Veteran Leader Passes Away at 82
Veteran Gujarat tribal leader and 10-time legislator Mohansinh Rathwa passed away at his home in Umarva village on Sunday, his family said. He was 82. Rathwa’s health had deteriorated over the last four years, and he had since withdrawn from active politics.
His son, Rajendrasinh Rathwa, wrote on X: “Mohansinh Rathwa was known not only as a politician but as a strong leader fighting for the rights of the tribal community. This leader, who was connected to the land, had been away from active politics for a long time due to ill health and was fighting against the illness, and breathed his last today.” He added, “The sad demise of my revered father, who made public service his life’s work, has caused an irreparable loss to our family. The dedicated work he did for social service, public welfare and human values throughout his life will always inspire us. Om Shanti.”
Political Career Spanning Six Decades
Rathwa’s political journey began in 1965, when he was elected a sarpanch. He first won the Pavi Jetpur assembly seat as a Congress candidate in 1972. Over his career, he also represented the Janata Party and Janata Dal, winning elections under those banners before returning to Congress for the 1998 election. He was elected MLA a total of 10 times from the tribal-reserved Chhota Udepur and Pavi Jetpur seats.
Rathwa served as a minister in the Congress government from 1990 to 1995. He lost only one assembly election, in 2002, against the backdrop of the Godhra riots, when he was defeated by a BJP candidate. He won the next election, but his victory margins shrank: in 2012, he won by over 2,500 votes against the BJP’s Gulabsinh Rathwa, and in 2017, he won by over 1,000 votes against the BJP’s Arjun Rathwa.
Key Contributions and Later Years
Rathwa is remembered for resolving the irrigation water problem in his constituency, and the Sukhi irrigation scheme is popularly credited to him. Ahead of the 2022 assembly election, he joined the ruling BJP along with his son, Rajendrasinh Rathwa, who was elected an MLA from Chhota Udepur in the same year.
State Forest Minister Arjun Modhwadia expressed grief on X, saying, “His dedicated life for public service, public welfare and the upliftment of the tribal community will always be an inspiration. It will be a memorable experience for me to have had the opportunity to work with him in the Gujarat legislative assembly.” State BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma said Rathwa’s unwavering devotion to public service, efforts for the upliftment of the tribal community, and his invaluable contribution to public welfare will always be remembered.
