Amargarh Fort in Rajasthan has became a bone of contention between the tribal Meena community and local Hindu groups. The local Hindu groups and the tribal Meena community both claim their ownership over the fort and the deities being worshipped inside the fort premises. Members of the Meena community claim that the fort was built by a Meena ruler long before the Rajput rule in Jaipur. It has been their holy site for centuries, where they used to worship Amba Mata and other deities. In June 2021, there were reports that idols inside the fort were vandalised and a saffron flag was hoisted at the fort. Therefore, people belonging to Meena community accused Hindu groups of trying to appropriate tribal symbols into the Hindutva fold, and of changing the name of Amba Mata to Ambika Bhawani.
The saffron flag was brought down on July 21, and got torn in the process. Hindu groups accused Meena community members of tearing the flag in the presence of Rajasthan member of legislative assembly, Ramkesh Meena. On the other hand, Meena leaders said that the Hindu groups had agreed to take down the flag after discussions, but the flag got accidentally torn while bringing it down by the Hindu groups.
The Jaipur police prohibited anyone to assemble at the fort and its adjacent area as the fort and place belongs to the forest department.
Amagarh Fort
According to historian Jadunath Sarkar’s book A History of Jaipur, c.1503–1938, Ambagarh, also known as Amagarh, was built by Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century. However, oral legend says it belonged to the Meenas before that. The area was inhabited by five confederacies of Meenas or Minas, called the Panch-Wara before the Kacchwa rulers began ruling Jaipur.
As per historian Rima Hooja, the present form of the Amagarh Fort was given in the 18th century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, founder of Jaipur. “It has always been believed that there was some construction at the place before Jai Singh II built the fort,” says she in her book, A History of Rajasthan. A lot of forts in the state “show signs of habitation and in some cases early fortification” prior to whichever date we know they were founded. “For instance, we know that Nahargarh and Jaigarh were mainly built by Sawai Jai Singh II, but Jaigarh already existed in the form of a little fortified space before that and it is believed that the Cheel Ka Tola part of Jaigarh was part of a Meena fortification. So, it is entirely possible that this was true of other forts too. Which is why while Ambagarh was built as a garrison fort by Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century, it’s believed that it existed as a Meena fort prior to that.”
According to Dr Heera Meena, a scholar in tribal culture, the Amagarh fort was built by a Meena Sardar from the Nadla gotra, known as Badgoti Meenas. many Meena sardars ruled large parts of Rajasthan till around AD 1100.
However, the fort lies in a state of complete neglect and neither the State Department of Geology nor the Archaeological Survey of India takes steps to ensure its conservation.
The Meena Community
The Meena community has substantial influence in Jaipur. Most of the assembly seats, reserved for scheduled tribes (STs), are represented by Meena MLAs from both the Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Further, the community is well represented in the bureaucracy. As per 2011 Census, scheduled tribes constitute 13.48 per cent of the state’s population. The community can influence election outcomes in unreserved seats as well because of being scattered across the state.
Meena Communities identify themselves with a separate set of codes. Like many tribal groups, Meena’s worship their ancestors. Heera Meena points out that Amba Mata symbolises an ancestor, a living person and not a god. Amba Mata is not related to Ambika Bhavani or Durga
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