Bilashi recalls how villagers defied British in 1930 to write a page in freedom writers' diary
They refused to pay for grazing rights, entered the reserved forest and cut grass for fodder. Their defiance on July 18, 1930, rattled the British Raj so much that 500 policemen were sent to crush the satyagraha, which lasted 51 days.
The Bilashi Satyagraha, also known as Jungle Satyagraha and Zenda Satyagraha, will mark its 100th year in 2030. Congress workers Vishnu Patil, Baburao Charankar, Bapusaheb Deshmukh, and Ganpatrao Patil led the movement after Gandhi declared that those who could not join the Dandi March could resist by taking on unjust colonial laws.
After entering the forest and cutting the grass for fodder, the villagers felled a 34-foot teak tree, made a pillar and placed the tricolour with a charka in the middle atop it. They brought it to the Mahadev temple with the large crowd shouting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Mahatma Gandhi Zindabad, Vande Mataram, and Kusaichya Navane Changbhala' (Praise be to Kusai, a local deity).
Babasaheb Parit, who has researched the Bilashi Satyagraha, said, "Inspector Bankatsingh was deployed to quell the movement.
He had 70-80 policemen with him. The villagers stopped cooperating with them, denying food and shelter to the policemen and their horses. That year, villagers celebrated festivals in the temple to protect the flag they had hoisted."
By this time, several neighbouring villages joined Bilashi's movement and the stories of their heroism and the humiliation faced by the British police carried far.
Parit said on Sept 6, 1930, more troops on horses armed with firearms and batons arrived and after entering the village, they lathicharged the men, women and children.
"Hundreds were injured. The women brought the flag down and hid it among their clothes. The wet soil turned a deep red. Two teenagers, Dhondi Santu Kumbhar and Shankar Bhau Chambar, who threw stones at the troops were killed by the policemen on horses and their bodies were buried in an undisclosed location, which we located several years ago," Parit added.
Anandrao Patil, the 58-year-old son of freedom fighter Ganpatrao Patil, said, "My father was a police patil and a member of a local board.
He resigned in protest after the atrocities in Bilashi. This led to mass resignation by other police patils. The first war of independence in 1857 was quelled but resistance from Bilashi made people realise once again that they could fight the British for independence."
Bilashi's sarpanch Sujata Deshmane said, "Our village has around 5,000 people and 40 freedom fighters. Patriotism runs deep here. On Aug 9, which is 'Kranti Divas', we participate in a morning march, and place wreaths at the Kranti Stambh to pay tribute to the heroes. The day also marks the birth and death anniversary of freedom fighter Ganpatrao Patil. On Independence and Republic Days, our entire village gathers at the gram panchayat office for flag hoisting and celebrates with sweets.
"
The villagers want a national memorial built in Bilashi and its connection to the freedom movement included in textbooks.
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