Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Bhopal on Monday that the role of tribal community to the liberation movement is now being proudly recognised. “I’d also want to recognise eminent historian and Padma Vibhushan Babasaheb Purandare,” the PM continued. His effort to bringing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s heritage to the general public is invaluable.” In the afternoon, Modi arrived in Bhopal to open the Habibganj railway station, which has been renamed after Rani Kamlapati, Bhopal’s first Gond queen.
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Modi will speak at a gathering at Jamboree Maidan before formally opening the station. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister, has personally overseen the preparations at Jamboree Ground, where five mandals have been built up to accommodate more than 2 lakh people.
According to authorities, approximately 7,000 cars would transport people from tribal settlements to Monday’s Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, which will commemorate tribal leader Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the new name ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhopal on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, or Tribal Pride Day, to honour Rani Kamlapati’s bravery and legacy. Habibganj was named after Habibullah, the grandson of Nawab Shahjahan Begum, according to Bhopal history. “Back then, royals were awarded a plot of land known as their ‘dugh kharch.’
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In Shahpura, the land handed to Habibullah, a hamlet was established. A minor station was created when a railway line was built through the region in 1874-76. Habibullah’s family donated land and Rs 15 lakh to help establish the station in 1969. As a result, it was given the name Habibganj in honour of Habibullah,” historian Rizwanuddin Ansari explained. The Gonds are India’s biggest tribal community, with a population of about 1.2 crore.
