Tantya Mama's 'Kalash Yatra' reaches Indore; minister, MLAs spot dancing with tribals

On Friday night, the 'Kalash Yatra' of Kranti Surya Jannayak and freedom warrior Tantya Mama arrived in Indore. The parade was greeted with glitz and glory, with fireworks lighting up the sky and people showering flower petals in respect.

Tulsi Silawat, MP Cabinet Minister, BJP MLAs Malini Gaur and Akash Vijayvargiya, and BJP President of Indore Gaurav Ranadive danced with a large crowd of tribal people assembled at Rajwada to welcome the procession. Tantia Tantya Bheel's descendants, or Tantya Mama as he was affectionately known, were also present during the ceremony and were warmly honoured.

Tantya Mama's birthplace in Pandhana, Khandwa district, and Jabalpur, where he was hanged to death on December 4, 1889, were both kept in a Kalash during the parade. Two processions had left from different paths in honour of Tantya Mama. One from Pandhana, where he was born, and the other from Ratlam's Sailana.

Governor Mangubhai C Patel and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will attend an event in Indore on Tantya Mama's sacrifice day on Saturday when the public will be introduced to Tantya Mama's history through a film based on his life. During the event, a statue will be unveiled at Tantya Mama's tomb in Patalpani, Mhow Tehsil, Indore.

"There has never been any programme organised in honour of our ancestor Tantya Mama before," Sunil Anokilal Sirsate, who is the sixth generation of Tantya Mama's descendants, told news agency ANI. Tantya Mama was a freedom fighter and a Jannayak. He advocated for the tribal people's rights, noted Sirsate. Another person from the sixth generation of Tantya Mama, Lalu Hemraj Sirsate, thanked the Chief Minister for honouring the fighter.

The 'Kranti Surya Gaurav Kalash Yatra' was started on November 27 in Madhya Pradesh from the birthplace of freedom fighter Jannayak Tantya Mama, Barod Ahir village, tahsil Pandhana, Khandwa district. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged everyone to take part in the yatra and pay respect to Tantya Mama. On December 4, the Chief Minister will attend a programme commemorating Jannayak Tantya Mama's death anniversary in Patalpani, Indore district.

(with inputs from ANI)

Image: ANI