Tribes India

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Preferred Citation: von Frer-Haimendorf, Christoph. Tribes of India: The Struggle for Survival. Berkeley: University of

California Press, c1!" 1!". http:##ark.cdli$.or%#ark:#1&'&'#ft!r"p"r!#

Tribes of India

The Struggle for Survival

Christoph von Frer-Haimendorf

UNIVERSITY OF C!IFORNI "RESS

Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford

# $%&' The Re(ents of the Universit) of Ca*ifornia

(o

). *. +aa +eddi and Urmila Pin%le

in memory of or orneysin tri$al contry

Preferred Citation: von Frer-Haimendorf, Christoph. Tribes of India: The Struggle for Survival. Berkeley: University of

California Press, c1!" 1!". http:##ark.cdli$.or%#ark:#1&'&'#ft!r"p"r!#

(o

). *. +aa +eddi and Urmila Pin%le

in memory of or orneysin tri$al contry

"refa+e

/i

(his $ook tells of o$servations amon% 0ndian tri$al poplations spannin% the period from 1' to 1!'.

2ver since 1&3, 4hen a stdy of the 5onyak )a%as marked the $e%innin% of my career as ananthropolo%ical field-4orker, 0 have maintained contacts 4ith 0ndian tri$esmen. (re, there 4ere years

4hen 0 concentrated on the stdy of the montain peoples of )epal, $t even then 0 paid periodic visits

to some of the tri$al areas of 0ndia, and this ena$led me to keep a$reast of crrent developments.


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6hen in 173 0 retired from the Chair of 8sian 8nthropolo%y at the University of 9ondon and cold

devote more time to field4ork, 0 decided to ndertake a systematic investi%ation of social and

economic chan%es affectin% the tri$al societies 4hich 0 had stdied in the 1's. 8 %rant from the

ocial cience +esearch Concil of ;reat Britain, as 4ell as s$sidiary a4ards from the 9everhlme(rst Fnd and the 6enner-;ren Fondation for 8nthropolo%ical +esearch, provided the material $asis

for this proect, 4hich inclded also the fndin% of parallel research $y my yon% collea%e orke. 0t is to $e hoped that in ftre years =ichael >orke 4ill retrn to the same tri$al area,and ths e/tend the period of o$servation from forty to si/ty or perhaps even seventy years. (he chool

of ?riental and 8frican tdies, 4hich provided the administrative frame4ork for the proect, 4ill

preserve the docmentation, storin% all my field note$ooks and diaries from the years 1' to 1!', as4ell as photo%raphic data.

Financial assistance from the 0ndian Concil of ocial cience +esearch ena$led =r. @ayaprakash +ao

of the ?smania University in

/ii

Hydera$ad to participate in the proect $y ndertakin% a detailed stdy of the present condition of the

5onda +eddis, a tri$e of 8ndhra Pradesh 4hich fi%red prominently in my research forty years earlier.

His contri$tion to the volme Achapter 1' provides an 0ndian vie4 of the pro$lems of tri$al

poplations. Both he and =ichael >orke, the athor of chapter , are solely responsi$le for theircontri$tions, 4hich do not necessarily coincide in all details 4ith my o$servations.

(his $ook is the third of three volmes 4hich have so far reslted from the proect, the first t4o $ein%

The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh: Tradition and Change in an Indian TribeA


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Pradesh, and to =rs. Haldipr, 4hose 4arm hospitality my 4ife and 0

/iii

enoyed on more than one occasion. 2ally cordial 4as the 4elcome of the present Collector of

$ansiri


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cltral $ack%rond of the individal tri$es, 0 have appended to each of the ethno%raphic vi%nettes a

$i$lio%raphy listin% the main anthropolo%ical sorces containin% information on the %rop in estion.

(o forestall any accsation of e%ocentricity, 0 may mention that in the case of several tri$es, sch as the

Chenchs and 8pa (anis, fe4 p$lished ethno%raphic data are availa$le apart from the reslts of myo4n field research.

Tribes of the .e++an

Chen+h,s


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%rop holds hereditary ri%hts to a tract of land, and 4ithin its $ondaries its mem$ers are free to hnt

and collect edi$le roots and t$ers. (hese sed to $e the ChenchsI staple food, tho%h 4e shall see that

in recent years there has $een a chan%e in their diet and 4ays of s$sistence.

(he Chenchs are characteriEed $y a stron% sense of independence and personal freedom. )one ofthem feels $ond to any particlar locality, and the a$ility to move from one %rop to the other allo4s

men and 4omen to choose the companions 4ith 4hom they 4ish to share their daily lives. =arria%e

rles are $ased on the e/o%amy of patrilineal clans. 8s lon% as they o$serve the rles of clan e/o%amyyon% people are free to marry 4homsoever they 4ish. poses can separate 4ithot any formality, $tthe a$dction of a 4oman still livin% 4ith her hs$and is disapproved of as immoral.

0n the sphere of reli%ion the Chenchs evince certain characteristic traits 4hich distin%ish them from

the srrondin% Hind peasantry. (ho%h they 4orship some of the deities prominent in the clt of

(el% villa%ers, they accord mch %reater importance to a po4erfl %oddess 4ho has control over the%ame and the frits of the forest. (hey also revere a sky %od 4ho shares some featres, incldin% name,

4ith the Hind spreme divinity Bha%avan and, tho%h not $elieved to intervene very mch in hman

affairs, is credited 4ith po4er over life and death. (he ChenchsI ideas of manIs fate after death areva%e, and it 4old seem that varios notions adopted from their Hind nei%h$ors have not $een

incorporated into a consistent $ody

(he Chench settlement of Plaelma in 1' drin% the dry 4inter season

the rond hts 4ith conical roofs are $ein% rethatched. 0n the $ack%rond is

the frame4ork of a ht nder constrction.

of eschatolo%ical $eliefs. (here is no definite idea that a personIs fate in the hereafter depends on his

deeds in this life, even tho%h some Chench stories contain references to reincarnation. =ore4idespread is the $elief that a personIs life-force Ajiv is derived from the spreme %od and retrns to

him after death. (he 4hole concept of a life-force, a $elief common to varios 0ndian poplations, verylikely stems from casal contacts 4ith Hinds, and ths represents a comparatively ne4 element in

Chench thinkin%.

Until t4o or three %enerations a%o, the @n%le Chenchs seem to have persisted in a life-style similar to

that of the most archaic 0ndian tri$al poplations, and their traditional economy can hardly have $eenvery different from that of forest d4ellers of earlier a%es. 0n the follo4in% chapters 4e shall see that,

despite recent developments and innovations, the Chenchs still stand ot from all the other tri$al

poplations of 8ndhra Pradesh.

0n other parts of 0ndia, ho4ever, there are still some compara$le %rops of food%atherers 4ho have sofar resisted the pressre to move ot of the forests and chan%e over to a more settled life. everal of

these tri$es inha$it the forested hills of the oth4est 0ndian state of 5erala. 8nthropolo%ists have

stdied the 5adars, 4ho form the s$ect of a $ook $y U. +. von 2hrenfels, and the =alapantaram, alsokno4n

J


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8 ht in the Chench settlement of Boramacherv in 17!. (here has $een

no chan%e in the strctre of hts, $t Chenchs have learned to %ro4

marro4s and to train them p the roofs of their hts.

as Hill Pantaram, 4hom 0 visited in 1J& and 4ho 4ere s$seently investi%ated in depth $y Brian=orris. ?f special interest are the parallels $et4een the Chenchs and the *eddas of ri 9anka, the first

oth 8sian tri$e of hnters and food%atherers to arose the interest of 4estern scholars, nota$ly C. ;.

eli%mann and P. arasin. (he *eddas have virtally %iven p their traditional life-style, $t drin%some $rief enconters 4ith %rops of semi-settled *eddas 0 4as strck $y a physical similarity $et4een

*eddas and Chenchs so close that it 4old $e e/ceedin%ly difficlt to distin%ish mem$ers of the t4o

poplations if $ro%ht to%ether in one place. (ho%h separated $y a distance of hndreds of miles and astretch of sea, the t4o %rops may 4ell $e remnants of the most archaic hman stratm of oth 8sia.

/ib*io(raph)

2hrenfels, U. +. von. The adar of Co!hin.=adras, 1J".

Frer-Haimendorf, C. von. The Chen!hus""#ungle Fol$ of the %e!!an.9ondon, 1&.

DD. K(ri$al Poplations of Hydera$ad: >esterday and (oday.K Census of India& '()'.*ol. "1.

Hydera$ad, 1J.

DD. K)otes on the =alapantaram of (ravancore.K*ulletin of the In"

3

Chench dra4in% his $o4. Hntin% sed to $e an important activity of the men,

and tho%h %ame has $een depleted Chenchs are still in the ha$it of carryin%

$o4s and iron-tipped arro4s.

ternational Committee on +rgent Anthro,ologi!al and -thnologi!al esear!h, no. & A13', pp. J-J1.

=orris, Brian. K(appers, (rappers and the Hill Pantaram.KAnthro,os7" A177: ""J-1.

eli%mann, C. ;., and Brenda. The /eddas, Cam$rid%e, 111.

arasin, Pal nd FritE.%ie 0eddas von Ceylon und die sie umgebenden /1l$ers!haften.6ies$aden,

1!&.

cott, @onathan.Ferishta2s History of %e$$an.hre4s$ry, 17.

0onda Reddis

8mon% the a$ori%inal tri$es of 0ndia there are many 4hich persist on an economic level characteristic

of the period in hman history 4hen man first a$andoned the nomadic ha$its of hnters andfood%atherers and $e%an to raise edi$le plants. 0n some parts of the 4orld this revoltionary step

occrred more than ten thosand years a%o and 4as soon follo4ed $y frther developments in

a%ricltral technies. 0n 0ndia, ho4ever, there e/ist tri$al people 4ho never advanced $eyond a

primitive type of a%ricltre, kno4n as shiftin% or slash-and-$rn cltivation, tho%h most of them are


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no4 a$andonin% this 4ay of life

7


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+eddi 4oman and child of the hill villa%e of ;o%lapdi +eddis $y cotton

cloth and %ilded nose ornaments from nei%h$orin% plainsmen.

man%o stones. (hey also hnt 4ith $o4 and arro4, and those livin% on the $anks of the ;odavari add to

their food spply $y fishin%, often from d%-ot canoes.

(raditionally o4nership of the land 4as vested in local %rops 4hose mem$ers may hnt, collect, and

cltivate any4here 4ithin the territory $elon%in% to the commnity.

