In tribal backyard, Adivasi-Lambada tussle turns into electoral tinderbox

ASIFABAD: Netas drowned in the poll cacophony in Hyderabad may not sense the sparks flying in Telangana’s far-flung, predominantly tribal heartland where party colour or ideologies don’t matter — it’s the internecine, decades-old tussle between Adivasis and Lambadas which has spilled onto the poll arena. And, this will be the deciding factor in three seats, in particular, and 10 overall in the erstwhile Adilabad district, where the battle between the aboriginals and tribal settlers will be the clincher.
In 10 Assembly constituencies in the region, Asifabad (KB Asifabad), Boath (Adilabad) and Khanapur (Nirmal) are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the Adivasi-Lambada one-upmanship may decide the poll outcome in these constituencies in the state’s most backward belt.
Also, simmering tensions over removing Lambadas from the ST list is set to explode on the poll result in seven other constituencies in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Adilabad and Nirmal districts, which were part of the erstwhile Adilabad district.
“We will defeat candidates who mortgaged our self-respect at the altar of opportunism, even if they belong to our clan,” declared an Adivasi employee. That sums up the mood in the three tribal-dominated assembly constituencies. Till recently, Adivasis and Lambadas were daggers drawn. Now, with electioneering peaking in the last lap, contestants from the two groups have junked deep-rooted differences and joined hands to woo the electorate in the tribal heartland of erstwhile Adilabad. However, their public utterings have not gone down well with the warring groups. Adivasis, who constitute approximately 32-45% voters in the three constituencies, have launched a whisper campaign against their opponents.
“With winning being their primary objective, Adivasi contestants in Asifabad and Boath have begun issuing conciliatory statements. A popular Adivasi leader even went to the extent of saying we have been living harmoniously with Lambadas for past 100 years. They are willing to accommodate Lambadas for electoral politics, we are not ready for ‘banisatva brathukulu’ (lives of slaves),” Kotnaka Vijay Kumar of Adivasi Hakkula Porata Samiti (Tudum Debba), and a resident of Mokasiguda village in Asifabad, said. M Gunvanth Rao, a 26-year-old Raj Gond and government employee from Dam Gudem in Khanapur Assembly constituency, said major political parties have not fielded Adivasi candidates. “Adivasi votes will certainly split in our constituency as the battle is between two Lambada leaders,” he said, adding “we will ensure it goes to the right candidate.”
Manga Pedanna, an auto driver, who belongs to Naikpod tribe from Gandigopalpur, is even more forthcoming. “Major parties have ditched the Adivasis. We will teach them a lesson on Dec 7,” he says.
Gaja Bheemiah, 70, of Rampur, a gudem (hamlet) in Khanapur constituency in Nirmal district, lost his bull recently and gave up farming. Instead, he and his wife make bamboo fences for a living. “Government agencies offered assistance to build a one-room tenement eight years ago. After starting the work, the contractor left it midway. We continue to live in our ramshackled house,” he said.
“For us, voting is an exercise to prove that we are not counted among the dead,” he adds. According to the Integrated Tribal Development Authority, Utnoor, which oversees development programmes in the tribal belt, there are 4.9 lakh tribals as per 2011 Census in the erstwhile Adilabad district.