JAIPUR: The Centre has drawn flak from the Gurjar community in south Rajasthan over a booklet published by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that describes the revered medieval Mewar figure Panna Dhai as a member of the Khichi Rajput clan.
Reacting sharply to the claim made in the book ‘Bharat Ke Nari Ratna’ published by the Publications Division of the ministry, the Gurjar Samaj Seva Samiti has asserted that identifying Panna as a “Kshatrani (warrior) of the Khichi Rajput clan” is historically inaccurate. The group also reiterated that Panna—whose community identity remains a hotly debated subject—was a Gurjar woman.
Calling on the Centre to rectify what it described as a factual error, a delegation of the Gurjar organisation submitted a memorandum to the Udaipur district administration in this regard on Friday. Representatives of the body handed over the memo to Girwa Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Avula Saikrishna, as District Collector Gaurav Agrawal was unavailable at the time. The Samiti has claimed that the book misrepresents the historical identity of the 16th-century nursemaid of the young Udai Singh II, who later became the Maharana of Mewar. The delegation also submitted historical references and supporting documents in support of their claim that she was a Gurjar.
Panna Dhai occupies a storied place in Mewar’s history for her sacrifice to protect the heir to the Mewar throne. In the mid-1530s, when Banvir, a rival claimant who had seized power in Chittorgarh, moved to eliminate the young prince, Panna helped him escape and sacrificed her own son, Chandan, before taking Udai Singh II to safety at Kumbhalgarh.