(he sense of nity $ased on a %ropIs common o4nership of a tract of land finds e/pression in ointrital activities. (ho%h not all the mem$ers of a %rop need live in one locality, they com$ine for the

cele$ration of seasonal festivals and for the performance of sacrificial rites connected 4ith the

a%ricltral cycle. (he atmosphere 4ithin sch a local %rop is entirely e%alitarian, $t one man acts ashead of the commnity. His position is sally hereditary in the male line, and his fnction lies mainly

in the reli%ios sphere. 8ctin% as mediator $et4een man and the local deities to secre the prosperity of

the commnity, he ina%rates the so4in% of the %rain crops and propitiates the earth mother 4ithsacrifices of pi%s and fo4ls. (his %oddess is the only deity 4ho is tho%ht to $e entirely and

naliena$ly 4ell-disposed to4ards hmans, and is therefore re%arded 4ith %ratitde and affection. (he

+eddiIs attitde to4ard other deities and spirits is one of cation rather than reverence, for thesespernatral $ein%s are

1'

Hills flankin% the ;odavari +iver $ear the marks of the +eddisI slash-and-$rn

cltivation. (he li%ht patches are fields on 4hich the crops have $een harvestedand only st$$le is standin%.

deemed potentially dan%eros as 4ell as helpfl. (he hills and forests are $elieved to $e inha$ited $y a

host of anthropomorphically conceived divinities, many of 4hom have their seats on montain tops,

and are hence referred to as $onda devata, i.e. Khill deities.K ?rdinary people cannot see them, $tthere are ma%icians and shamans 4ho can commnicate 4ith spernatral forces in dreams as 4ell as

in a state of trance.

(he improvement of commnications in recent years has made the +eddisI ha$itat accessi$le to

otsiders, and 4e shall see that the commercial e/ploitation of forests has $ro%ht a$ot a chan%e intheir style of livin% and has involved the loss of the freedom and independence of their traditional

forest life.

(he 5onda +eddis are not the only tri$e of slash-and-$rn cltivators in the 2astern ;hats, and it is not

nlikely that in the not very distant past the entire tan%le of hills risin% from the eastern coastal plains4as inha$ited $y poplations of a similar economic pattern. 2ven today the northernmost %rop of

+eddis adoins a small tri$e kno4n as


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11

+eddis of ;o%lapdi di$$lin% millet on a plot ne4ly cleared of forest %ro4th

the seed is dropped into holes made 4ith iron-tipped di%%in% sticks.

that =nda- and


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of some ;ond clans. 0ntimately linked 4ith the system of localiEed patrilineal clans is the clt of a

deity kno4n in 5olami as 8yak, $t referred to $y speakers of ;ondi as Bhimal and $y those of (el%

as Bhimana. 6ithin the territory 4hich the mem$ers of a 5olam clan consider as their ancestral

homeland there is a shrine of 8yak. 0n the chaos created $y the e/plsion of 5olams from areas ofreserved forest, these 8yak shrines remain the only focal points of clan nity, for all 5olams, nless

totally detri$aliEed, retrn to their ancestral 8yak shrine for the performance of important rites, 4hen

the livin% mem$ers of the clan are nited in 4orship and the dead of the clan are propitiated 4ithofferin%s. (he care of each 8yak shrine is the responsi$ility of a clan priest 4hose office is hereditary in

the male line. ?nce in every three or for years the sym$ols of an 8yak may $e taken on a circit and

visit 5olam and ;ond villa%es 4ithin a radis of t4enty or even more miles. 8yak is considered a$enevolent %od, accessi$le to the prayers and offerin%s of

1&

men. (ho%h all 5olams emphasiEe the one-ness of 8yak, he is 4orshipped nder different names

derived from localities containin% shrines of 8yak.

(he 5olams are reno4ned for their skill in divination and the propitiation of locality %ods. (his

reptation has led many ;ond commnities to entrst the clt of certain local divinities, and

particlarly of the %ods holdin% s4ay over forests and hills, to the priests of near$y 5olam settlements,

and it is $ecase of this sacerdotal fnction of 5olams that ;onds refer to the entire tri$e as Pari.

/ib*io(raph)

Frer-Haimendorf, C. von. K(ri$al Poplations of Hydera$ad: >esterday and (oday.K Census of India&'()'.*ol. "1. Hydera$ad, 1J.

DD. K(he Clt of 8yak amon% the 5olams of Hydera$ad.K 0iener *eitr4ge 5ur ulturges!hi!hte und

6inguisti$ A1J": 1'!-"&.

+ssell, +. *. The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provin!es of India.*ol. &. 9ondon, 113. Pp. J"'-"3.

Nai1pods

(he 4ooded hills and seclded valleys of 8dila$ad


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/ib*io(raph)

Frer-Haimendorf, C. von. The aj Gonds of Adilabad.9ondon, 1!. Pp. &7-&.

1

2onds

8mon% the tri$al poplations of 0ndia the ;onds stand ot $y their nm$ers, the vast e/panse of their

ha$itat, and their historical importance. )o e/act fi%res for the present siEe of the %rop of ;ondtri$es is availa$le, for the censs of 131 4as the last in 4hich all individal tri$es 4ere enmerated.

8t that time &,",'J persons 4ere retrned as ;ond, and there can $e little do$t that $y no4 the

nm$er of ;onds mst lon% a%o have e/ceeded the for million mark. Fi%res for the speakers of tri$allan%a%es are still $ein% p$lished, and in 171, 1,J!,'7' ;ondi-speakers 4ere recorded. Bt this

does not %ive an indication of the present stren%th of the ethnic %rop em$racin% the varios ;ond

tri$es, for more than half of all ;onds speak lan%a%es other than ;ondi, sch as Chhattis%arhi Hindi,

an 8ryan ton%e 4hich mst have replaced the


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strctre is a system of for phratries, each s$divided into clans, and the ori%in of this system is

attri$ted to a divine cltre hero. (he mem$ers of each clan 4orship a deity descri$ed as,ersa ,en

AK%reat %odK, and in some cases the shrine of this deity lies 4ithin the ancestral clan land. (oday the

clans are 4idely dispersed, $t they still form a permanent frame4ork 4hich re%lates marria%e andmany rital relations.

Closely linked 4ith each individal ;ond clan is a linea%e of Pardhans, $ards and chroniclers, 4ho

play a vital role in the 4orship of the clan deity and many other rital activities. (he Pardhans, tho%hthemselves not ;onds and of a social stats lo4er than that of their ;ond patrons, are nevertheless the%ardians of ;ond tradition and reli%ios lore. (he recent deflection of their interests and ener%y to

other enterprises 4ill ndo$tedly have an adverse effect on the preservation of ;ond traditions.

8 role similar to that of Pardhans is $ein% played $y another and mch less nmeros %rop of $ards

and minstrels kno4n as (oti. (hese too have hereditary rital relations 4ith individal ;ond linea%esand act as msicians and story-tellers.

(he ;onds of 8ndhra Pradesh, 4hose fortnes in recent years are the s$ect of a lar%e part of this

$ook, are only one of the many sections of the ;ond race, and differ in cltral characteristics from the

varios ;ond %rops inha$itin% the hill contry of Bastar, 4hich lies de east of 8dila$ad.

(he ;ond tri$es of Bastar are themselves $y no means niform. (he Hill =arias, a poplation of some1J,''' concentrated in the 8$hmar Hills, are slash-and-$rn cltivators, and their a%ricltral

methods resem$le those of 5onda +eddis and 5olams. 2ach %rop occpies a territory 4ithin 4hich its

mem$ers shift their settlements as 4ell as their fields every fe4 years, retrnin% after some time to thesame villa%e sites. 8 fe4 commnities of Hill =arias have moved across the state $ondary into the

Bhamra%arh re%ion of Chandrapr


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attached their necklaces and armlets are made of 4hite metal.

1

Bisonhorn =aria dancer 4ith a mask of co4rie shells playin% a lar%e cylindrical drm.

"'

Far more nmeros than the Hill =arias of the 8$hmar Hills are the


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DD. The 7uria and Their Ghotul.Bom$ay, 17.

Frer-Haimendorf, C. von. The aj Gonds of Adilabad.9ondon, 1!.

DD. The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh.


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@ataps e/tend over several districts of 8ndhra Pradesh and the adoinin% re%ions of ?rissa. (heir total

stren%th e/ceeds ei%hty thosand.

/ib*io(raph)

(hrston, 2d%ar. Castes and Tribes of Southern India.*ol. ". =adras, 1'. Pp. J&-J.

Tribes of r,na+ha* "radesh

(he tri$al poplations of )ortheast 0ndia, 4hich 4ill $e discssed in chapter 11, $elon% racially,lin%istically, and cltrally to a sphere totally different from that of all the a$ori%inal tri$es of

Peninslar 0ndia, and their present political sitation contrasts fndamentally 4ith that of tri$als in

states sch as 8ndhra Pradesh.

8rnachal Pradesh, the nion territory previosly kno4n as the )orth 2ast Frontier 8%ency, is amontainos re%ion e/tendin% $et4een the Brahmaptra *alley, 4hose eastern part it encloses like a

horseshoe, (i$et to the north, Brma to the east, and Bhtan to the 4est. 6ith the (i$etan re%ion of

China it has a common frontier, from the Bhtan $order east4ard to the tri-nction of 0ndia, Brma,

and China in the e/treme northeast. (he $order 4ith (i$et#China is a$ot 1,''' kilometers lon% andrns alon% some of the hi%hest montains of the eastern Himalayas. 8rnachal Pradesh occpies an

area of !1,&3 sare kilometers A&1,&! sare miles, and the poplation at the time of the 171censsDthe latest availa$le enmerationD4as 37,J11. (his means that the avera%e density of

poplation per sare kilometer is only 3, 4hereas the compara$le fi%re for the 4hole of 0ndia is 17!

and that for 8ssam, 1J&.

8rnachal Pradesh comprises ethnic %rops of %reat cltral diversity, $t in many respects there is anoverall niformity. 8ll tri$es are

"&

of $asically =on%oloid stock, and they all speak (i$eto-Brman lan%a%es. =any of these lan%a%es

are not mtally nderstanda$le, $t there are also lar%e areas 4ithin 4hich people can commnicate$y each speakin% his o4n lan%a%e, 4hich is more or less nderstood $y those speakin% other dialects.

British administration e/tended over only a small part of the present territory of 8rnachal Pradesh,

and the poplations of lar%e areas lived then in virtal isolation, altho%h those of the northern $orderareas maintained occasional trade contacts 4ith (i$et, 4hile those of the foothills 4ere dependent on

some $arter trade 4ith 8ssam. ince 17 strenos efforts have $een made to $rin% the entire territory

nder the effective administration of the ;overnment of 0ndia, and in 17! a democratic form of%overnment $ased on niversal franchise 4as introdced. (oday 8rnachal Pradesh has a le%islative

assem$ly and a ca$inet of ministers consistin% of mem$ers of this assem$ly.

