Adivasis and Lambada conflict in Telangana

What is the issue?

Adivasis and the Lambadas of Telangana are in dispute over share of government benefits.

Who are Lambadas?

• The Lambadi (0r) Lambada community is a part of the Banjara or the nomadic tribes.
• These people are forest wanderers or Gypsies originally from Rajasthan.
• Many centuries ago these people moved in large groups towards the south of the sub-continent viz. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, for trade and agriculture.
• They speak in a Lambada dialect (which is a combination of Sanskrit, Rajasthani and Guajarati), and many of them have also learnt to speak the languages predominantly used in their respective areas of settlement.
• The Lambadas prefer not to mingle with other people and live is small settlements in the outskirts of a town.

What is the conflict between Adivasis and Lambada?

• Before 1976 there were only nine aboriginal tribes in the Telangana incorporated through Article 342, in which Lambadas where not present.
• The inclusion of the Lambadas in the list of Scheduled Tribes in 1976 was done through an ordinance.
• The Adivasis claim that the Lambadas do not qualify as a Scheduled Tribe because the process of their inclusion in the ST list in 1976 was incomplete.
• According to the ordinance the Telangana Lambadas were identified as a plains tribe with reservation restricted to education.
• But due to political and bureaucratic influences the Lambada community has advantages in employments over the Aboriginals.
• The aboriginal people claim they have been overlooked in employment and education.

How Lambadas are privileged?

• In 1976 due to the pressure from Lambada leader this community was included in the ST list.
• The Amendment Act in question removed the regional boundaries so that the Lambadas in Telangana also got to be categorised as Scheduled Tribes.
• Apart from this the Lambadas make use of many of their favourable men in various ministries and in departments of the governments.

What are the actions taken by the state government?

• The State government is “quantifying” the alleged disparity in development by collecting district-wise figures of tribal employment at all levels, especially revenue and education.
• The process of shifting Lambada officials from key posts has begun with the transfer of Collector and District Revenue Officers.

Source: The Hindu