In which Rajput Thikana Moti Lal Tejawat was working on the post of Kamdar prior to launching the Aki Movement ?
- (1)Jharol
- (2)Salumbar
- (3)Kothariya
- (4)Devgarh
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), Jharol.
Motilal Tejawat worked as kamdar of the Jharol thikana in Mewar. B.L. Panagariya's Rajasthan Mein Swatantrata Sangram says Tejawat, born in 1886 into an Oswal family at Koliyari village in the Phalasia tribal area of Mewar, studied a little and became kamdar of the Jharol thikana.
Within a short time, Panagariya writes, the oppression of tribal people by the thikana and the state moved him to give up that job and turn to their service.
In 1921 he organised the Bhils of Jharol, Kotra, Madri and nearby areas against the begar (forced labour) and levies taken by jagirdars. The movement then spread to Sirohi, Danta, Palanpur, Idar and Vijaynagar.
The idea to remember: Tejawat: kamdar of Jharol, then leader of the Bhils' Aiki movement.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)Salumbar — Salumbar was a thikana of the Mewar nobility, but Panagariya places Tejawat's job at Jharol.
Salumbar is linked with 1857: the Sahitya Akademi's Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature names the chieftains of Salumbar and Kothariya among those who helped the anti-British side, and says folk songs, Dingal poems and ballads were composed in their honour.
- (3)Kothariya — Kothariya was a chiefship of Mewar, not the thikana where Tejawat worked; Panagariya places his job at Jharol.
Like Salumbar, Kothariya is linked with 1857: the Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature names its chieftain among those who helped the anti-British side.
- (4)Devgarh — Devgarh (Deogarh), now a town in Rajsamand district, was formerly an estate of the Chundawat Rajputs.
Panagariya's account of Tejawat's early life names Jharol, not Devgarh, as the thikana where he was kamdar.
Concept
A thikana was the estate of a jagirdar within a princely state such as Mewar, and its kamdar was the official who managed it.
Tejawat first served a thikana and then led the Bhils against the begar and levies that jagirdars took from them.
K.S. Saxena uses the name 'Aiki' for the movement Tejawat organised among the Bhils of Poshina and Sirohi at the beginning of 1923; the question spells the name 'Aki'.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Tribal and Peasant movements in 20th century, Praja Mandal movements in various princely states during 20th century. Integration of Rajasthan."
The movement drew a harsh response. Panagariya describes troops firing on a Bhil gathering at Neemda in Vijaynagar state, with 1,200 killed and Tejawat shot in the leg. The Sirohi District Gazetteer records an uprising under him in Rohera tahsil in May 1922 that was crushed.
Panagariya says Tejawat then stayed underground until 1929.
Key facts
- Panagariya: Motilal Tejawat was born in 1886 at Koliyari, in the Phalasia tribal area of Mewar, into an Oswal family.
- Panagariya: he was kamdar of the Jharol thikana before leaving that job over the oppression of tribal people.
- In 1921 he organised the Bhils of Jharol, Kotra, Madri and nearby areas against begar and levies; the movement spread to Sirohi, Danta, Palanpur, Idar and Vijaynagar.
- The Sirohi District Gazetteer records an uprising under Tejawat in Rohera tahsil in May 1922, crushed with British help.
- Sources differ on 1929: Panagariya says he surrendered to Idar police on Gandhi's advice; K.S. Saxena says an Idar State hawaldar arrested him on 4 June 1929.
The Jharol job came before the movement, not during it.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing another Mewar thikana: Salumbar and Kothariya are linked with 1857, not with Tejawat's job.
- Confusing where he worked with where the movement spread: he was kamdar at Jharol, while the movement reached Sirohi, Danta, Palanpur, Idar and Vijaynagar.
- Treating the 1929 events as settled: Panagariya describes a surrender on Gandhi's advice, while K.S. Saxena describes an arrest by an Idar hawaldar.
A question can name a leader of a tribal or peasant movement and ask where he worked, where the movement began, or which community he organised.
A question can also match leaders with movements, or ask about the repression of a movement in a particular state.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2016 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
In which year did Motilal Tejawat come into the custody of Idar State, according to both B.L. Panagariya and K.S. Saxena?
- (a)1922
- (b)1929
- (c)1936
- (d)1919
Answer(2) — Both place it in 1929, though Panagariya describes a surrender and Saxena an arrest. Option (1) is the year of the Rohera uprising in Sirohi; option (3) is the year Panagariya gives for his release from Udaipur jail; option (4) is before the Bhil movement he organised in 1921. - practice — not a real PYQ
Consider the following statements about Motilal Tejawat: A. He worked as kamdar of the Jharol thikana before leading the Bhils. B. He organised the Bhils against begar and the levies taken by jagirdars. Choose the correct option:
- (a)Only A is correct.
- (b)Only B is correct.
- (c)Both A and B are correct.
- (d)Neither A nor B is correct.
Answer(3) — Panagariya records both: Tejawat was kamdar of the Jharol thikana, and in 1921 he organised the Bhils against begar and levies. So options (1), (2) and (4) fail.