Gondi people

The Gonds
Regions with significant populations
India 1,32,56,928[1][2]
              Madhya Pradesh 50,93,124[2]
              Chhattisgarh 42,98,404[2]
              Maharashtra 16,18,090[2]
              Odisha 8,88,581[2]
              Uttar Pradesh 5,69,035[2]
              Andhra Pradesh (old) 3,04,537[2]
              Bihar 2,56,738[2]
              Karnataka 1,58,243[2]
              Jharkhand 53,676[2]
              West Bengal 13,535[2]
              Gujarat 2,965[2]
Languages
Gondi, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi
Religion

Gondi ( Koya Punem ).

[3]
Related ethnic groups
Rajput

The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond people are Adivasi people of central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra (Vidarbha),[4] Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Western Odisha.

The Gond are also known as the Raj Gond. The term was widely used in 1950s, but has now become almost obsolete, probably because of the political eclipse of the Gond Rajas.[5] The Gondi language is closely related to the Telugu, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages. About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages including Hindi.

According to the 1971 census, their population was 5.1 million. By the 1991 census this had increased to 9.3 million[5] and by 2001 census this was nearly 11 million. For the past few decades they have been at the receiving end of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in the central part of India.[6] Gondi people were made to act as a militia against Naxalites by the Government of Chhattisgarh through Salwa Judum.

History

Scholars believe that Gonds settled in Gondwana, now known as eastern Madhya Pradesh, between the 13th and 19th centuries AD. Muslim writers described a rise of Gond state after the 14th century.

Gonds ruled in four kingdoms (Garha-Mandla, Deogarh, Chanda, and Kherla) in central India between the 16th and 18th centuries. They built number of forts, palaces, temples, tanks and lakes during the rule of the Gonds dynasty. The Gondwana kingdom survived until the late 16th century. They also gained control over the Malwa after the decline of the Mughals followed by the Marathas in 1690. The Maratha power swept into Gondland in the 1740s. The Marathas overthrew the Gond Rajas (princes) and seized most of their territory. While Some Gond zamindaris (estates) survived until recently.[7]

Science and beliefs

Many astronomy ideas were known to ancient Gonds.[8] Gond tribals had their own local terms for Sun, Moon, Constellations and Milky way. Most of these ideas were basis for their time keeping and calendrical activities. Other than Gonds the Banjaras and Kolams are also known to have knowledge of astronomy.[9]

Their typical reaction to death has been described as one of anger because they believe it is caused by magical demons.[10]

Classification

They are a designated Scheduled Tribe in Andhra Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal.[11]

The Government of Uttar Pradesh had classified the Gondi people as a Scheduled Caste but by 2007, they were one of several groups that the Uttar Pradesh government had redesignated as Scheduled Tribes.[12] As of 2017, that tribal designation applies only to certain districts, not the entire state.[13] The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Scheduled Caste Gond population as 21,992.[14]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "List of notified Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  3. ↑ Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011
  4. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=X39c2VODLT0C&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=royal+gonds&source=bl&ots=0Ma0RGj47o&sig=rurWYLnJxqTJZnGHtkrfXUECmOI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sf29VJDEHZfh8AXC8oHQCw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=royal%20gonds&f=false
  5. 1 2 Verma, R. C. (2002). Indian Tribes Through the Ages. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. ISBN 978-8-12300-328-3.
  6. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/bringing-rural-realities-on-stage-in-urban-india/article7592193.ece?homepage=true
  7. ↑ Bates, Crispin (1995). "Race, Caste and Tribe in Central India: the early origins of Indian anthropomorphize". In Robb, Peter. The Concept of Race in South Asia. Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-19-563767-0. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  8. ↑ http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1306/1306.2416.pdf
  9. ↑ http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1406/1406.3044.pdf
  10. ↑ Santrock, John W. (2017). Life-Span Development (16th International ed.). McGraw Hill. p. 598. ISBN 9781259254833.
  11. ↑ "List of notified Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census India. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "State At A Glance - Uttar Pradesh". Pratiyogita Darpan. 2 (13): 81. July 2007.
  13. ↑ "State wise Scheduled Tribes — Uttar Pradesh" (PDF). Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
  14. ↑ "A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2017-02-06.

Videography

This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Study on India.

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