(he follo4in% ethno%raphic notes relate only to commnities discssed in chapter 11, for in thisconte/t a description of all the tri$al %rops 4old serve no sefl prpose.

Nishis

8 lar%e poplation of closely related tri$al %rops e/tends over the sothern and 4estern part of the

$ansiri


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6ith the development of contacts $et4een the people of the hills and those of the Brahmaptra *alley

and particlarly 4ith the spread of edcation amon% the tri$esmen, this term appeared o$ectiona$le to

the people concerned, and they insisted on $ein% referred to as )ishi, a term 4hich is derived from the

4ord8imeanin% Kman.K (oday the name


17/251

(he insta$ility of )ishi society 4as linked 4ith the system of land tenre. 8s no one had individal

ri%hts to land and the inha$itants of a settlement 4ere free to cltivate 4herever they chose, 4ealth

cold not $e invested in land, and mova$le possessions, $e they cattle or vala$les, 4ere lia$le to fall

into the hands of po4erfl opponents. 8

"7

)ishi men discssin% the terms of a peace settlement.

concomitant of the %eneral insecrity and freency of armed hostilities 4as the distinction $et4eenfree men and slaves. (he latter 4ere mainly people captred in 4ar and either kept $y their captors or

sold. (heir children $ecame mem$ers of their o4nerIs clan, $t their stats 4as that of dependents

rather than slaves, and in time they cold %ain their freedom and acire property. (hs there e/istedamon% )ishis no permanent slave class, $arred for all time from a rise in social stats.

9ike most other tri$es of 8rnachal Pradesh, the )ishis 4ere traditionally slash-and-$rn cltivators.

(hey cleared the forested slopes lyin% at altitdes $et4een one thosand and si/ thosand feet and

%re4 rice, millet, and plses on these hill fields. Hoe and di%%in% stick are their principal a%ricltralimplements, and tho%h they $reed cattle, particlarly mithan 9*os frontalis, they se neither the

plo%h nor any form of animal traction. 0n recent years, ho4ever, the cltivation of rice on permanent,

irri%ated fields has $een introdced in many villa%es possessin% some level land, and this chan%e ina%ricltral methods has cased economic as 4ell as social chan%es.

Barely distin%isha$le from the )ishis of the 4estern part of $ansiri


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Pandey, B. B. The Hill 7iri.hillon%, 17.

hkla, B. 5. The %aflas of the Subansiri egion.hillon%, 1J.

pa Tanis

6hereas )ishis, Hill =iris, and other related %rops mer%e impercepti$ly one into the other, there is

one people, kno4n as 8pa (ani, 4hich constittes a separate endo%amos commnity 4ith its o4nterritory, lan%a%e, cstoms, and traditions, and an economy fndamentally different from that of all

other tri$es of 8rnachal Pradesh. 0n a sin%le valley 4ith an area of appro/imately fifty-t4o sarekilometers, close to 1&,''' 8pa (anis live in seven villa%es ran%in% in siEe from 13' to 1,''' hoses.

(he fact that ro%hly &'' tri$al people can make a livin% on one sare kilometer 4old $e nsal

any4here amon% primitive s$sistence cltivators dependent on their o4n resorces, $t in an area4here no other tri$e had ntil recently any idea of intensive cltivation, the achievement of the 8pa

(anis is trly astonishin%. Both )ishis and 8pa (anis are a%ricltrists, $t their systems of cltivation

differ fndamentally. 6hile the )ishi slash-and-$rn cltivator seldom tills a piece of land more than

t4o or three years in sccession, the 8pa (ani tends every sare yard of his land

"

4ith lovin% care and the %reatest in%enity. Until the economic revoltion of recent years, land 4as to

him the sorce and essence of all 4ealth, and only the possession of land %ave a man materialindependence. 8ll cltivated land is ealosly %arded property, and %ood irri%ated fields fetch prices

that in the plains of 8ssam 4old $e considered fantastic. +ice cltivated on irri%ated terraced fields is

the 8pa (aniIs main crop, $t on dry land millet, maiEe, potatoes, and ve%eta$les are %ro4n. 8llcltivation is done 4ith iron hoes, di%%in% sticks, and 4ooden $atons, for not only 4ere plo%hs

nkno4n in the past, they also failed to %ain acceptance in recent years 4hen 8pa (anis ea%erly took to

$icycles and other prodcts of modern technolo%y.

6hile most )ishis live in dispersed settlements, the 8pa (anis d4ell in cro4ded villa%es 4herehndreds of hoses stand eave to eave in lon% streets and narro4 lanes. (he villa%es are divided into

4ards, and each of these contains several e/o%amos clans. (he villa%es are administered $y concils

of elders, $t there has never $een any overall athority controllin% the entire tri$al commnity ordeterminin% its relations 4ith nei%h$orin% )ishi villa%es.

8 characteristic featre of 8pa (ani society is its ri%id stratification. (here are t4o classes differin% in

stats: an pper class 4hose mem$ers o4n the lar%er part of the land and 4ield political po4er in clan

and villa%e, and a lo4er class 4hich sed to consist of free men o4nin% their o4n land as 4ell as ofdomestic slaves. (he latter have no4 $een freed, $t the endo%amy of the classes persists, tho%h

no4adays it is occasionally $reached.

Priests and shamans maintain commnications 4ith the 4orld of %ods and spirits, 4hom they propitiate

4ith animal sacrifices and food offerin%s. (here is a stron% $elief in an nder4orld, 4here the deadlead a life resem$lin% in all details life on earth.

/ib*io(raph)

Bo4er, Ursla ;raham. The Hidden 6and.9ondon, 1J&.

Frer-Haimendorf, C. von. The A,a Tanis and Their 8eighbours.9ondon, 13".

DD.7orals and 7erit""A Study of /alues and So!ial Controls in South Asian So!ieties.9ondon,


19/251

137.

DD.A Himalayan Tribe: From Cattle to Cash.Berkeley and 9os 8n%eles#)e4


20/251

periphery of the (i$etan cltre sphere, the herdkpens practise t4o reli%ions: an old tri$al clt as

4ell as =ahayana Bddhism. (he Bddhist ritals are performed $y lamas 4ho are of Bhtanese ori%in

or have $een trained in Bhtan.

(he herdkpens have some level land 4hich they plo%h, sin% cross$reeds of mithanand ordinarycattle for traction. ?n hill slopes they practise shiftin% cltivation in the same 4ay as 5hovas and many

=onpas.

/ib*io(raph)

harma, +. +. P. The Sherdu$,ens.hillon%, 131.

4onpas

8ll alon% the northern $order of 8rnachal Pradesh there are poplations inflenced $y (i$etan cltreor of (i$etan ori%in. 0n 5amen% et, cltrally the varios %rops of

=onpas have mch in common. (hey differ fndamentally from sch non-Bddhist tri$es as Ban%nisAas the )ishis are called in 5amen%, 8kas, =iis, and 5hovas, $t share the Bddhist herita%e of the

herdkpens.

=ost =onpas are hi%h-altitde d4ellers, and their economy has far more in common 4ith that of sch

Himalayan poplations as the northern Bhtanese or most Bhotias of )epal then 4ith the economy ofmost tri$al %rops in 8rnachal Pradesh. For the cltivation of their level land they se plo%hs and

$llocks or yak-hy$rids, tho%h here and there they also practise slash-and-$rn cltivation on hill

slopes too steep for plo%hin%. Barley, 4heat, and $ck4heat are their main crops, tho%h in shelteredvalleys at an altitde $elo4 ei%ht thosand feet rice is also %ro4n. =onpa society is divided into

several strata of different social stats, $t there is no developed system of e/o%amos clanscompara$le to that of )ishis, 5hovas, or herdkpens.

Bddhist $eliefs and traditions dominate cltral life, and monasteries and nnneries play an importantrole in the fa$ric of =onpa society. Bt side $y side 4ith Bddhist instittions there persists a clt of

tri$al deities condcted $y priests 4ho are openly descri$ed as representin% an old reli%ion related to

the (i$etan pre-Bddhist Bon faith.

&"

0t is this coe/istence of Bddhism 4ith tri$al reli%ions 4hich s%%ests the possi$ility of a fertiliEation

of local clts $y the more sophisticated ideolo%y of =ahayana Bddhism, 4hich 4as at one time themainsprin% of (i$etan civiliEation.

8nthropolo%ists concerned 4ith 0ndia have for some time de$ated the pro$lem of the distinction$et4een atochthonos tri$al %rops and Hind castes. (hose speakin% of a tri$e-caste continm hold

the vie4 that it is impractical to dra4 a sharp line $et4een tri$es and castes, 4hereas others feel

confident of their a$ility to decide in concrete cases 4hether a %iven commnity shold $e classified asa tri$e or a caste.

(he notificationL1M of tri$al %rops as Kschedled tri$esK $y the 0ndian Parliament clarifies, in most


21/251

cases at least, the le%al position. >et there remain $orderline cases. Political reasons may motivate a

state %overnment to inclde a particlar commnity in the list of schedled tri$es, 4hereas in a

nei%h$orin% state more resistant to pressre %rops the same commnity may not $e notified as a

schedled tri$e, and hence may not enoy the privile%es %ranted to kinsmen on the other side of thestate $ondary Asee chapter !. 0nsofar as the tri$es inclded in the fore%oin% list are concerned, there

can $e little do$t that they deserve the politically advanta%eos classification of schedled tri$es.

0n 8rnachal Pradesh the notification of an ethnic %rop as a schedled tri$e is not of %reat relevance$ecase in this nion territory tri$als constitte the maority of the poplation and po4er lies in theirhands. 0t $ecomes important only for those tri$esmen 4ho prse stdies or a career otside 8rnachal

Pradesh and $enefit from the reservation of a percenta%e of places in niversities as 4ell as of o$s in

%overnment service for mem$ers of notified tri$al commnities. 0n 8ndhra Pradesh, the atochthonsare no4 a minority, even in areas 4here not lon% a%o they constitted the main poplation, and the

privile%es %ranted to schedled tri$es play a vital role in their str%%le for economic and cltral

srvival.

L1M8otifi!ationis a le%al term sed in 0ndiaDas in other previosly British territoriesDfor theproml%ation of la4s and %overnment ordinances in the official %aEette. (ri$es notified as $elon%in% to

the Kschedled tri$esK and notified tri$al areas are those 4hose special le%al stats 4as esta$lished $y a

KnotificationK in the %overnment %aEette.

