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Decode Politics: Why BJP government has renamed a wildlife sanctuary in MP after Raja Bhabhut Singh; who is the tribal icon?
The BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government held a special Cabinet meeting in Pachmarhi in Hoshangabad district on June 3 to honour 19th-century tribal icon Raja Bhabhut Singh, renaming the Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary after him. This is not the first time the ruling party has renamed an important landmark in the state after an Adivasi icon, with deep political calculations informing its moves.
Raja Bhabhut Singh emerges from the annals of 1857 as one of the most formidable, yet underrecognised, tribal leaders of the Indian independence struggle. During the 1857 revolt, he was a formidable opponent of the British, leveraging his intimate knowledge of the Satpura forests and mountain paths to lead a series of successful guerrilla attacks. He was also a close ally of freedom fighter Tatya Tope.
Raja Bhabhut Singh's guerrilla warfare tactics in the Satpura ranges demonstrated sophisticated military strategy that kept the British at bay till 1860, when they deployed the Madras Infantry specifically to capture him. The British later executed him, making him a martyr whose memory has been preserved through Korku folk traditions.
The BJP's embrace of Raja Bhabhut Singh represents a sophisticated electoral strategy that addresses a demographic constituency where it has been unable to establish the hold it aspires to. The BJP confronted a significant challenge in Madhya Pradesh, grappling with almost two decades of anti-incumbency and the tribal community was its weakest link.
Madhya Pradesh has 47 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) out of 230 total Assembly constituencies. The BJP's performance in these seats has been inconsistent, dropping from 31 seats in 2013 to just 16 in 2018, while the Congress surged from 15 to 30 seats. In the 2023 Assembly elections, when the BJP returned to power, it won 27 of these constituencies.
By renaming the Pachmarhi Sanctuary after Raja Bhabhut Singh, the government has tried to create an emotional connection between historical resistance and modern-day governance. This also helps the ruling party bring many communities under its fold. A senior BJP member said, 'There are special cabinets which were Maheshwar to celebrate Ahilya Bai Holkar. We will also hold similar cabinets across other regions of the state as the party seeks to build a larger coalition across caste and communities.'
For the BJP, the success of this strategy could create a new model of identity-based political mobilisation that transcends traditional caste and class categories. A leader from the party's ST cell said, 'If the community begins identifying with the party, then that helps us stay relevant in the long term. In the Vindhya regions, the Kol tribe now exclusively always votes for the BJP. In the Mahakaushal region, where Congress still has some sway, there is a long-term strategy to get the tribals to become our strongest backbone.'
The BJP has undertaken a systematic campaign to publicly recognise historical Adivasi figures, from renaming Habibganj station after Gond Queen Rani Kamlapati to honouring Tantya Bhil, and now Raja Bhabhut Singh.
On September 18, 2021, Amit Shah announced that Chhindwara University would be named after the father-son duo Shankar Shah and Raghunath Shah, the last rulers during Gond rule. Shah had also announced the construction of a museum for Rs 5 crore and the installation of a statue of the father-son duo for Rs 50 lakh.
In 2021, then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that Patalpani railway station in Indore would be renamed after Tantya Bhil, another tribal leader who took part in the 1857 war. The CM also announced the setting up of a memorial of Bhima Nayak in Barwani. Nayak headed the struggle of the Bhils against the Britishers in Khandesh from 1818 to 1850.
Bhopal's Habibganj station has been renamed after Rani Kamlapati, the seventh wife of Gond ruler Nizam Shah who ruled from the Ginnor fort, which is in present-day Sehore district.
