The parliamentary Standing Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes has demanded the Centre and State governments to submit reports concerning the Gotti Koya tribals who are worst affected due to Maoists violence. These tribals are located mainly in the states of Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra and have suffered deep socio-economic costs due to simmering conflict. The committee has requested documentation to the extent that would suffice to meet the needs of combating the problems of displacement, loss of occupation, and deficiencies in essential facilities to the Gotti Koya tribals. The committee has therefore stressed on need to address the ground realities so as to ensure that policies and measures for this disadvantaged group are well initiated.
Maoist violence forced Gotti Koya families to flee their homes in search of safer grounds but they were forced to do so without appropriate support to reconstruct new lives. Inadequate documentation and recognition have compounded their misfortune and access to government programs and aid is impossible for them.
The Standing Committee has also underlined the importance of the cooperative federalism between the Centre and State governments to resolve these problems. It has demanded inclusion of the Gotti Koya tribals in the Scheduled Tribes list for their better protection and welfare. It has also suggested provision of selective development plans for education, health and economical uplift of the Gotti Koya tribals.
Gotti Koya Tribals
The Gotti Koya tribals or Koyas are living mostly in the bordering district of Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in India. Known for their cultural practice, beliefs, and their social living style, the Gotti Koya tribals have been living a history of its own which social life has grown by its interaction with the natural surroundings and with their neighbours and the social-political transformation.
Origins and Early History
The Gotti Koya tribals are said to have evolved from the Koya tribe which is one of the biggest tribes found in the plateau region of the Deccan. “Gotti”, mean the smaller division of the Koya tribe who has particular accent, behaviour pattern and ways of living. Traditionally the Gotti Koyas have been seen as nomadic people engaged largely in hunting and collecting edible products from the forests that is experienced in the locality of the Gotti Koyas. Later they began to change their mode of living and became semi-nomadic adopting petty farming and stock rearing.
Social Structure and Culture
The Gotti Koya society contains clans which are overseen by a head of the clan known as the “Pedda”. It is therefore the order of the clan head who is responsible of social relationship, conflict solutions and culture bearer. They are rich in traditional songs, dances, and oral narratives, and like most Koya peoples, the Gotti Koyas have a great history. Hence, festivals and rituals are shown oriented around the agricultural calendar of the society as a demonstration of their closeness to nature.
Amongst the many customs of the Gotti Koya tribals one of their main festivals witnessed by people is that of “Bhumi Puja”; which is a worship of the land before the beginning of sowing. This festival demonstrates this aspect of the people as raw conservatives of the soil and the land as their source of income. Also the Gotti Koyas are aware of their rich and colourful dance styles, for instance the ‘Dimsa dance’ that is performed during any occasion or meeting.
Impact of Maoist Violence
Nowadays the Gotti Koya tribals continued to face tremendous problems because of the Maoist rebellion that was in the process in this area. The areas dominated by Gotti Koyas being covered by thickets and not easily accessible to the government forces are favourite grounds for Maoist’s activity, which has led to frequent confrontations between the two forces. This has left the Gotti Koya community a very devastated community, whereby they have been forced to abandon their normal research practices due to the violence that has ensued from the alleged land grabbing exercise.
Forced evictions have become another biggest problem to the Gotti Koya tribals where many families have been relocated from their ancestral homes and resettled in strange areas. Their primary source of income has disappeared and the basic needs of life including education, health and sanitation are still a dream to this community. Nevertheless, the tribals of Gotti Koya have proved their strength to come out of the problem in order to protect their cultural value and unity of the society.
Governments Interference and Future Outlook
Despite the above issues, Indian Government has realized the challenges and has introduced certain remedial measures for benefit of Gotti Koya tribals. Elements include the ones that sought to include education, health and income generation to the affected families. Due attention is also paid to the ethnographic records of the Gotti Koyas to use these data to revive and further develop the culture of this people.
Further, the parliamentary Standing Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes have recently asked for detailed reports on the Gotti Koya tribals stating it is time for the Centre and the State government to work in tandem. The solution to Socio-economic challenges of Gotti Koya Tribals and thereby including them in the Scheduled Tribe list is that the government has the intend to implement necessary safety networks for them.
Background to Maoist Violence and Social Effects on Tribal People of India
Syndicate of Maoist violence or Naxalite insurgency has remained a disturbing part of Indian reality for many long years. Naxalite movement was established in the year 1967 in the village called Naxalbari in West Bengal and is named by taking liberated ideas from Maoism. The Maoist’s rebel’s desire is to depose the Indian government as well as implement communism in the country. The main operations of both are stated in the “Red Corridor” that connects several states of India; Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
The tribal groups referred to as Adivasis have been worst affected by the Maoists insurgency in these areas. These indigenous people who suffer from social injustices and suffer neglect by society powers are trapped in the middle of the Maoist ranks and Government troops. Tribals live in forest and remote areas, so these places make Maoists to be very strong.
