Khejarli or Khejadli is a village in

Jodhpur district Jodhpur District is a district in the State of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Jodhpur is the administrative headquarters of the district. As of the 2011 census, it is the second highest populated district of Rajasthan (out of 33), af ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, south-east of the city of

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

. The name of the town is derived from the

khejri ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Sau ...

(''

Prosopis cineraria ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Saud ...

)'' trees that were once abundant in the village. In this village 363

Bishnois Bishnoi (also known as Vishnoi) is a community found in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. They follow a set of 29 principles/commandments given by Guru Jambheshwar (also known as Guru Jambhoji, Guru Jambha Ji) (1451-1536). ...

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 The Chipko movement ( hi, chipko andolan, italic=yes, lit= reehugging movement) is a forest conservation movement in India. The movement originated in 1973 at the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand (then part of Uttar Pradesh) and went on to beco ...

History

Thakur Surat Singh, of Kharda thikana, a small estate in Jodhpur

pargana Pargana ( bn, পরগনা, , hi, परगना, ur, پرگنہ) or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Sultanate period, Mughal times and British Raj, is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent and each ...

. was granted the estate of Khejarli in the same pargana, by Maharaja

Abhai Singh of Marwar Maharaja Abhai Singh Rathore (7 November 1702 – 18 June 1749) was the Raja of Marwar (Jodhpur) Kingdom 24 June 1724 – 18 June 1749.N.S. Bhati, Studies in Marwar History, page 6 Coronation Abhai Singh was crowned on the death of his father ...

in 1726 AD, and he became the first 'Thakur of Khejarli'.

Khejarli Massacre

Khejarli was the site of a forebear of the

Chipko movement The Chipko movement ( hi, chipko andolan, italic=yes, lit= reehugging movement) is a forest conservation movement in India. The movement originated in 1973 at the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand (then part of Uttar Pradesh) and went on to beco ...

. On 12 september 1730, a royal party led by Giridhar Bhandari, a minister of the

maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tran ...

, 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 Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

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 Bishnoi (also known as Vishnoi) is a community found in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. They follow a set of 29 principles/commandments given by Guru Jambheshwar (also known as Guru Jambhoji, Guru Jambha Ji) (1451-1536). ...

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 three daughters (Asu, Ratni and Bhagu) were then killed by the party. News of the deaths spread and summons to a meeting were sent to 84

villages. The meeting determined that one

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

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

subsequently ordered that no more trees should be felled. 363

s died in the incident.

References

External links

{{Commons category Social history of India History of Rajasthan Villages in Jodhpur district Tourist attractions in Jodhpur district

History

Khejarli Massacre

References

Further reading

External links