilala families trace claimed descent to Rajput settlers who allied with, or married into, local Bhil chieftain families.

• Treating Bhil and Bhilala as the same community — they share territory but are ethnographically distinct (Bhilala carries claimed Rajput admixture and the 'Mandloi' headman title)
• Assuming any Nimar-region surname automatically maps to Bhil rather than Bhilala — check the specific title or clan marker

MPPSC regularly names a specific, locally-remembered freedom fighter and asks for their tribal community — a state-GK recall item that rewards recognising regional titles like 'Mandloi.'

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  'Mandloi,' the hereditary title of the village headman among the Bhilala tribe, is most associated with which region of Madhya Pradesh?

  • (a)Nimar
  • (b)Bastar
  • (c)Bundelkhand
  • (d)Baghelkhand

  Answer(a) Nimar.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following Madhya Pradesh tribes is traditionally understood to have formed through intermarriage between Rajput settlers and the Bhil community?

  • (a)Gond
  • (b)Bhilala
  • (c)Korku
  • (d)Kol

  Answer(b) Bhilala.