Demand for Banjara tribal language academy
The first tribal script in Banjara language has been prepared

HYDERABAD, August 4, 2008: The Lambada Hakkula Porata Samiti and Jagathi Mahila Mandal on Sunday demanded that the state government fulfil its promise of setting up a special academy for development of tribal language.

This promise was made by the then minister for school education, N Rajyalakshmi, in 2004. She had promised that the academy would be set up with headquarters at Hyderabad and it would work to encourage tribal students to go to school. But since then there has not been much progress.

The tribals in Telangana have the capacity to tilt the balance of at least 45-50 assembly seats in the elections, according the Lamabada Hakkula Porta Samiti president Banoth Rukmini Naik. She said the samithi would meet the leaders of all political parties including Chiranjeevi after he launched his party, and urge them to support their cause.

Talking to TOI, she said there are 33 tribes and none of them has a script of their own and this is causing difficulties in coping up with the education. As a result, majority of them drop out at the primary level.

But now following a consistent effort for almost three decades, the first tribal script in Banjara language has been prepared with the help of English alphabets by Chilkuri Amar Varaprasad who is himself a Banjara. This script was examined by several experts from various universities and had been approved by experts, she added.

The reason for developing the script in English, she said was because Banjaras were spread across the country and this book would help all the Banjaras.

The script would have 50 letters including vowels and consonants. She said that the state government had allocated seven per cent of the budget for the backward classes for the tribals, and if it can open exclusive schools for tribals in the Telangana districts where the maximum number of tribals in the state belong to, it would help thousands of tribal students who were otherwise languishing. (With thanks from "Times of India")

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AJMEERA CHANDULAL EX. M.P/EX.MINISTER--WARANGAL
POROKA JAGAN NAIK EX. MINISTER---MULUGU
AJMEERA GOVIND NAIK M.L.A.--KHANAPUR
RAVINDRA KUMAR M.L.A.--DEVARA KONDA
M. B. CHOWAN EX. M.L.A.-DEVARA KONDA
KISHAN SINGH EX.M.L.A.--NIZAMA BAD
AMARSING TILAWATH EX. MINISTER--ASIFABAD
RAVINDRA NAIK M.P.WARANGAL
DANAVANTHI CHAIRPERSON Z.P. WARANGAL
RATHOD RAMESH CHAIRMAN Z.P.ADILABAD
REDYA NAYAK MINISTER--WARANGAL
BHARATI BAI.D M.L.C.-DEVER KONDA
Late Raghya Naik.D EX.M.L.A.--DEVER KONDA
Late NARSING NAIK EX.M.P. (RAJYA SABHA)
Late G. SWAMY NAIK EX.M.P. (RAJYA SABHA)

Information sent by : Dr Prahalad Ajmeera (E-Mail : ajmeera_7889@yahoo.co.in)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lambadas celebrate ‘Teez’ festival
NALGONDA, August 4, 2007 (Staff Reporter): It’s festivity time for Lambadas. Almost all the tribal hamlets are celebrating “Teez” festival, molakala (sprouts) panduga in local parlance, with gaiety and devotion. Though wheat seedlings take centre stage of the rituals, interestingly, the festival meant for wellbeing of unmarried girls.

Plant seeds: As part of the annual festival, the womenfolk, especially unmarried girls, plant wheat seeds in specially made small bins and water them for nine successive days. They place them on sheds made of sticks and leaves or a pandal and perform special pujas. “We treat the seedlings as all Gods and Goddesses and pray them for the bright future of our to-be-married girls,” her relative Shanti said. The tribals dance to the tune of drums placing the small bins on their heads.

The Teez festival is a blend of Ganesh and Batukamma festivals. The youngsters of the village steal the bins to tease the girls. The Banjaras perform this festival for nine days of their choice in the months of July to October.

As there is sufficient water in the Nagarjunasagar reservoir the festive is celebrated with more pomp. (With Thanks from "The Hindu")
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Death Anniversary of Ranjit Naik is on 30th July
Anantapur, July 1, 2007: Third Death Anniversary of Late Mr. Ranjit Naik, then president of All-India Banjara Seva Sangh will be organised at Sevagarh near Gooty in the district Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh on 30th, July, 2007.

Naik is a native of Anantapur district. He was also the president of Sevalal Maharaj Charitable Trust, Sevagarh, set up after the Banjara saint Sevalal, who hailed from Sevagarh. Naik also served as the editor of `Banjara' and `Roma' fortnightly magazines in Hindi and English. Late Ranjit Naik is also known as "Architect of Goaars".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Ravindra Naik MP claims signatures were forged
Hyderabad, April 25: Telangana Rashtra Samiti MP from Warangal D. Ravindra Naik on Wednesday said that three persons tried to get visas to Japan using his fake letter-heads and signature and alleged that no action was taken despite lodging a police complaint last year. Another TRS MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy claimed that some persons offered him money to take people abroad but he rejected the offer.

