When Arrows Were Heated Up- A Tale of Tribal Struggle Against British Colonialism

About the Book Hari Ram Meena opens a forgotten chapter of Indian history-a movement culminating into an occasion of supreme sacrifice by adivasis in Rajasthan's Banswara area. Six years before the Jallianwala Bagh incident at Amritsar, Mangarh hills in Rajputana witnessed the death of several hundred tribals who stood up in protest against oppression of the Raj. They were surrounded by the forces of the British and native rulers. The adivasis, under the leadership of spiritual guru and reformer Govind Bhagat, fought valiantly and died as martyrs.

Sadly, the heartbreaking story has mostly remained unknown outside Rajasthan. It is one story that needs to be told and retold to generations of Indians. The author's painstaking research and his understanding of local history and culture result in the detailed reconstruction of a tragic, yet glorious, saga that should remain permanently etched on the Indian mind.

About the Author A decorated police officer, an award winning writer, a champion of the tribal cause, an educator - Hari Ram Meena (b.1952) is a multi faceted personality. Born in a Rajasthan village, tribal culture lies at the heart of all his creative works. A post graduate from Rajasthan University, Meena joined the police service in 1979 and retired as the Inspector General of Police in 2012.

So far, he has published eight books, including two collections of poems, two travelogues, a novel and a book on tribal discourse. He has also edited a compilation of tribal poems. His literary works have won him several awards, including Rajasthan Sahitya Academy's highest honour, Meena Award and KK Birla Foundation's Bihari Puraskar for the present novel Dhuni Tape Teer.

Translator Atul Cowshish was a correcspondent of The Statesman, Delhi from 1963-1993. Presently he is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi.

Preface Years ago, I read about the struggle and sacrifice of the adivasis at Mangarh in the adivasi magazine, Aravali Udgbosh, edited by Pathik Baba (B.P. Verma). Subsequently, I travelled to Udaipur on several occasions and tried to meet Pathik Baba. I also utilised these occasions by meeting the local intelligentsia, authors, NGO activists and the tribals who were more politically and socially aware than others in their community. Discussions would often centre round the Mangarh sacrifice by adivasis.

I tried gathering information and details pertaining to the incident. The task was not easy. I had not studied history in a systematic manner, nor had I ever done any scholarly research. But being a police officer I had developed skills for investigation. I started collecting evidence to corroborate the facts of the incident.

Eventually, in 2001, I found time to leave Jaipur for a purposeful visit to Mangarh. By now I had gathered enough material, references and information to put it all down in a book form. Thus, I set out on the course of writing about the Mangarh incident and titled it Mangarh: Adivasi Balidan ke Tehkhane Tak (At the Bottom of Mangarh Adivasi Sacrifice), which was readily accepted by the prestigious Hindi journal Pabal-71 in 2002. It pleased me immensely. Suddenly, the story of Mangarh sacrifice attracted attention and began to be discussed widely. Simultaneously, I read the works of B.D. Sharma, Kumar.

**Contents and Sample Pages**