&&

$5

Re*ations bet6een Tribes and Sovernment

(he co-e/istence of esta$lished states and independent tri$al commnities livin% accordin% to their o4n

rles and cstoms dates $ack to the earliest times of recorded 0ndian history. 0n an a%e 4hen the

s$continent 4as sparsely poplated and $eyond the limits of centres of hi%her civiliEation there 4erevast tracts covered in forests and difficlt of access, poplations on very different levels of material and

cltral development cold live side $y side 4ithot impin%in% to any %reat e/tent on each othersIresorces and territories. 2ven at times of the %reatest efflorescence of Hind cltre there 4ere no

or%aniEed attempts to dra4 a$ori%inal tri$es into the or$it of caste society. (he idea of missionary

activity 4as then forei%n to Hind thinkin%. 8 social philosophy $ased on the idea of the permanenceand inevita$ility of caste distinctions sa4 nothin% incon%ros in the persistence of primitive life-styles

on the periphery of sophisticated civiliEations. )o do$t, there 4ere areas 4here the infiltration of

advanced poplations into tri$al territory reslted in a closer interaction $et4een a$ori%inals and

Hinds. 0n sch re%ions, cltral distinctions 4ere $lrred, and tri$al commnities $ecame %radallya$sor$ed into the caste system, tho%h sally into its lo4est strata. (hs the ntocha$le castes of

Cherman and Panyer of 5erala 4ere pro$a$ly at one time independent tri$es, and in their physicalcharacteristics they still resem$le nei%h$orin% tri$al %rops 4hich have remained otside the castesystem. 8$ori%inals 4ho retained their tri$al identity and resisted inclsion 4ithin the Hind fold fared

$etter on the 4hole than the assimilated %rops and 4ere not treated as ntocha$les, even if they

&

indl%ed in practices, sch as the eatin% of $eef, 4hich Hinds considered polltin%. (hs the +a;onds, some of 4hose rlers vied in po4er 4ith +apt princes, sed to sacrifice and eat co4s 4ithot


22/251

de$asin% there$y their stats in the eyes of their Hind nei%h$ors. (he Hinds reco%niEed the tri$esI

social and cltral separateness and did not insist on conformity to Hind patterns of $ehavior, and

this respect for the tri$al 4ay of life prevailed as lon% as contacts $et4een the t4o commnities 4ere of

a casal natre. (he tri$al people, tho%h considered stran%e and dan%eros, 4ere taken for %ranted aspart of the 4orld of hills and forests, and a more or less frictionless coe/istence 4as possi$le $ecase

there 4as no poplation pressre, and hence no incentive to deprive the a$ori%inals of their land.

(his position persisted drin% the 4hole of the =%hal period. )o4 and then the campai%n of a=%hal army e/tendin% for a short spell into the 4ilds of tri$al contry 4old $rin% the inha$itants$riefly to the notice of princes and chroniclers, $t for lon% periods the hillmen and forest d4ellers

4ere left ndistr$ed. Under British rle, ho4ever, a ne4 sitation arose. (he e/tension of a

centraliEed administration over areas 4hich had previosly lain otside the effective control of princelyrlers deprived many of the a$ori%inal tri$es of their atonomy, and tho%h most British administrators

had no intention of interferin% 4ith the tri$esmenIs ri%hts and traditional manner of livin%, the

esta$lishment of Kla4 and orderK in otlyin% areas e/posed the a$ori%inals to the pressre of moreadvanced poplations. 0n areas 4hich had previosly $een virtally nadministered, and hence nsafe

for otsiders 4ho did not enoy the confidence and %ood4ill of the a$ori%inal inha$itants, traders and

moneylenders cold no4 esta$lish themselves nder the protection of the British administration. ?ften

they 4ere follo4ed $y settlers, 4ho scceeded in acirin% lar%e tracts of the a$ori%inalsI land. 0nchapter " the process of land alienation 4ill $e illstrated $y concrete e/amples, and it 4ill $ecome

apparent that $y imposin% on tri$al poplations systems of land tenre and revene collection

developed in advanced areas the %overnment nintentionally facilitated the transfer of tri$al land tomem$ers of other ethnic %rops. (he deterioration of the a$ori%inalsI position, 4hich in many parts of

Peninslar 0ndia $e%an as early as the middle of the nineteenth centry and contined into the t4entieth

centry, occrred despite the fact that many British officials sympathiEed 4ith the tri$esmen and someof the most fervent advocates of tri$al ri%hts 4ere fond amon% the officers of the 0ndian Civil ervice.

>et, the recommendations for reforms contained in nmeros reports 4ere seldom implemented in fll,

and even 4here they 4ere incorporated in le%islation they did not al4ays prove effective.

Una$le to resist the %radal alienation of their ancestral land, the

&J

a$ori%inals of many re%ions either %ave 4ay $y 4ithdra4in% frther into hills and tracts of mar%inal

land or, if no sch ref%e areas 4ere left, had no other choice than to accept the economic stats oftenants, sharecroppers, or a%ricltral la$orers on the very land their forefathers had o4ned.

(here 4as only one part of British 0ndia 4here a policy of noninterference and protection ena$led the

tri$al poplations to retain their land and their traditional life-style. 0n the hill re%ions of )ortheast

0ndia 4hich enclose the Brahmaptra *alley in the shape of an enormos horseshoe tri$es sch as)a%as, =ishmis, 8dis, =iris, 8pa (anis, and )ishis 4ere the sole inha$itants of a vast re%ion of r%%ed

montains and narro4 valleys into 4hich the peoples settled in the plains of 8ssam had neverpenetrated. 8 small volme of $arter trade $et4een hills and plains 4as carried on $y tri$esmen from

the foothills, $t most of the hill people never set foot in the Brahmaptra *alley. 6hen in the secondhalf of the nineteenth centry and drin% the first decades of the t4entieth centry the British e/tended

their administrative control over part of the hill re%ions, they did not encora%e the entry of plainsmen,

$t devised a system of administration 4hich allo4ed the hillmen to rn their affairs alon% traditionallines. 8s late as the 1&'s the entire administration of the )a%a Hills


23/251

t4o officers maintained peace and order in a lar%e hill re%ion 4here $ridle paths 4ere the only means

of commnications. )o plainsman 4as allo4ed to acire land in the hills, and the indi%enos system

of land tenre 4as retained virtally nchan%ed. (his policy protected the hill people from e/ploitation

and land alienation. 0t is not srprisin% that the introdction of a mch more ela$orate and less fle/i$lesystem of administration in the years follo4in% 17 sparked off a %reat deal of nrest, for tri$esmen

sed to rnnin% their o4n affairs reacted violently to interference from a host of minor officials lackin%

in nderstandin% of local cstoms. (his is not the place to discss the case of the re$ellions of )a%asand =iEos, 4hich at the time of 4ritin% have $y no means completely ended, $t no analysis of the

relations $et4een a$ori%inal tri$es and the %overnments in po4er can $e complete 4ithot

consideration of at least some of the re$ellions $y 4hich tri$al poplations tried to shake off the yokeof those 4ho had invaded their ha$itat, srped their ancestral land, and mercilessly ro$$ed them of the

frits of their la$ors.

8nyone familiar 4ith the oppression and e/ploitation a$ori%inals of re%ions sch as the (elen%ana

districts of 8ndhra Pradesh have sffered at the hands of land%ra$$ers, landlords, nscrplos traders

&3

and moneylanders, and, re%retta$ly, many minor officials mst $e srprised not $y the fact that no4

and then tri$al %rops rose a%ainst their oppressors in violent ot$rsts $t that or%aniEed re$ellions

4ere so fe4 and so short-lived. 0f any of the tri$es of 8rnachal Pradesh or even of sch settled hillre%ions as the ;aro or =ikir hills had $een e/posed to instices as severe as those sffered $y ;onds,

5olams, 5oyas, and +eddis, mrder and violence 4old have $een the order of the day, $t most of the

tri$es of the


24/251

L1M Sonthalia and the Sonthals.

&7

other tri$al areas. 8n insrrection 4hich occrred in an area no4 part of 8ndhra Pradesh involved the

Hill +eddis, a tri$e 4hose present sitation 4ill $e discssed in the follo4in% chapter. (his prisin%

occrred in 1!7 and is commonly kno4n as the +ampa +e$ellion, after an area 4hich no4 falls 4ithinthe Chodavaram (alk of the 2ast ;odavari


25/251

of administerin% primitive poplations had $een forceflly $ro%ht $efore the eyes of the athorities,

and steps 4ere taken to protect the a$ori%inals from the encroachment of otsiders.

(he varios orders passed from time to time 4ith the vie4 of amelioratin% the conditions of the tri$al

poplation of the 2ast ;odavari 8%ency 4ere ltimately consolidated in le%islation kno4n as (he8%ency (racts 0nterest and 9and (ransfer 8ct, 117. (he re%lations of this act formed a model for

similar le%islation in other tri$al areas, and 0 shall therefore ote some of its main sections. 0n order to

save the tri$als from the e/ploitation of moneylenders, the act laid do4n that Ka interest on any de$t orlia$ility shall not as a%ainst a mem$er of a hill-tri$e $e allo4ed or decreed at a hi%her rate than "O perannm nor shall any compond interest or any collateral advanta%e $e allo4ed a%ainst him $ the total

interest allo4ed or decreed on any de$t or lia$ility as a%ainst a mem$er of a hill-tri$e shall not e/ceed

the principal amont.K

2ven more important 4ere the sections restrictin% the transfer of land from tri$als to otsiders. (herelevant section A contained the follo4in% provisions:

1 )ot4ithstandin% any rle of la4 or enactment to the contrary any transfer of immova$le property

sitated 4ithin the 8%ency tract $y a mem$er of a hill-tri$e shall $e a$soltely nll and void nless

made in favor of another mem$er of a hill-tri$e or 4ith the previos consent in 4ritin% of the 8%ent or

of any other prescri$ed officer. L8%ent 4as the revene officer compara$le to the collector of a normaldistrict.M

" 6here a transfer of property is made in contravention of s$-section A1 the 8%ent. . . . may on

application $y anyone interested decree eectment a%ainst any person in possession of the propertyclaimin% nder the transfer and may restore it to the transferor or his heirs.

(hese sections of the 8ct of 117 shold, if flly implemented, have pt a stop to all alienation of tri$al

land, and it is a so$erin% tho%ht

&

that si/ty-one years later lar%e areas in 4hat 4as the ;odavari 8%ency are no lon%er in the possessionof their previos tri$al o4ners, even tho%h the provisions of the 8ct of 117 remained in force till the

proml%ation of the 8ndhra Pradesh chedled 8reas 9and (ransfer +e%lation, 1J.

0t is only fair to admit, ho4ever, that in the period 117N7 the condition of the tri$al poplations in the2ast ;odavari 8%ency (ract 4as relatively favora$le, and that the massive invasion of tri$al land $y

otsiders occrred after 17.