According to Mr Naik he received a letter from the Consulate General of Japan, Chennai, to verify whether he had recommended issuance of visas to Antrapulu Satish Kumar, Rafiuddin and Mohammed Ishaq for visiting Japan. "I promptly wrote back to the Consulate stating that I had not recommended visas for these people and requested them to send copies of the recommendation letters to me for verification. When the consulate sent me the letters, I found all of them, including my signature, to be fake," he said.

Mr Naik said he had written to the consulate to reject the visas since the recommendation letters were fake. He said he had lodged a complaint with additional DGP (intelligence) twice and also with the CCS to take stringent action against the culprits. "After repeated enquiries, I was told that action was initiated against them, but I don’t know as to what action had been taken," he explained.

The fake recommendation letters mention the three persons as Mr Naik’s personal assistant and two members of parliamentary ST Committee going to Japan to study Metro Rail System for nine days from June 5 to June 13, 2006. He, however, admitted he and party MP Madhusudhan Reddy had handed their passports to Mr A. Narendra last year in connection with a proposed visit to Pakistan. (With Thanks from Deccan.com)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Educating the kids of Lambada Tribe: C. Muralimohan—Sadhana Educational Resource Centre, Andhra Pradesh, India
C.Muralimohan is addressing the challenge of educating the children of rural migrant workers. Through innovative interventions and mechanisms geared to retain these children in schools while their parents are away, Muralimohan is giving shape to an entirely new community structure which has direct impact on the region and truly all of India.

Beginning his work among the Lambada tribe, the largest tribal group in the neglected multistate border areas of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Muralimohan is creating unique support systems to enable children of migrant workers to continue with their education.

A tribal gypsy community which traces its roots back to the Roma of Eastern Europe, the Lambada, about 40 lakh in population, comprises the largest tribal group in Andhra Pradesh. The state is home to the second-largest scheduled tribe population in southern India and has the seventh largest tribal population in the country. Their region’s propensity for drought forces the Lambada tribespeople to migrate seasonally for work. For a period of about six months every year, they travel to the neighboring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra and engage in agricultural labor. The children often begin but cannot complete school due to problems keeping up attendance. Andhra Pradesh is also the worst affected by naxalism with about 18 naxal groups active in 12 of the state’s 23 districts. They follow various ideological lines of Left extremism. The People's War Group, skilled in guerilla and jungle warfare, is the most feared force. While local administrations run a few soft programmes among the tribals and multistate border populations to contain the menace, the states sharing borders prefer to pass the buck around, disowning immediate responsibility. Those caught in the middle are the poor tribal youth, whose frustrations lead them into these extremist folds.

Muralimohan realizes that seasonal migration is inevitable and he cannot stop it. He is therefore providing acceptable alternatives to the problems of schooling by introducing innovative methods like mobile schools for very young children who must accompany their parents to job sites and residential bridge schools for those who have lagged behind in the curriculum and need to come up to the required standard in order to join the mainstream. He has 3 parts to his program: mobile schools that move with children, residential camps that help children re-attain their grade level, and homestay programs that let children stay behind in their communities to continue school. In the past two years, he has admitted 6,500 children to mainstream schools and is currently preparing another batch of 3,200. In 2006, the first Lambada girl to ever reach this point in school will take the graduation examination.

For Muralimohan, education is a fundamental building block of development. His long-term vision is for these children to reap the benefits of education by using it to find solutions to the issues of loss of traditional livelihoods, poverty and socio-political exclusion affecting such tribal communities.Therefore Muralimohan is also instilling a sense of identity and inclusion on the community level through the Tribal Development Forum, which encourages participation in governance at the village level (the panchayat system) by mobilizing youth groups and community elders to act as initiators and guardians of the democratic process. The latter is intended to connect them to the larger democratic canvas, particularly with regard to basic rights and allocation of resources.

Muralimohan is currently working in 100 Lambada villages in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh. Last year, his organization Sadhana registered a success of 100% enrollment in various schools in the district. More important, Muralimohan’s model is also applicable to other seasonal migratory populations spread out over the rest of India. Murali’s future plans are focused on expanding his school program, retaining the current crop of 11,500 children in their schools, and strengthening the second generation leadership and the state network. His vision extends to bringing together several thandas so that they can negotiate for their own Panchayat. Thus he is also preparing to share his experiences in all he multistate border areas from Kashmir in the north to Orissa and West Bengal in the east and Rajasthan and Chattisgarh in the west and mid-west. His methods and strategies, primarily the youth forums, are being replicated by 15 NGOs working in areas with such problems. Child Relief and You (CRY), India’s most well-known NGO and donor agency working for child rights has showcased his work in their Childhood Matters series and made it mandatory for beneficiaries to replicate it.

