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Bhil movements: Govind Guru and Motilal Tejawat

Two leaders carried the Bhil movements: Govind Guru in the south, among Dungarpur and Banswara Bhils, and Motilal Tejawat in Mewar's Bhomat hills.

⏱ 3 min read✓ Facts checked 16 October 2026

Contents

At a glance

  1. Govind Guru was inspired by the ideas of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
  2. Before the Eki movement Tejawat worked as kamdar of the Jhadol (Jharol) thikana of Mewar.
  3. Fearing the Eki movement, the Maharawal of Dungarpur abolished all begar in his state.

Govind Guru

Born1858, at Bansia, Dungarpur state; his home village was Bedsa; a Banjara
GuruSadhu Rajgiri
Samp SabhaFounded for the Bhils' social and moral uplift; 1883 by the usual count, about 1905 in the Sirohi gazetteer
Bhagat sectStarted to keep the Bhils within the Hindu fold
Died30 October 1931, at Kamboi, Gujarat

Mangarh, 1913

  • April 1913: Dungarpur state arrested and then released him. In October 1913 he called the Bhils to Mangarh hill, on the Banswara–Sunth border (now in Banswara district).
  • 17 November 1913: after talks failed, British-led forces with companies of the Mewar Bhil Corps attacked the hill. About 1,500 Bhils were killed by the usual count, which the RBSE Class 12 book gives as the government figure; British records cited in the Class 9 book give 100 killed and 900 captured.
  • Govind Guru and his follower Punja were captured. His death sentence was cut on appeal to life imprisonment and later to ten years; he was freed after seven years (in 1919, in one account), on condition that he keep out of Sunth, Dungarpur, Banswara, Kushalgarh and Idar.
  • The British saw in his movement a plan for a Bhil state.

Motilal Tejawat and the Eki movement

BornKoliyari village of the Jhadol thikana, Mewar; an Oswal by caste
EkiEki means unity; it is also called the Bhomat Bhil movement
DateEvent
1921At Matrikundia (Chittorgarh) he launched a no-tax movement; the 21 demands of Mewar ki Pukar went to the Maharana, who granted 18 but not forest rights, begar and the killing of wild boars
1921–22The Bhils of Bhomat refused land revenue, cesses and begar; the movement spread to Sirohi and Idar
7 March 1922The Mewar Bhil Corps under Major H. G. Sutton fired on a Bhil gathering at Pal-Chitariya and Dadhvav villages (Sabarkantha, Gujarat), then in Idar state; the RBSE Class 12 book dates it 7 April. The British put the dead at 22; Bhil memory puts them at 1,000 to 1,500
June 1929Idar police arrested him at Khedbrahma and handed him to Mewar
April 1936Released (23 April in the Class 12 book, 3 April in the Class 9 book) on condition that he keep away from agitation

Remember: often mixed up

  • Two firingsMangarh, 17 November 1913, Govind Guru · Pal-Chitariya, 7 March 1922, Tejawat.
  • Bhil Seva MandalThakkar Bapa (Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar), not Govind Guru or Tejawat · Samp Sabha: Govind Guru · Eki: Tejawat.

Test yourself: asked in exams

CET Senior Secondary Level 2024 · Q50

Select the incorrect statement in context of Bhils of Rajasthan and Govind Guru.

  1. (1)For social and moral upliftment of the Bhils of Rajasthan, Govind Guru established the Samp Sabha.
  2. (2)To keep them in Hinduism he started the Bhagat Movement.
  3. (3)The Britishers felt that the objective of this social reform movement run by Govind Guru was the formation of a Bhil State.
  4. (4)He organised monthly meetings of Samp Sabha on the Managarh Hills.
Show answer

✓ (4) He organised monthly meetings of Samp Sabha on the Managarh Hills.

See the full paper

Protection Officer 2024 · Q5

Inspired by the ideas of which of the following, Govind Guru founded 'Samp Sabha'?

  1. (1)Nanak Bhil
  2. (2)Kesari Singh Barhath
  3. (3)Mahatma Gandhi
  4. (4)Dayanand Saraswati
Show answer

✓ (4) Dayanand Saraswati

See the full paper

RAS Prelims 2023 · Q125

In which Rajput Thikana Moti Lal Tejawat was working on the post of Kamdar prior to launching the Aki Movement ?

  1. (1)Jharol
  2. (2)Salumbar
  3. (3)Kothariya
  4. (4)Devgarh
Show answer

✓ (1) Jharol

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Protection Officer 2022 · Q5

Who among the following founded the Bhil Seva Mandal ?

  1. (1)Govind Guru
  2. (2)Motilal Tejawat
  3. (3)D.K. Karve
  4. (4)A.V. Thakkar
Show answer

✓ (4) A.V. Thakkar

See the full paper

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