Adilabad: The Congress is working to strengthen its base among Adivasi communities in Telangana. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has been regularly engaging with Adivasi leaders and making efforts to address their concerns.
Sources indicate that plans are underway to launch a large-scale Adivasi movement from Telangana in protest against the BJP’s alleged anti-Adivasi policies at the national level.
The Congress is expected to extend support to democratic Adivasi organisations operating in the state.
Recently, an Adivasi meeting was held in Adilabad town, bringing together leaders from various Adivasi organisations in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. They discussed the challenges faced by Adivasis across the country.
In a significant step, the state government has agreed to allocate funds for the construction of 120 ‘Rai Centres’, traditional Adivasi decision-making institutions, and to sanction an additional 3,000 Indiramma houses for Adivasi families through Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs) in respective districts.
It is also reported that the Chief Minister made the decision to keep Government Order (GO) No. 49 in abeyance, acknowledging the opposition to it from Adivasi communities. The Congress is now focusing on consolidating its presence in ST-reserved Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana.
Adilabad former MP and Raj Gond Seva Samiti state president Soyam Bapu Rao announced that a ‘Save Adivasi’ public meeting will be held in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, on August 10. A larger national-level meeting is also planned in Delhi.
He alleged that the BJP government is undermining constitutional safeguards for Adivasis and that communities across India are beginning to protest. An action plan has been drawn up to preserve Adivasi culture and constitutional rights, including outreach meetings in all Adivasi gudems (hamlets) in the erstwhile Adilabad district.
Soyam Bapu Rao also stated that Adivasis from 339 gudems within the Komaram Bheem Conservation Reserve will participate in International Indigenous Day celebrations on August 9, to be held at the Komaram Bheem district headquarters. The event will highlight how lands belonging to Adivasis are allegedly being handed over to industrialists.
Adivasi leaders also claim that the state government is likely to take a favourable decision regarding the issuance of land pattas for podu (forest) lands currently under Adivasi cultivation.
Meanwhile, political discussions are underway about a potential large-scale Adivasi movement demanding that the BJP-led Central government include a separate ‘religion’ column for Adivasis in the upcoming National Census.
