Khejarli

Khejarli or Khejadli is a village in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, India, 26 kilometres (16 mi) south-east of the city of Jodhpur. The name of the town is derived from Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) trees that were once abundant in the village.

Khejarli

खेजड़ली
Village
Bishnoi temple commemorating the Khejarli massacre
Nickname(s): 
dham
Khejarli
Location in Rajasthan, India
Khejarli
Khejarli (India)
Coordinates: 26.15°N 73.15°E / 26.15; 73.15
Country India
StateRajasthan
DistrictJodhpur
Languages
 • OfficialHindi, Marwari
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
342802
Coordinates are from Wikimapia

In this village 363 Bishnois sacrificed their lives in 1730 AD while protecting green Khejri that are considered sacred by the community. The incident was a forebear of the 20th-century Chipko Movement.[1][2]

History

Thakur Surat Singh, of Kharda thikana, a small estate in Jodhpur pargana. was granted the estate of Khejarli in the same pargana, by Maharaja Abhai Singh of Marwar in 1726 AD, and he became the first 'Thakur of Khejarli'.

Khejarli Massacre
Main article: Khejarli massacre
Cenotaph commemorating the Bishnoi people who died in 1730 AD protecting trees

Khejarli was the site of a forebear of the Chipko movement. In 12 September 1730, a royal party led by Giridhar Bhandari, a minister of the maharajah of Marwar, arrived at the village with the intention of felling some Khejri trees that were sacred to the villagers. The trees were to be burned to produce lime for the construction of a new palace.

A local woman called Amrita Devi Bishnoi protested against the tree-felling because such acts were prohibited by the Bishnoi's religion. The feudal party said that they would only cease if she paid them a bribe, which she refused to do because she saw that as ignominious and an insult to her faith. She said that she would rather give away her life to save the trees. She and her two daughters (Asu, Ratni and Bhagu) were then killed by the party.[3]

News of the deaths spread and summons to a meeting were sent to 84Bishnoi villages. The meeting determined that one Bishnoi volunteer would sacrifice their life for every tree that was cut down. Older people began hugging the trees that were intended to be cut and many were killed.

These efforts failed to have the desired impact and Bhandari claimed that the Bishnois were sacrificing ageing people whom they no longer saw as useful to society. In response to this, young men, women and children began to follow the example of the old.

The development shocked the tree-felling party. The group left for Jodhpur with their mission unfulfilled and the Maharaja Abhai Singh of Marwar subsequently ordered that no more trees should be felled. 363 Bishnois died in the incident.[4][5]

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References
  1. Bhishnois: Defenders of the Environment This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment, by Roger S. Gottlieb. Published by Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0-415-91233-4. Page 159 .
  2. Panchnama - Chipko Movement Archived 29 July 2012 at Archive.today United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
  3. "Bishnoi villagers sacrifice lives to save trees, 1730 | Global Nonviolent Action Database". nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  4. "The Bishnois". edugreen.teri.res.in. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  5. Sharma, B. K.; Kulshreshtha, Seema; Rahmani, Asad R. (14 September 2013). Faunal Heritage of Rajasthan, India: General Background and Ecology of Vertebrates. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781461408000.

Further reading
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