CHINTOOR (ASR DISTRICT)
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Ravva Deve, a Muria tribal woman and mother of four, fled the Dandakaranya region in Chhattisgarh a decade ago to rebuild a new life in Andhra Pradesh while the conflict between naxalites and State-sponsored Salwa Judum was at its peak between 2004 and 14.
Since then, Ms. Deve’s family, along with 33 more families from her native village, formed a settlement, Chukkalapadu, in a reserve forest in Chintoor Agency in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. By 2024, over 6,200 Murias have settled in the 54 settlements, locally known as Internal Displaced People (IDP) settlements, in the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh.
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All those who fled Chhattisgarh have the privilege of possessing two voter identity cards in their name — one when they enrolled as voters in their native village, and another in their new settlement in Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra Pradesh, Ms. Deve got her vote in 2018 and exercised her franchise in the 2019 general elections. She is again set to cast her vote in 2024.
“I have two voter ID cards issued each in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. I carry both of them while moving along the State borders to show my identity”, said Ms. Deve.
Connection with their roots
Living along the Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State borders, the Murias need to venture out of the reserve forest for weekly shandies, visit families in the nearby settlements and functions, and cross the Andhra Pradesh border to visit their families and relatives in Chhattisgarh.
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Many Murias who are still in touch with their families in Chhattisgarh exercise their franchise in Chhattisgarh, while others use their voter ID card for their identity purposes while moving along the State borders.
According to their own admission by the Murias, many families are still associated with their relatives in Chhattisgarh and are engaged in the cultivation of their family land. They would also send their children to pursue studies in Chhattisgarh.
Domicile claim
Muria tribal farmer Ravva Pojayya says; “We will make sure that every voter exercises his/her franchise in every election in Andhra Pradesh. We see the right to vote as an official certification that we belong to this State. We have decided not to return to our home State”.
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Living in the reserve forests, the Murias face the threat of ‘displacement’ from their present settlements whenever the Forest Department launches an eviction drive. The political parties extended their fullest cooperation to the Murias for the voter enrolment in Andhra Pradesh. By 2024, the Muria settlements have not been officially designated as Revenue Villages, according to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department.
However, they had been enrolled as voters in their nearby Gram Panchayats in the four mandals — Yetapaka, V.R. Puram, Kunavaram and Chintoor — in Chintoor Agency. Suspecting Murias bonds with their ancestral villages, where Left Wing Extremist groups are still active, some political leaders who contest from the Agency do not visit the Muria settlements and skip their election campaign.
No amenities
“We have the right to vote in Andhra Pradesh. However, there are no schools in many Muria settlements, no access to safe drinking water and no mid-day meal for children. Obtaining a caste certificate in the name of ‘ST-Muria’ is still a dream in Andhra Pradesh, where we cannot claim any right that is guaranteed for the rest of the tribes”, said Ravva Jogaiah, Chukkalapadu Patel (Village Head).
The Murias also cast their vote in the local body elections, with the hope that the local bodies would come to their rescue to meet their basic needs. By 2024, the votes of many Murias are believed to have been deleted in Chhattisgarh. However, the tribal people are keeping their Chhattisgarh voter ID cards as a source of their nativity and free access along the inter-State borders. Every Muria family preserves their old voter ID cards to claim their past.