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Adivasi Agitation in Telangana

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June 15, 2018

Why in news?

  • A section of adivasis in northern Telangana districts has boycotted teachers from the Lambada community (Scheduled Tribes).
  • It reveals a conflict between the two groups for the past few months and poses a complex political challenge.

What is the conflict about?

  • Some Adivasi groups have been demanding the exclusion of the Lambada community from the Schedule Tribe (ST) list.
  • They claim that the Lambadas are “cornering” their opportunities in jobs and education.
  • Adding to the tension, the creation of Telangana has offered the Lambadas an advantage and benefits when compared to other tribes.
  • The protests have hit tribal schools hard since majority of teachers  are from the Lambada community.

What is the reason behind the conflict?

  • Telangana has a total of 32 tribal communities comprising 9.08% of the state’s population.
  • Lambadas comprise majority (20 lakh out of 30 lakh) of the tribal population.
  • The remaining tribal population are from communities such as Gonds, Guthikoyas, Pardhans, Nayakpods, Kolams, Gotis and several others, which are relatively low in number.
  • The Gond people are Adivasis, originally believed to have spread from central India to parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
  • The Lambadas have come from different states in the north like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and others.
  • They are listed under BC,OBC and SC in other states.
  • Despite not being tribals they have managed to get listed under the ST category in Telangana.
  • Gond tribals point out that the Lambadas were included in the ST list only in 1976, during the Emergency.
  • Thus, Gonds termed this as unfair through a “backdoor entry".

What are the implications of the conflict?

  • The boycott in northern Telangana lays bare the political and policy challenge for the state.
  • The absence of teachers has led to poor results and raised the prospect of students dropping out.
  • The boycott deprives tribal children of education which is considered as the most important tool for social and economic mobility.
  • It shows that the claims of relative inequality and discrimination within the Scheduled Caste and Tribe categories have been largely ignored by the government.

 

Source: Indian Express

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