The Adivasi population is on the verge of getting fragmented due to reorganisation of Adilabad district. With formation of Asifabad district imminent, the aboriginal tribes would get divided into four parts, which may be conducive for administrative purposes but would have a deep impact on their culture and traditions, harming their interest as well, especially in residual Adilabad.
Asifabad would become an entity encompassing 14 present mandals falling under Asifabad and Sirpur Assemby constituencies, though the number would swell to 18 thanks to formation of four new mandals. The tribal population in the existing district, the majority of whom are Adivasis, is 1,38,133. A majority of them are in areas which would come under the proposed Kumram Bheem Mancherial and residual Adilabad district.
A large chunk of the aboriginal tribes from the KBM district — 97,142 in number to be precise —would become a part of Asifabad district, leaving the remaining 52,463 to it. While the tribal population of Nirmal district remains unchanged at 80,576, residual Adilabad will contribute 40,991 of its tribals from the purely tribal mandals of Jainoor and Sirpur (U) to Asifabad. leaving itself with the largest chunk of tribals numbering 2,24,662 of the total of 4,95,794.
Of the five purely tribal mandals, Utnoor, Narnoor, and Indervelli would remain in Adilabad, and the Adivasis in these mandals fear discrimination at the hands of the more developed plains tribe of Lambada. The population of the latter is 93,244 in these mandals.
“We will be numerically smaller, and the Lambadas will corner all benefits like government jobs and education scholarships,” said Pandram Jaiwanth Rao, State vice-president of the Adivasi Sankshema Parishad. “To end such discrimination, the government should form a separate district comprising of tribals with its headquarters at Utnoor, the headquarters of the Integrated Tribal development Agency (ITDA).”
Mr. Rao’s accusation holds ground going by the statistics available on some of the key aspects of tribal development in the district. For example, the number of Gond Adivasi teachers in Tribal Welfare Ashram Schools was 151 against 263 Lambadas. A total of 251 Lambada students were studying engineering, and eight were enrolled as medicos. This, against two Gond engineering students and none who a medicos, revealed preliminary research conducted by the ITDA in 2010 for the first time.