(he need for special protection of a$ori%inal tri$es 4as not confined to the areas notified as 8%encies,

and in 11 an act kno4n as the ;overnment of 0ndia 8ct, 11, provided Kthat the ;overnor-;eneralin Concil may declare any territory in British 0ndia to $e a IBack4ard (ractI and that any act of the

0ndian 9e%islatre shold apply to sch Back4ard (racts only if the ;overnor-;eneral so directed.K

(he le%islation of 11 4as a forernner of the ;overnment of 0ndia 8ct, 1&J, and the ;overnment of0ndia Ae/clded and partially e/clded areas ?rder, 1&3. K2/clded areasK 4ere $ack4ard re%ionsinha$ited $y tri$al poplations to 4hich acts of the


26/251

(he 0ndian Constittion of 1J' also provided for the notification of Kschedled tri$esK and their

protection $y special le%islation. +e%ardin% the administration of the schedled areas the %overnor of

each state 4hich incldes a schedled area is $ond to s$mit a report to the president annally or

4henever reired. (he states periodically prepare lists of schedled tri$es, and these have to $econfirmed $y parliament. 8s schedled tri$es are in receipt of varios $enefits, there has $een

considera$le pressre from $ack4ard classes for inclsion in this list, and as late as 177 ne4 additions

4ere proposed $y varios states and confirmed $y parliament.8s this volme is lar%ely concerned 4ith the chan%in% fortnes of tri$al poplations in parts of 8ndhraPradesh 4hich sed to $e part of H.2.H. the )iEamIs et today no one can claim the e/cse of i%norance.2thno%raphic acconts and p$lished reports are fond in li$raries, and the files of %overnment

departments are crammed 4ith reports on conditions in the tri$al areas moreover, administrative action

taken drin% the last years of the )iEamIs %overnment pointed clearly to the type of policy 4hich coldhave prevented the present decline in the a$ori%inalsI fortnes.

Bt let s retrn to the sitation in the early 1's 4hen 0 $e%an the stdy of the tri$al poplations of

Hydera$ad tate. 8t that time there 4ere in the districts of 6aran%al A4hich then inclded the present

5hammam


27/251

1

the nei%h$orin% =adras Presidency. (he position of the tri$es of Hydera$ad tate 4as hence rapidly

deterioratin%. 0n the corse of anthropolo%ical research, initially ndertaken 4ithot any tho%ht of

providin% data to $e tiliEed in the plannin% of administrative reforms, 0 discovered a %reat many casesof e/ploitation and oppression of tri$al commnities and s$seently incorporated my findin%s in a

series of reports s$mitted to the )iEamIs %overnment. everal of these reports 4ere p$lished $y the

+evene


28/251

5olams, 4ho ntil then had no le%al titles to the land they and their forefathers had $een cltivatin%,

and 4ho therefore had al4ays $een lia$le to eviction on varios prete/ts. (hese administrative

measres 4ere follo4ed $y the preparation of comprehensive le%islation desi%ned to afford protection

to tri$al poplations. 0t 4as reco%niEed that ri%hts to land 4ere of crcial importance. ?nly $y placin%a$ori%inals in a position in 4hich they 4ere safe in the possession of their land 4as it possi$le to free

them once and for all from the threat of economic enslavement $y moneylenders and landlords. 2ven

$efore le%islation reco%niEed the a$ori%inalsI prior ri%hts to land, administrative measres and theinstrctions %iven to the officers entrsted 4ith the task of lookin% after the tri$alsI 4elfare $ro%ht

a$ot a chan%e in the 4hole attitde to the a$ori%inals. (he e/tortion of ille%al fees 4hich minor

%overnment servants, sch as forest %ards or police consta$les, sed to collect from the villa%ers 4asstopped or at least %reatly redced simply $y the enforcement of stricter discipline, and, 4hile it 4as

clearly impractica$le to eradicate all cases of corrption, a %reat improvement in the sitation 4as soon

noticea$le. By 13 the conditions of the ;onds in most parts of 8dila$ad


29/251

mem$ers of a Panchayat for sch villa%e or villa%es as he may specify and to entrst to sch Panchayat

any or all of the dties specified in these +les.

+le J )o cort of la4 or revene athority shall have any risdiction in any )otified (ri$al 8rea in

any dispte relatin% to land, hose or hose-site occpied, claimed, rented or possessed $y any tri$al orfrom 4hich any tri$al may have $een evicted 4hether $y process of la4 or other4ise drin% a period of

one year precedin% the notification of sch an area as a )otified (ri$al 8rea.

+le 3 8ll sits of proceedin%s relatin% to matters covered $y rle J pendin% $efore any cort of la4 or

revene athority on the date of the notification of sch area as tri$al area shall $e transferred to the8%ent concerned.

+le ! (he Panchayat shall decide all cases in open


30/251

J

0nstead of havin% to deal 4ith a mltitde of officials and dependin% on the d%ements of distant

corts 4hose proceedin%s 4ere tterly nfamiliar and incomprehensi$le to them, the tri$als 4ere no4in the care of officers of the ocial ervice


31/251

areas and for the restoration of sch land to the tri$al o4ner if the non-tri$al is an ille%al occpant, and

$y prohi$itin% attachment of tri$al land in e/ection of money decrees. Ho4ever, 4e shall see in

chapter " that despite the a$solte $an on transfer of immova$le property in schedled areas to non-

tri$als from a tri$al or non-tri$al e/cept in the case of partition or devoltion $y sccession, lar%e areasof tri$al land 4ere in fact ille%ally occpied $y non-tri$als in the years 17' to 17.

Protection of the tri$esmen a%ainst the alienation of their land, 4hich in Hydera$ad tate 4as the

cornerstone of tri$al policy, seems to have taken second place in the thinkin% of planners as soon astri$al development 4as mer%ed 4ith the mltisided activities of pro%rammes kno4n as Commnityear Plan, 4hich commenced in

1J". Commnity proects 4ere not particlarly %eared to tri$al needs, and in 8ndhra Pradesh only one

ot of for pilot proects covered tri$al areas. 0n the second Five >ear Plan there 4as a %reaterconcentration on specific tri$al areas, and the proects 4ere no4 renamed =ltiprpose Proects. 0n

8ndhra Pradesh for sch proects covered predominantly tri$al areas: one in Utnr (alk of 8dila$ad


32/251


33/251

tivities of )a/alite re$els had passed their clima/. 8fter several meetin%s 4ith %rops of local tri$es

they 4rote:

(he ;irians came in toch 4ith the administration only in a state of confrontation 4hen

they 4ere tackled for infrin%ement or infraction of one or the other re%lation 4hich in facta$rid%ed, annlled or tinkered 4ith their cstomary ri%hts and privile%es. (hs the ;irians

of the Parvathipram a%ency tract fond themselves totally alienated from the

administrative machinery and ne4ly set p self-%overnin% instittions and 4ere deniedopportnities of %ainfl economic activities. (hey sffered not only from poverty $t also

from a deep sense of insecrity. (hey fond themselves deprived at each point and at each

front. 8 deep sense of %rievance and instice enveloped the entire tri$al poplation thro%h

decades of ne%lect $y the local administration. (he indifference and the ne%lect 4as somch that 4hen the a%ency tracts 4ere redefined lar%e areas of hill tracts inha$ited $y the

tri$al ;irians 4ere left otside the a%ency thro%h an administrative mistake. . . . 9ater

attempts $y some ener%etic district officials to $rin% them 4ithin the fold of the a%encytracts have not met 4ith any sccess. . . . (he ;irian is sspicios of every move of the

administration. He cannot rely on it. (oday after the e/perience he had of Lthe )a/aliteM

movement and its conseences, he is sli%htly confonded $t not co4ed do4n. He has asllen look and defiance is apparent.L"M

6hen 0 visited rikaklam in 17 the atmosphere had %reatly chan%ed. By the restoration of

thosands of acres to their erst4hile tri$al o4ners and the e/penditre of lar%e amonts of money on

varios 4elfare measres the %overnment had %ained the confidence of the maority of the tri$als,4hile the former e/ploiters, intimidated $y the violence of the )a/alite movement, had not dared to

resme their domineerin% role. (hs the )a/alite re$els had in a 4ay achieved their aim $y stimlatin%

the %overnment to tackle the tri$al pro$lem and $y $reakin% the po4er of those 4ho sed to e/ploit andoppress the tri$als.

0n other districts of 8ndhra Pradesh, 4here there has $een no spontaneos prisin% a%ainst the tyranny

of landlords, moneylenders, and oppressive petty officials, the position of the tri$al poplations is farless happy. 0n the follo4in% chapters 0 shall trace the varios sta%es in the decline of tri$al freedom andprosperity in %reater detail.

(he contrast $et4een the fortnes of the tri$es of 8ndhra Pradesh and those of 8rnachal Pradesh, to

$e discssed in detail in chapter 11, demonstrates incontesta$ly that tri$al poplations can pro%ress

only if drin% the initial phases of any development pro%ramme they enoy complete protection a%ainste/ploitation $y and competition from non-tri$als. (he total $an on any permanent settlement of mem-

L"M +eprinted in So!ial 6ife in ural India, ed. =. 5. Pandhe, pp. "1'N1".

J'

$ers of non-tri$al commnities in 8rnachal Pradesh has ena$led the local tri$esmen to achieve trly

miraclos pro%ress, 4hereas in 8ndhra Pradesh the nholy alliance of vested interests, politicalpressre %rops, and venal officials has frstrated most of the plans for tri$al 4elfare despite the otlay

of many millions in p$lic fnds.

J1


34/251

'5

The Fate of Triba* !and

6ith the e/ception of some small commnities of hnters and food%atherers, all tri$al poplations of8ndhra Pradesh depend for their s$sistence primarily on the cltivation of land. For centries, if not

millennia, they had free access to as mch land as they cold cltivate, and it 4as only at the $e%innin%

of the t4entieth centry that in some areas tri$al commnities encontered the competition ofmaterially more advanced poplations infiltratin% into areas 4hich had previosly $een the preserves ofsch tri$es as ;onds, 5olams, 5oyas, or 5onda +eddis. ome of these tri$es 4ere slash-and-$rn

cltivators 4hose main implements 4ere a/e, hoe, and di%%in% stick, 4hile others had practised plo%h

cltivation for contless %enerations and 4ere livin% in permanent villa%es. (he former, 4ho tilled hillslopes cleared of forest %ro4th, did not hold land attractive to other poplations and 4ere a$le to

prse their traditional method of tilla%e ntil the time 4hen mch of their ancestral territory 4as

declared state forest, and ne4ly introdced rles of forest conservancy limited the areas availa$le forshiftin% cltivation. (he fortnes of sch primitive tri$es dependin% on slash-and-$rn cltivation 4ill

$e discssed in a separate section at the end of this chapter here 0 propose to deal 4ith pro$lems of

land tenre as demonstrated $y the ;onds, one of the maor tri$al %rops of 8ndhra Pradesh.

