Timely intervention of Indervelli police late on Monday averted a possible clash between Kolam Adivasi and Lambada tribes at Harkapur village in Indervelli mandal of Adilabad district following descration of a place of worship.
The Kolams were livid following burning down of their deities in a makeshift temple under a tree in a field near the village and the incident assumes importance in the wake of the ongoing differences between Adivasi and Lambada tribes in the State.
The deities were set afire on Monday morning but the incident came to light only in the evening. The nearly 50 Kolam families in the village objected to desecration of their place of worship and lodged a complaint in Indervelli police station the previous evening.
It may be stated here that Adivasis have makeshift structures for temples under trees. The aboriginal people have worshipped the deities in the same way since centuries and the temple that was desecrated was of Rajulk pen. Kolam Patel or village headman Athram Abiman alleged that the sacrilege was committed by the Lambada farmer who tills the land. The farmer has encroached upon the land surrounding the Rajulk Pen temple a couple of years ago and this season burnt down the place of worship.
Raj Gond elder Sidam Bheem Rao, a former chairman of the Aboriginal Tribes Welfare Advisory Committee of the Utnoor ITDA, termed it as a ploy meant to force the Kolam ethnic people out of the village so that the aggressors can occupy the fields and have the village vacated. He said this is the second such incident, after Arjuni Kolmaguda in Gadiguda mandal where within the matter of a few days when Kolam deities were desecrated and the Adivasis were compelled to abandon the village owing to their beliefs.
Utnoor DSP K. Venkatesh and Indervelli SI S. Gangaram intervened and convinced the Lanbada in the village to earmark land for re-establishment of the Kolam temple at the same place. The latter agreed which prevented matters from deteriorating.
The DSP also promised that the aboriginal Kolams would be given all the material needed to perform purification of the temple and resume worship. Mr. Bheem Rao however, said the real culprit in the incident needs to be identified to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