With over 20 years of experience in the social sector, Muralimohan is widely respected in the area of Education for his success in training teachers and activists in non-formal education methods and for developing child-friendly models of education. He has worked with the famous M.V. Foundation and then set up Sadhana Educational Resource Centre to work with the lambadas. Strongly against the current education system’s focus on only literacy, Muralimohan’s vision is to nurture children and youth to grow into aware, alert and conscious citizens. Muralimohan lives in Hyderabad with his wife, who is a teacher and two sons, aged 16 and 12. (With Thanks from "khemkafoundation.org")
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dhananjay Naik Mood's Book 'Nanhe Muktak Paanee Ke' Released
A E-mail from Dhananjay Naik Mood

Dear Om Prakash Kamal Ji,

I thank you for covering the news of invitation of the release function of the book written by me by Title "Neeti Naaneelu" at Dr. N.T.R Kalaamandiram, P.S.Telugu University, Nampally, Hyderabad on 06-02-2007 at 6.00PM.

I am attaching few photos of the function while briefing the proceedings of the function.

The poetic form of book consists of small poems on 'Importance of water', ‘water conservation' etc. It has been translated in 'HINDI' by Prof. K.L.Vyas of Osmania University, Hyderabad in the name of "Nanhe Muktak Paanee Ke". Both the Telugu and Hindi versions were released and dedicated to my parents Smt. Mood Baju Bai and Mood Manthriya Naik.

Mr. Rajendra Singh, a Raman Megasese Awardee of Rajasthan, Reknowned Water Activist, Tarun Bharath Sangh's chief has graced the Occasion and released the book. The convention was proceeded under the Chairmanship of Prof. N.Gopi, a Reknowned Poet and Former Vice Chancellor of Telugu University.

The Telugu book was reviewed by Prof. Mutyam Reddy of Osmania University and the Hindi version was reviewed by the reknowned Gujarati Poet Sri. Ramanic Someshwar Ji and the translator Prof. K.L.Vyas, Professor of Hindi, Osmania Unoiversity, Hyderabad.

The speakers have appreciated the effort of the poet for publishing a book exclusively written on the theme of conservation of Water and narrating the situation of todays water crisis and need to conserve water and need to react on the problem. The need of the Day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goaar Poet Dhananjay Naik Mood's Book Release Function on Feb. 6th
A Invitation from Dhananjay Naik Mood

Hyderabad, February 4, 2007:

I solicit your gracious presence to the occassion of the release function of the book written by me by Title "Neeti Naaneelu" at Dr. N.T.R Kalaamandiram, P.S.Telugu University, Nampally, Hyderabad on 06-02-2007 at 6.00PM.

It is a poetry consisting of small poems on 'importance of water' ‘water conservation' etc. It has been translated in Hindi by Prof. K. L. Vyas of Osmania University, Hyderabad in the name of "Nanhe Muktak Paanee Ke". Both the Telugu and Hindi versions are being released and dedicated to my parents Smt. Mood Baju Bai and Mood Manthriya Naik.

Mr. Rajendra Singh, a Raman Megasese Awardee of Rajasthan, Reknowned Water Activist, Tarun Bharath Sangh's chief is releasing the book and Ramanic Someswar, Well-known poet of Gujarat is addressing the occassion under the Chairmanship of Prof. N.Gopi, Former Vice Chancellor of Telugu University.

Please make it convenient for gracing the occassion.

Thanking you.

Dhananjay Naik Mood, Email: dhananjaynaikmood@yahoo.co.in
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Banjara MP D. Ravinder Naik's demand SC, ST benefits for community

NEW DELHI: The six crore-strong Banjara (nomadic) community spread all over the country wants addition of a new schedule to the Constitution giving them same benefits as enjoyed by the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.

It also wants inclusion of its language the ‘Gor Boli’ spoken by six crore people into the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

Making these demands, one of the two MPs belonging to the Banjara community D Ravinder Naik announced the formation of a All India Gor-Banjara Dal which would work towards development of the community.

At a press conference here today, Mr Naik said there were one lakh ‘Tandas’ or settlements of Banjaras, 90 per cent of which were devoid of all basic civic amenities.

He claimed that since Independence no Government has ever thought about this community whose population, if nomadic tribes are taken into account amounts up to ten crores. Ninety per cent of these people are living below poverty line, with majority majority of them are small farmers or petty traders.

The MP, who belongs to the Telengana Rajya Samiti, said he would raise these issues in Parliament soon.

He said it was unfortunate that a language spoken by even a lakh of people has been include in the eighth schedule, but the ‘Gor Boli’ of Banjaras spoken by over six crore people has been denied this status.