The Histor) of the !and "rob*em in di*abad

(he main concentration of the ;onds is in 8dila$ad


35/251

the same time many =aratha peasants, mainly of 5n$i caste, moved from the adoinin% districts of

Berar across the Pen%an%a +iver and occpied lar%e parts of the northern plains.

(o nderstand the process of the ;ondsI %radal displacement $y other and more dynamic poplations,

it is necessary to consider their system of cltivation as it e/isted $efore chan%es in the administrativesystem and the introdction of forest conservancy forced them to a$andon their traditional a%ricltral

methods. 0n the 1's there 4ere still old people alive 4ho spoke of the time 4hen the ;onds of the

hi%hlands mainly cltivated the li%ht, red soils of the platea/ and sli%htly inclined slopes, $t not theheavy, $lack soils in the $ottom of the valleys. 8t that time ;ond farmers 4ere in the ha$it of shiftin%their fields every t4o or three years, a$andonin% each plot $efore the soil sho4ed si%ns of e/hastion.

0t 4as mainly drin% the monsoon that they %re4 small millets and oilseeds in these li%ht soils, 4here

plo%hin% 4as easy and there 4as little dan%er of 4ater-lo%%in%, 4hile in the atmn and 4inter theycltivated only small plots %ro4in% sor%hm and plses in the vicinity of the villa%es. >et, despite the

restriction of the main a%ricltral activities to one season, the yield of crops %ro4n drin% the rains on

soils kept fertile $y freent periods of fallo4 seems to have ealled that of the com$ined monsoonand 4inter crops of later days. 6hile in the hills the transition to modern conditions occrred so late

that there still e/ist eye4itness acconts of the old economy, less certain information is availa$le for

the plains tract. Bt it is likely that there too ;onds cltivated their land in rotation, preferrin% the li%ht

soils to the heavy $lack soils and relyin% mainly on the crops %ro4n drin% the rains.

(he ;ondsI practice of freently shiftin% their fields and sometimes also their settlements 4as

appropriate to a sitation in 4hich they 4ere virtally the only inha$itants of lar%e e/panses of

cltiva$le land and forest, and there 4ere no other claimants to land temporarily a$andoned $y ;ondcltivators. Bt as soon as a%ricltral poplations from nei%h$orin% areas moved into 8dila$ad


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By 1' most of the villa%es near sch administrative or commercial centres as 8sifa$ad had already

fallen into the hands of non-tri$als. (hs of the t4enty villa%es 4ithin a distance of appro/imately

three miles from 8sifa$ad t4elve no lon%er contained any tri$als, five had a partly tri$al poplation $t

4ere o4ned $y non-tri$al landlords, and there 4ere only t4o villa%es in 4hich ;onds and one in 4hich5olams cltivated %overnment land, $t in these villa%es, too, other land 4as held $y non-tri$als.

imilar conditions prevailed in the valleys rnnin% 4est4ards and soth4ards from 8sifa$ad. 0n the

sothern part of 8sifa$ad (alk, particlarly in the (ilani area, a %reat deal of land 4as acired $ylando4ners of *elma caste 4ho lived in the nei%h$orhood of 9akshetipet and in the nei%h$orin%district of 5arimna%ar. (he 4ay in 4hich these *elma %radally eliminated the indi%enos tri$esmen is

illstrated $y the follo4in% story, 4hich 5otnaka =ar of


37/251

year many tri$als 4ere evicted from land 4hich they had $een cltivatin% onsi3a"i"jamabanditenre,

only $ecase an afflent non-tri$al, a$le to $ri$e the revene s$ordinates, had cast his eye on the same

land and had $een %iven preference over the tri$al cltivator.

(he system ofsi3a"i"jamabanditenre, 4hich $y definition allo4ed a %reat deal of fle/i$ility,provided the lo4er revene staff 4ith incompara$le opportnities for enrichin% themselves $y the

shfflin% of land from one cltivator to another, and even 4hen %overnment $e%an allottin%,attato

;onds and 5olams, lar%e areas of land contined

J3

to $e cltivated onsi3a"i"jamabanditenre. Fi%res oted in my reportProgress and Problems of

Aboriginal ehabilitation in Adilabad %istri!tAHydera$ad, 13, p. 1 sho4 that at that time the total

ofsi3a"i"jamabandiland 4as &,7" acres, of 4hich "1,&J acres 4ere occpied $y tri$als and "","'J$y non-tri$al cltivators. =any of the non-tri$al,attadarheld, in addition to their o4n land, a

s$stantial acrea%e onsi3i"i"jamabandi. (hs in Utnr (alk there 4ere alto%ether !& non-tri$al

,attadar, and they held on,attaa total area of "7,!3 acres and cltivated in addition &,"! acres onsi3a"i"jamabandi. =oreover, there 4ere 3! non-tri$als 4ho o4ned no,attaland $t held 7,7JJ acres

onsi3a"i"jamabanditenre.

0n 1 the )iEamIs %overnment 4as faced 4ith t4o alternatives. 0t cold follo4 a policy of laisseE-

faire and allo4 the deterioration in the tri$alsI stats to contine, 4ith the reslt that 4ithin a fe4decades the maority of ;onds 4old have $ecome a floatin% poplation of landless a%ricltral

la$orers and s$-tenants devoid of any occpancy ri%hts, or it cold settle the tri$esmen as a sta$le

peasant commnity, secre in the possession of the land they tilled. (he %overnment decided on the

second alternative and em$arked on a $old policy of tri$al reha$ilitation. (his involved a$ove all asoltion of the land pro$lem $y the %rant of,attato as many of the tri$als as cold $e accommodated

on land nder the control of %overnment.

0t 4as then calclated that at the most 1' percent of all tri$al hosehold heads 4ere already,attadar

and that hence a total of a$ot ninety thosand 4old have to $e covered $y the operation ofresettlement. 8s in some areas, sch as the talks of Both and 5in4at, little land 4as availa$le for

allocation to tri$als, a transfer of s$stantial poplations from the plains to the hi%hlands and from the

non-tri$al area to the ne4ly notified tri$al area $ecame inevita$le. (he task $efore the district officersand a$ove all the special tri$es officer 4as all the more dantin%, as many of the 4old-$e $eneficiaries

of the ne4 policy 4ere too i%norant and ine/perienced or too mch nder the s4ay of landlords and

moneylenders to %rasp the implication of the ne4 re%lations for the %rant of,attaand to apply forland in the manner prescri$ed $y the rles. Hence a systematic settlement of each %rop of villa%es had

to replace the sal procedre accordin% to 4hich the revene officers act only on individal

applications for specific pieces of land. 8 particlar pro$lem 4as created $y the lack of a detailedsrvey of land in many of the less-developed re%ions, and the %rant of,attaon land not clearly

demarcated created difficlties in later years and %ave a handle to non-tri$al landlords tryin% toencroach on the tri$alsI ne4ly assi%ned land. ome opposition to the tri$al reha$ilitation policy came as

no srprise to those 4ho kne4 4hat profits a$sentee landlords and moneylenders had derived from

J7

the e/ploitation of the nedcated and helpless tri$als. (here 4as resentment amon% the mem$ers of

the landlord class $ecase, since the notification of the tri$al area and the sspension of all ordinary


38/251

land allotment in that area, land made ara$le $y ;onds or 5olams and cltivated $y them onsi3a"i"

jamabanditenre cold no lon%er $e acired simply $y applyin% for its action and $y then $iddin%

a%ainst no other competition than that of inpecnios tri$als. ?$stacles 4ere pt in the 4ay, not so

mch of the allotment of land to tri$als, $t of the occpation of the land $y the ne4,attadar. 0n manycases, non-tri$al lando4ners and,ateltried to prevent ;onds $y threats and even $y physical violence

from occpyin% the lands allotted to them $y the special tri$es officer. (he villa%e officers, the lo4er

revene staff, and the minor police 4ere often in sympathy 4ith locally important lando4ners, and thetri$als cold not cont on their 4hole-hearted spport. 0ndeed revene inspectors and,at3arioften

took ndly lon% in demarcatin% the ne4 holdin%s and handin% them over to the ne4 tri$al,attadar,

and there$y %ave the non-tri$al lando4ners time to pt for4ard claims to the lands in estion. 6eshall see that precisely the same type of opposition 4as impedin% the restoration of tri$al land in 177

and 17!.


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0t seems that a fe4 senior district officers made some fee$le attempts to stop the flo4 of immi%rants,

$t on the 4hole neither revene nor forest officers scceeded in stemmin% the tide. 8s many of the

ne4comers 4ere a$le to occpy cltiva$le land, there can $e no do$t that the minor revene officials,

and particlar,at3ariand revene inspectors, 4ere 4on over $y the immi%rants, many of 4hom 4ere4ealthy eno%h to pay lar%e $ri$es. (he la4s prohi$itin% the acisition of tri$al land $y non-tri$als

4ere o$viosly i%nored. ?ther4ise it 4old have $een impossi$le for recent immi%rants 4ith no claim

to tri$al stats to acire hose sites and ara$le land at the e/pense of ;onds 4ho lost all or most oftheir land 4ithin a span of a fe4 years. (he methods sed to achieve this aim 4ere similar to those

4hich forty years earlier 4ere sed to dispossess the tri$als of the lo4lands. 8part from otri%ht

trickery and the $ri$in% of,at3ariand mem$ers of the revene staff fradlently to chan%e entries inthe land re%ister, the ne4comers deli$erately led ;onds into de$t, then indced them to lease their land

for limited periods, and finally refsed to retrn the leased land to the o4ner. 6ith the connivance of

,at3ariand revene inspectors, it 4as then not difficlt to enter the ne4 occpierIs name as Ko4nerK inthe villa%e and tahsilrecords.

(he reslts of this process of lar%e-scale land alienation are o$vios to anyone familiar 4ith the area.

*illa%es on or near the motora$le

J

roads, 4hich in the 1's and 1J's had still a prely tri$al poplation and consisted of the salthatched hts, are no4 teemin% 4ith ne4comers, 4hose shops and lar%e masonry hoses, often painted

in %arish colors, have completely transformed the scene. =any of these villa%es no lon%er contain any

;onds, 4hereas in others small clsters of ;ond hoses in traditional style form incon%rosaccretions to the modern settlements. (hs 0ndraveli, once the seat of a ;ond raa, has %ro4n into a

lar%e commercial centre 4ith $rick hoses and cement strctres linin% $oth sides of the road. @ainr,

4hich in 13 4as a small ;ond hamlet srronded $y forest, no4 contains a market centre 4ith manyshops and masonry hoses, all o4ned $y non-tri$als 4ho settled there less than ten years a%o.

