A Guru Bhakt Girl : Kalibai
Kalibai was a Bheel teenaged girl. She lived at Rastapol village of Dungarpur in 1940s. In those days Rajasthan was mostly under the rules of princely states which were loyal to British. When Quit a India Movement was announced on 9 August, 1942, the people came out in an open opposition in colonial rule. Social activists in Dungarpur inspired by the Gandhian leader. Thakkar Bapa established the Dungarpur sevak sangh. The sevak sangh used to run schools for Dalits and tribals in district. They taught the students about Patriotism and bravery. The British forced the Prince of Dungarpur to stop sevak sangh from running these schools. As a result an organization called the Praja Mandal was formed to conduct a campaign against this unjust closing of schools and demanding the end of the of the colonial rule. The Prince took a cruel action beating the workers of the Praja Mandal and sending them jail. This intensified People's Protest. The state Police went to Rastapal village on 19 June 1947 to close the school which was running in the house of Nanabhai Khant. Nanabhal refused to close the school. The Police then beat up Nanabhai severely. He fell unconscious. They took him away with them for Jailing. However Nanabhai died if his injuries on the way before the Police could reach their comp. After this the Police beat up the teacher Senghabhai Bheel who had continued to teach the children despite Nanabhai's death took him away draging on the rood. A student of the school named Kalibai could not see this. She ran towards the truck with a sickle to cut the ropes and free Senghabhai. The Police warned her not to run after the vehicle but she did not listen to them. She reached her teacher and cut the rope with one stroke of the sickle. The Police became angry at this and as Kalibai bent down to free Senghabhai, they shot her in the back. Kalibai fell down unconscious and died. This unjust murder of a girl student of the school for trying to save her teacher made the Bheels angry. They assembled from the surrounding villages. A massive twelve thousand people fully armed with bows and arrows,swords and their traditional drums gathered in the town. The Prince was forced to realease the leaders of Praja Mandal from Jail. The people of the village constructed a statue of the brave thirteen year old girl Kalibai in Rastapol.
RAJSHREE KANWAR
CLASS - 5
