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), ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, south-east of the city of

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

. The name of the town is derived from the

khejri ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as Persian mesquite or ghaf or khejri, 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, Ira ...

(''

Prosopis cineraria ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as Persian mesquite or ghaf or khejri, 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, ...

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

Bishnois The Bishnoi, also spelled as Vishnoi, is a Sampradaya#Hindu sampradayas, Hindu Vaishnava community or panth found in the Thar Desert, Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. Bishnoi community is turned into a Hindu Indian caste, cast ...

sacrificed their lives in 1730 AD while protecting a grove of khejri trees that are considered sacred by the community. The incident was a forebear of the 20th-century

Chipko Movement The Chipko movement () is a forest conservation movement in India. Opposed to commercial logging and the government's policies on deforestation, protesters in the 1970s engaged in tree hugging, wrapping their arms around trees so that they coul ...

History

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

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

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

Abhai Singh of Marwar Abhai Singh Rathore (7 November 1702 – 18 June 1749) was an 18th-century Indian Raja of the Kingdom of Marwar (Jodhpur).N.S. Bhati, Studies in Marwar History, page 6 Coronation As a result of a conspiracy between Abhai Singh and his brother ...

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 () is a forest conservation movement in India. Opposed to commercial logging and the government's policies on deforestation, protesters in the 1970s engaged in tree hugging, wrapping their arms around trees so that they coul ...

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

maharajah Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. 'Maru' is a Sanskrit word for desert. The word 'wad' literally means fence in Rajasthani languages. Engl ...

, 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 most 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: Bo ...

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 The Bishnoi, also spelled as Vishnoi, is a Hindu Vaishnava community or panth found in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. Bishnoi community is turned into a Hindu caste with time. It has a set of 29 Niyamas (principles/co ...

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 Bishnoi 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 Bishnoi 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 Kingdom of Marwar Villages in Jodhpur district Tourist attractions in Jodhpur district 1730 in India Massacres in India

History

Khejarli Massacre

References

Further reading

External links