*isal impressions of the process of ethnic and cltral chan%e are spported $y demo%raphic fi%res.6hile in 1J1 the poplation of Utnr (alk 4as only &,', the maority of 4hom 4ere tri$als, $y

131 it had risen to JJ,' and $y 171, to &,!"&. )o official censs fi%res are availa$le for lateryears, $t accordin% to a malaria srvey of 177 the poplation of the talk had then reached a total of

11",'''. (his phenomenal increase is clearly de to immi%ration, and all the ne4comers are non-

tri$als. (he chan%e in the composition of the poplation is reflected in the fi%res for tri$als inindividal circles. (hs in the =arlavai Circle, 4hich in 11 4as almost totally tri$al, the percenta%e

of tri$als in 131 4as still '.&! percent, $t $y 171 it had dropped to 3J.J" percent, a fi%re 4hich

ndo$tedly has diminished since then.

8 similar, tho%h perhaps less rapid, displacement of tri$als $y recent immi%rants occrred in 8sifa$ad(alk, as descri$ed $y =ichael >orke in chapter . (here too the mechanism of land alienation

follo4ed the pattern o$served in the 1&'s and 1's.

)either in Utnr nor in 8sifa$ad (alk are fi%res for the tri$al land alienated in recent years availa$le,

$t the poplation fi%res for Utnr alone speak in very clear terms. (o enliven these fi%res andillstrate the process of the e/ploitation and dispossession of tri$als $y mem$ers of advanced

commnities, 0 propose to ote from entries in my note$ooks 4ritten in 173, 177, and 17!, 4hen

nmeros ;onds approached me 4ith stories of oppression $y non-tri$als and minor %overnment

officials.

?n 7


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follo4in% story:

=y father om o4ned fifteen acres of,attaland, $t for the last thirteen years +ama

;ar of 8sifa$ad La man of toddy-tappin% casteM has $een cltivatin% this land. 6hen my

father died 0 4as a small child, and +ama ;ar occpied or land. ome time a%o 0applied to =.

3'

)arayan, the special depty collector, for restoration of my fatherIs land. (he depty

collector decided the case in my favor and restored the land to me. 0 4as very happy andplo%hed the land in preparation for so4in%ja3ari.Bt 4hen 0 4as ready to so4 +ama

;ar, spported $y some villa%ers of 5esla%da, stopped me cltivatin%. (hen the

tahsildar, the revene inspector, and the,atelcame to the villa%e, and told me that myfatherIs land 4as mine $y ri%ht. Bt at the same time they advised me not to cltivate that

land, $t to occpy instead the adoinin% field 4hich $elon%s to a =slim. Ho4 cold 0 do

thisQ (hen +ama ;ar $ro%ht some men and so4ed on my land. =oreover +ama ;arhad reported to the police that 0 had ille%ally plo%hed his land. o the s$inspector of

police came to my hose 4ith some consta$les and 4anted to arrest me. Bt in the end they

did not take me to 8sifa$ad. +ama ;ar has occpied also the,attaland of three other

;onds, 4ho are my motherIs $rothers. (hey all died $t they have sons 4ho have a claim totheir land. )o4 none of s has any land of or o4n $ecase +ama ;ar has all of it taken

a4ay.

(his story, 4hich recalls the days of the 4orst oppression of tri$als in the early 1's, is typical of the

4ay in 4hich corrpt minor officials frstrate the intention of %overnment and fail to carry ot the cleardecisions of sperior officers. 0t also demonstrates the partiality of the local police officers, 4ho almost

invaria$ly side 4ith locally po4erfl non-tri$als.

(he latter point is hi%hli%hted even more clearly $y a case 4hich 0 recorded a fe4 days later. ?n 1


41/251

31

me. He then said that he 4old not allo4 me to stay any lon%er in ati%da.

Prka =ar had to leave his hose and the place 4here he and his forefathers had lived and %o to the

main villa%e of Ballanpr. (here he fond 4ork as an a%ricltral la$orer. =ohammed 0sf remained

in occpation of his land, and 5otnaka omIs land 4as not cltivated at all. =. 0sf had one hose in8sifa$ad and another in ati%da. He o4ned t4enty-one acres of,attaland and cltivated ei%ht acres

of,aram,o$land, as 4ell as =arIs ei%hteen acres. He also occpied ten acres of,attaland $elon%in%

to 5odapa =ar, 4hom he had fri%htened a4ay and 4ho had %one to live in =adra. He had alsosrped nine acres of


42/251

this 4as %iven to a Banara on lease for three years. Bt 4hen the lease e/pired the Banara

refsed to %ive p the land. 0n 17& the special depty collector restored the land to 8ra

9ach, $t 4hen 9ach and his $rother started so4in% on the land they had st plo%hed,

fifteen Banaras armed 4ith sticks and 4hips $eat them and prevented them from so4in%.(hen the Banaras cltivated the land. 0n 173 8ra 9ach a%ain applied to the special

depty collector, and in @ne of that year the latter restored the land to the ;ond and told

him that he mi%ht start plo%hin%. 6hen he did so the Banaras came and $eat 9ach soseverely that he had to $e taken to the hospital. 0n the meantime, the Banaras so4ed cotton

on the field. $seently the tahsildarcame to the villa%e and directed the revene

inspector to %ive possession of the land to 9ach 4ith the standin% crops.

6hen the cotton 4as ripe for pickin%, the Banaras came and started pickin% the cotton. (he ;ondo4ner and his t4o sons protested, and there 4as a arrel. 0n the corse of this, thirty Banaras set pon

the three ;onds and $roke 8r 9achIs arm. 9ach 4as admitted to hospital in 8dila$ad.

(he ne/t time 0 heard a$ot the case, the ;ond o4ner had not $een a$le to re%ain effective possession

of his land.

0n the 17's there 4ere innmera$le cases of ille%al occpation of ;ond land $y Banaras, $t at that

time there 4as at least the theoretical possi$ility of restorin% the land to the ;ond o4ners $ecase theBanaras 4ere not notified as a schedled tri$e. 0n 177, ho4ever, the Banaras 4ere inclded in the list

of schedled tri$es Asee chapter !, and ever since then there has $een no le%al $ar to the transfer ofland from ;onds to Banaras, for sch transactions are permitted $et4een tri$als.

(he fore%oin% e/amples of the alienation of ;ond land are only a small selection of the innmera$le

cases 4hich 0 recorded in 173 and 177. (hey sho4 that the sta$iliEation of the ;ondsI position

$ro%ht

3&

a$ot $y the efforts ndertaken in the years 1 to 1 has $een lar%ely ndone. 0ndeed it seems that,not4ithstandin% the e/istence of le%islation apparently adeate for the protection of tri$al interests,the position of the ;onds is as precarios and insecre as it 4as in the 1&'s and early 1's. (here is,

ho4ever, one important difference. 0n those years there 4as still some vacant land in the forested

hi%hlands 4here ;onds evicted from their holdin%s cold find at least temporary ref%e. (his

possi$ility no lon%er e/ists, and many ;onds are once more threatened $y the likelihood of $ein%redced to the state of landless la$orers.

0t 4old $e nfair to the officers char%ed 4ith the protection and restoration of tri$al land to %ive the

impression that nothin% 4as done to conteract the po4erfl forces en%a%ed in the on%oin% process of

the ille%al alienation of tri$al land. (he records of these officers reflect the ma%nitde of the pro$lemand allo4 s to assess the pro%ress made so far.

(he follo4in% statistics compiled $y the special depty collector Atri$al 4elfare in


43/251

reslted in a stay-order issed $y a hi%her athority, and sch stay-orders covered a total of 1,"7'.&

acres.

(he cltivators evicted from tri$al land ille%ally acired can $e divided into three cate%ories:

chedled castes: 1'! persons evicted from 1,'7J.! acres.

Back4ard castes: 1,"7& persons evicted from 1',&&.7 acres.

For4ard classes: "31 persons evicted from ","" acres.

(he schedled castes concerned inclde =ahar, =ala, and other Harians the $ack4ard castes incldesch dra castes as 5ap, Perka, ;olla, ;ar, and Besta and the for4ard classes inclde Brahmin,

5omti, +eddi, *elma, and =slim.

0n ?cto$er 1!' there 4as a $alance of 1,J&3 ndecided cases involvin% an area of 11,'J1.&! acres,

and it stands to reason that, even 4ith the help of a modest staff of assistants, a sin%le special deptycollector 4old not $e a$le to dispose 4ithin a reasona$le time of so many hndreds of cases,

investi%ate the circmstances of the alienation, and

3

follo4 p his verdicts to restore possession to individal tri$als. (his assessment of the sitation is

confirmed $y the fact that, despite strenos efforts $y the special depty collector in the first nine

months of 1!', only J cases involvin% J acres cold $e decided in favor of tri$als. 0t is o$vios

that the administration 4old have to adopt more effective measres to redress the loss of tri$al land,and it is re%retta$ly not at all likely that this 4ill happen in the foreseea$le ftre.

0ndeed, there are ominos portents that montin% pressre $y vested interests and political %rops is

erodin% the %overnmentIs determination to implement the le%islation desi%ned to protect tri$al ri%hts to

land. (hs, in 8%st 17 the +evene ecretariat issed instrctions to district officers that frtherevictions of non-tri$als from tri$al land shold $e carried ot only in cases relatin% to encroachments

$y persons o4nin% more than five acres of irri%ated land or ten acres of dry land. By the end of 1!'these instrctions, 4hich le%al e/perts re%ard as conflictin% 4ith e/istin% le%islation, 4ere stilloperative, and this leads one inevita$ly to the conclsion that the policy of restorin% alienated tri$al

land no lon%er enoys the spport of the ;overnment of 8ndhra Pradesh, even tho%h protective

le%islation has so far remained on the statte $ook.

7aran(a* .istri+t

(he land pro$lem of the 5oyas in the re%ion no4 inclded 4ithin the 6aran%al


44/251

centries the eastern part of the present 6aran%al


45/251

held their land, and the 5oya,at3arihad even scceeded in acirin% a holdin% of &' acres. ome

disptes over land $et4een 5oyas and non-tri$al toddy-tappers 4ere in 17! still nresolved. ?f &J'

acres of land in the possession of 5oyas, 1J' acres 4ere irri%ated, 1'' acres 4ere sed for the

cltivation of rain-fed rice, and the rest 4ere nder sch dry crops as maiEe and sor%hm.

8 complete contrast to this sitation 4as provided $y the villa%e of Chinna$oyenapalli, a fe4 miles

frther on the motor road to 2trna%aram. )ot lon% a%o this villa%e 4as a small, prely tri$al

settlement, $t in 17! 0 fond t4enty 5oya families otnm$ered $y ei%hty non-tri$als, most of4hom had 4ithin the past ten years immi%rated from )al%onda


46/251

land-%ra$$ers. 8s a matter of fact fe4 5oyas actally lived in the modern hoses. =ost families $ilt

ne/t to the KcolonyK hose a d4ellin% in traditional 5oya style, and sed the cement $ildin% as a store

hose for %rain and other a%ricltral prodce.

