When current India Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat, he implemented a “Tribal Martyrs’ Day” celebration for April 16 — in honor of a hanging on that date in 1868 of five Nayak.
Joriya Parmeshwar, Rupsingh Nayak, Golaliya Nayak, Ravjida Nayak and Babariya Galama Nayal all hanged in the city of Jambughoda, against the British Raj. Their authenticity as patriots rather than brigands has been disputed, but certainly Britain’s ready resort to summary justice in the course of her authority on the subcontinent earns no presumption of good faith for any designation.
“The stories of rebellion and martyrdom by Gujarat’s tribal leaders against tyranny of foreign rulers had remained buried in history and I have unfolded the chapter about the valour of these five forgotten leaders from tribal-dominated town of Jmbughod,” Modi declared. In a seeming dig at the governing Congress Party that he would soon expel from power, Modi added that “sacrifices of a large number of martyrs, who laid their lives for freedom of our nation, have been deliberately erased by some elements so that people could no longer remember their martyrdom.”
On this day..
- 1966: Lau Pui
- 1947: Rudolf Höss, Auschwitz commandant
- 1986: Alec Collett, Lebanon hostage
- 1841: Peter Robinson, Tell-Tale Heart inspiration?
- 1355: Filippo Calendario and Bertuccio Isarello, Doge stooges
- 1897: Lovett Brookins, thanks to bad women
- 1942: Vasily Klubkov, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya's betrayer
- 2011: Three in Shiraz
- 1783: Philip, a negro slave of Henry Garrett
- 1525: Count Ludwig von Helfenstein
- 1178 B.C.E.: Penelope's suitors, by Odysseus
- 2004: Jerry McWee, a former policeman
Modi, a wannabee dictator with an awful reputation praises the tribal leaders for their patriotism but has no tolerance for anyone who is not Hindu. He makes life difficult for all non-Hindus, especially muslims and Christians, despite the fact Native Christians have been in Kerala, SouthWest India, since the 6th century.