There are different ways, in which tribal society has been affected by Maoist violence. Displacement comes out as one of the most prominent impacts of global climatic change. Accordingly most of the tribal families lose their homes and have to move to the safer areas as the conflict gains its sums. This displacement erases their culture and displaces them both from the lands that are vital to their indigenous identity, and from their historical spaces and sources of income.
Furthermore, the current violence situation has contributed to the disintegration of functioning infrastructure in these areas. Education, health and other basic needs, infrastructure and service delivery appears and intensifies the socio-economic problems of the tribal people. This also poses a great limit on development activities and improvements of the infrastructures in the areas, which leads to the areas remaining backward and most of the population remaining poor.
The government has started taking efforts to put an end of the Maoist violence and the consequent affectations on tribal people. These are the security operation to counter the Maoist and the development operations intended to bring improvement in the socio-economic status of the affected area. However, those measures remain rather short-sighted, and the negative effects of the on-going conflict remain primarily dumped on the tribal populations.
Problems faced by Gotti Koya Tribals
The major problems being faced by the Gotti Koya tribals who mainly inhabit the border regions of Telangana, Chhattisgarh Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra has been a major challenge due to several socio- political, economic factors.
- Displacement and Migration: A major problem that the Gotti Koya tribals face is loss of their habitat, mainly, due to the Maoist problem. Consequently, similar to other Koya families, a number of Gotti Koya families have been displaced from their native place due to Military confronting Maoist groups. They are displaced, which renders them slope dwellers thus denying them the opportunity to be associated with their indigenous natural environment that is still part of their heritage and food basket.
- Livelihood and Economic challenges: the Gotti Koya tribals have lost their endowment rights to their land as a result of which their traditional agriculture practises, hunting and gathering have also been highly affected. Families are unable to access other sources of income hence they barely make it. In addition, struggling in the new settlements to look for jobs and business to run exposes them to Rickety Economies where they are likely to undergo exploitation hence become poor.
- Lack of Access to basic amenities: Displacement and migration have also led to reduced provision of most important services which include education, health and sanitation among the Gotti Koya tribals. This is because the infrastructure development in the new regions they settle is wanting in standards; education for example is deficient and the health facilities are missing or substandard. Lack of these basic amenities has a snowball effect on their poverty level.
- Social Marginalization: It is important to mention here that the Gotti Koya tribals were never accommodated well in the larger society. Their unique cultural practices, language, and traditions often set them apart, leading to social exclusion. This marginalization is as evident when they are dealing with government authorities and institutions within which they are invisible.
- Legal and Administrative Difficulties: Lack of documentation and official status only adds to the problem that the Gotti Koya tribals have to overcome. These native people cannot receive subsidies and other assistance from the state if it does not recognize them as members of the Scheduled Tribes. This is also a primary reason why many of them end up without proper records, to help them access land rights and other privileges; they are exposed to unfair exploitation and tilting.
Case Study: The displacement of Gotti Koya Tribals of Chhattisgarh
The Gotti Koya tribals, original inhabitants of Chhattisgarh especially Sukma district, had to leave the place leaving behind their homes because of rising Maoist activities. Due to a conflict between Maoist insurgent and government forces, the notion of ‘villages’ became insecure; thus, at least 10,489 people from 2,389 families, had to move out. These families migrated and settled in states like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
After displacement, the Gotti Koya tribals also find obstacles and hardships of their lives in newly established camps. The issues of land alienation made worse by denial of title deeds to many families mainly because they were treated as migrants and not afforded scheduled tribes status in Telangana. It limited their chance to receive social security provisions of the law and government programs aimed at assisting persons and groups of people who lost their jobs.
The Telangana government again encroached upon internally displaced Gotti Koya families in at least 75 clusters for the rehabilitation of their lost land and livelihoods. Some descriptions show that even after these forcible displacements, the official of the forest department destroyed houses of the displaced families and their crops. Nonetheless, the Gotti Koya tribals have not changed and still are eager to start a new life as people after suffering so many difficulties.
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and tribals’ rights activists have come forward to address the problem faced by the Gotti Koya tribals. It has sent a letter to the Union Home Ministry and the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha asking them to provide detailed reports on the implementation of its recommendations regarding the displaced Gotti Koya tribals and called upon to take policy decisions promptly to provide all relevant support.