8 fe4 mintesI drive $rin%s one from Bttaram to the lar%e villa%e of +ohir, and there the reslts of alack of official protection $ecome apparent. +ohir is not a schedled tri$al villa%e, and &J 5oya and "J

)aikpod families are entirely overshado4ed $y 1!J immi%rant families $elon%in% to non-tri$al

commnities. =ost of the land $elon%s no4 to caste Hinds and Harians, and the 5oyas are eitherentirely landless or o4n an avera%e of a$ot t4o acres. (4elve 5oya families had cleared the forest on%overnment land and started cltivation, $t

3!

in 137 the same land 4as assi%ned to non-tri$al landlords resident in 2trna%aram, and these landlordsthen sold some of this land to Harian families of the villa%e. (his is a common process 4e have

o$served also in 8dila$ad: tri$als ndertake the heavy 4ork of makin% 4ooded land ara$le, only to $e

evicted 4hen the covetos eyes of non-tri$als are cast on their land and venal officials fall in 4ith theplan to dispossess the tri$als.

6hile in the 1's there 4ere many prely tri$al villa%es tcked a4ay in the interior of the forests of

6aran%al, $y 17! one had to %o a lon% 4ay over ro%h cart tracks to reach any villa%e 4here 5oyas

still lived ndistr$ed $y the claims of a%%ressive otsiders. (he streams 4hich thro%hot themonsoon impede access to sch settlements are the last $l4ark a%ainst the infiltrations of prospective

settlers, and every $rid%e or case4ay constrcted on sch forest tracks constittes a $reach in the

natral defenses of the tri$alsI traditional ha$itat.

0n )ovem$er 17!, 0 visited three villa%es 4here one cold still savor the tranil atmosphere of atraditional 5oya settlement. ?ne of these 4as 5orsela, 4hich 0 had last seen in 1'. 8t that time the

villa%e consisted of fifteen 5oya hoses and one hosehold of =adi%as, $t $y 17! the nm$er of

5oya hoses had increased to forty-t4o, not only o4in% to natral %ro4th $t also $ecase some

families from less favored villa%es had oined their kinsmen in 5orsela. 8 tank recently constrcted $ythe 0nte%rated (ri$al


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reside in the locality and left the 5oyas in possession, char%in% only a moderate rent. 8fter the $reak-

p of Hydera$ad tate the o4ner of the ma;taestate 4as approached $y +eddis and (ele%as from other

parts of 6aran%al


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9e%islative 8ssem$ly spportin% non-tri$als a%ainst tri$als osted from their land.

The !and "rob*em in 0hammam .istri+t

0n the areas adoinin% )arsampet (alk to the soth, the position of 5oyas and )aikpods is very similarto that of the tri$als of 6aran%al elland (alk there are still villa%es 4ith a

maority of 5oyas 4ho o4n the land they cltivate. 0n 177 0 visited ;ndela for the first time since1'. (he composition 4hich 0 had noted then had remained mch the same, 4ith =slims, 5omtis,

8yars, ;aondlas, and service castes occpyin% the main villa%e and 5oyas livin% in the srrondin%

hamlets. (he nm$er of non-tri$als had considera$ly increased, and a 5omti had $ilt a pretentios

masonry hose 4ith t4o to4ers. =ch of the villa%e land 4as in the hands of non-tri$als, 4hoemployed 5oyas as a%ricltral la$orers, $t many of the 5oyas in the hamlets also had land of their

o4n.

0n the sothern part of 5hammam


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pro$lem.

(he process of land alienation has also affected 8rkr, a villa%e of 1!7 5oya and & non-tri$al

hoseholds. (here ' percent of the land 4as cltivated on lease $y non-tri$als residin% in 5navaram.

(here 0

7"

(hrashin% paddy 4ith $llocks in a 5oya villa%e in the ;odavari *alley

the palmyra palms are sed for tappin% palm 4ine, and their leaves aresed for thatchin%.

talked to the 5oya headman and his edcated yon% son, the former in a loin-cloth Alangoti, the latter

in a pair of smart trosers and a patterned shirt. KUntil ten years a%o,K said the headman, K4hen the first

ne4comers $e%an to take land on lease, none of the people of this villa%e had to $orro4 money. ?rneeds 4ere modest and easily satisfied $y 4hat 4e %re4 on or fields. Bt no4 people 4ant all sorts of

ne4 thin%s 4hich the men from the coastal districts have introdced, and so they lease ot their land

for cash, %ettin% an annal rent of +s &'' per acre.K


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area, had settled in 5oida. (hey occpied the %reater part of the land, some cltivatin% as mch as forty

acres, 4hereas most +eddis and 5oyas 4ere left only 4ith small plots of one or t4o acres. (he non-

tri$al settlers spplied them 4ith %rain at e/or$itant rates of interest. (hs a man $orro4in% one $a% of

millet drin% the rains, 4hich is a lean season $ecase there is no 4ork in the $am$oo cops, had toretrn t4o $a%s after the harvest. 0f a +eddi cold not repay a

7

de$t, the merchants took a4ay his cattle or attached his land.

0t is not srprisin% that the tri$als %ot deeper and deeper into de$t and that more and more land passedinto the hands of the non-tri$al settlers. (hro%hot this process the revene and police officials

spported the merchants, and the dominant man amon% the settlers 4as appointed as police,atel,

displacin% the previos tri$al incm$ent. 2ven fnds allocated $y the (ri$al 6elfare


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everal tri$es of 8ndhra Pradesh 4ere traditionally,oducltivators, and it is only in the last fifty years

that considerations of forest conservancy led to varios measres aimed at the restriction or total

elimination of,odu. 0n 8dila$ad


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=ohanpram mutta, for instance, there 4ere only,odufields in 11, $t $y 17 flat land had $een

cleared of forest and sed for rice cltivation. (he villa%ers said that in the old days they reaped

sfficient %rain on their,odufields $ecase land 4as plentifl and they cold cltivate as mch as they

liked, %ro4in% mainly small millets and oilseeds, 4hereas no4adays they %ro4 paddy for their o4nconsmption and castor to sell for cash.

(he cltivation of paddy 4as not introdced $y any otside a%ency, $t 4ith the improvement of

commnications +eddis $ecame sed to visitin% markets at Chodavaram and 8ddati%ala, and there they$ecame familiar 4ith the si%ht of paddy fields and plo%hs dra4n $y o/en.

6herever the terrain lends itself to the cltivation of rice and hill streams facilitate irri%ation, the

transition to sch permanent cltivation relieves the pressre on land sed for ,odu. ch pressre has

77

arisen 4here the Forest


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7!

has $een a$andoned. 2ven slopes covered in r$$le are sed for cltivation, the crops $ein% di$$led in

$et4een the stones, 4hich are said to protect the soil from the heat of the sn and ths help to preserve

moistre. aoras sally cltivate a,odufield for t4o years and then allo4 it to remain fallo4 forseveral years. >et the period of fallo4 is sometimes no more than three years, and it is srprisin% that so

short a cycle of rotation is sfficient to retain the fertility of the soil.

6herever sita$le terrain and sorces of 4ater make rice cltivation possi$le, aoras constrct

irri%ated terraces, and tho%h,oduseems to $e the traditional $asis of aora a%ricltre, some aorasevince considera$le skill in the constrction and maintenance of terrace-fields. (he com$ination of

slash-and-$rn cltivation 4ith the raisin% of rice on irri%ated terrace-fields reminds one of the

a%ricltral system of the Bondos of near$y ?rissa, like the aoras a =nda-speakin% people.

(he aoras share their ha$itat 4ith the @ataps, the second lar%est tri$al commnity in rikaklam


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55/251


56/251

$ro%ht hosts of la$orers, partly to fell and cart trees, and partly to collect minor forest prodce 4hich

had $een actioned $y the Forest


57/251


58/251

!J

la%es of landlords 4hose,attaland inclded a fe4 hill slopes 4here they cold cltivate in their old

style, and if the landlord sheltered them from threats of e/plsion $y forest officials, they s$mitted to

any demands for npaid la$or.

(he standard of livin% of most 5olams 4as mch lo4er than that of ;onds, and their settlements 4eremch smaller than ;ond villa%es. 2ven in 11, they seldom consisted of more than t4elve hoses on

one site, 4hile in the days $efore the reservation of forests, hamlets of only three or for hoses 4ere

scattered over the hills at points convenient for,odu. 5olams shifted their hoses almost as often asthey shifted their fields their hoses 4ere small, often containin% only one room, and so to re$ild 4as

not mch tro$le. (heir economic resorces 4ere mch more limited than those of the ;onds. (he

crops so4n and reaped, consistin% mainly of small millets, sor%hm, maiEe, and certain ve%eta$les sch

as $eans, taro, and marro4s, provided a family 4ith sstenance only for a$ot seven or ei%ht months ayear, 4hile drin% the remainin% months 4ild frits, her$s, and roots formed the mainstay of the diet.

)either 5olams nor )aikpods %re4 any cash crops sch as cotton or oilseed for their cash

reirements they depended on the sale of n%le prodce and $askets, in the manfactre of 4hichthey 4ere e/pert.

6here ;onds and 5olams lived in close pro/imity, the ;onds sally settled at the foot of the hi%herrid%es and cltivated the valleys, platea/, and %entle slopes, 4hile the 5olams $ilt their hamlets on

rid%e tops and cltivated the steep hill-sides $elo4.

8t the time of the first demarcation of forest $ondaries, many 5olam and )aikpod villa%es 4eredis$anded and the inha$itants compelled to leave their hoses and the hill slopes they sed to cltivate.

?ther settlements, particlarly those in the immediate vicinity of ;ond villa%es, 4ere esta$lished as

enclaves in the forest, and in these 4ere inclded the hill slopes then actally nder cltivation. (ho%hnominally,odu4as here allo4ed to contine, the restriction of the land left to 5olams to that nder

cltivation at the time of demarcation virtally ended their traditional type of economy. 8fter a very

fe4 years the slopes inclded 4ithin the enclaves 4ere tterly e/hasted, and the 5olams 4ereprevented from clearin% any more forest. Conseently they had to move a4ay nless they 4ere a$le to

o$tain some level land and learn from their ;ond nei%h$ors the art of plo%hin%. (here 4ere in 11some 5olam settlements 4here most inha$itants practised plo%h cltivation the $llocks, ho4ever,4ere sally not their o4n, $t 4ere hired from either ;onds or merchants.

(he e/tent to 4hich the 5olamsI economy and social or%aniEation 4as $roken p $y the forest policy

of the late 1&'s and early 1's

!3

can $e d%ed from the developments in the (ilani tate Forest. (his massif of hills, in many parts$roken p $y deep ravines, sed to

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Tribes India