He said his organisation also wanted creation of a Central Development Board for Banjaras.

There are twelve kinds of Banjaras: Gawaria, Maru, Bazigar, Brijbhashi, Sirkiband, Dhankuta, Nat, Gwal, Bradi, Sikligar, Mathura and Sansi.

Majority of Banjaras live in Uttar Pradesh followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Mr Naik said.

(With Thanks from Daily Excelsior)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congress and Telugu Desam Parties are responsible for the woes of Lambadas

MIRYALAGUDA (NALGONDA DT), December 11, 2006: Balladeer Gadar has blamed the successive Governments for the alleged sale of infants in tribal thandas in Nalgonda district.

Addressing an impressive meeting christened `Telangana Aaata Paata' here on Sunday night, he said: "Tribals are being completely sidelined by the Congress and Telugu Desam Governments and both the parties are responsible for the woes of Lambadas." Lambasting Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's Government for taking up Pulichintala project and according permission to field firing range in Rachakonda hill range, he said, "The hapless tribals have already sold 1,000 infants."

Song and dance: As a sequel to the balladeer's speech, a budding singer Aswani sang a song on the inhuman sale of baby girls in thandas. Dappu Ramesh, Santosh, Goranti Venkanna, Maabhoomi Sandhya and others enthralled audience with their songs and dance. Earlier, hundreds of activists of 30 Telangana-based organisations took out a rally from municipal complex to Government Junior College, venue of the cultural show. The convener of 30 organisations Pasam Yadagiri said that "Telangana is not a sentiment but it's a physical necessity of this region." He observed that the people of this region couldn't live without a separate State.

Yadagiri and Gadar released a Telugu book on `Telangana movement — future programmes' penned by B.S. Ramulu on the occasion. (With Thanks from "the Hindu")
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Book on Banjaras released

VISAKHAPATNAM (July 31, 2006): `Banjaarala Charitra - Andhralo Vikasa Prasthanam' authored by Banavath Kusuma Kumari was released at a function organised at the Andhra University here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education, Prof. K.C. Reddy, said that there was a need to bring out books on the historical development and contributions of various communities, tribes and religions towards unity and integration in the country.

He added that the Banjaras had contributed to diversity of the country and complimented the author for bringing out the book. Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University L. Venugopal Reddy said that the university has been encouraging its scholars and faculty to publish more booksand added that the Telugu Department had contributed to the literary renaissance in the State.

Principal College of Arts and Commerce J.V. Prabhakara Rao, Head of Department E. Viswanatha Reddy and others spoke.

(With Thanks from The Hindu)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Lambada Community's Plight
W. CHANDRAKANTH in Hyderabad

PEOPLE of the Lambada tribe lead peripheral lives in thandas (hamlets) sprinkled across Andhra Pradesh. Some of them still follow a nomadic lifestyle. But whether they are on the move or settled in a hamlet in the poverty-ridden Telengana region, life has always been harsh for them.

Lambadas hardly own anything in terms of land or property. Their culture is different from the mainstream cultures. Lambada rituals have nothing in common with the rituals of the plains people. Traditionally, Lambadas or Banjaras have moved in groups.

Community celebrations were in vogue. Hardworking and sincere, they depended on forest produce and odd jobs for a living. Work was equally shared between husband and wife. A strong family bond and a strong thanda bond were the hallmarks of Lambada life.

Oli or bride fee was prevalent in the earlier days. Each Banjara youth had to pay both in cash and in kind to secure the hand of a girl. A couple of milch animals often served as bride fee.

All this changed in the last decade when thousands of Lambada families transformed themselves into agricultural workers and adopted the ways of the mainstream population. Lambada labour comes cheap and they never shy away from work. Often they take up annual contracts at low rates. Landowners find in them a hardworking and undemanding workforce.

A Lambada employed as a farmhand earns less than Rs.3,000 a year. A little paddy, maize or jowar and a set of new clothes once or twice a year are enough to make a Lambada worker content. Lambada women supplement the family income by working in fields and as domestic help. Illiteracy and ignorance about family planning practices among the Lambadas result in large families. Curiously, most of them have female children. The anaemic and ailing mothers find it difficult to take care of their children. Infanticide was known to be practised by members of the tribal group.

The Lambadas have benefited from very few welfare programmes implemented by the government. Neither social workers nor non-governmental organisations (NGOs) paid attention to their plight until recently. The literacy rate is an abysmal 1.8 per cent among females; among males it is at best five times that figure. Teachers absent themselves from schools for Lambadas, ration cards are not issued to them (even if they are issued, local merchants appropriate them for a paltry sum) and health workers rarely work with them.

Living in remote rural areas - Katravat thanda, Palepalli thanda, Peddamungala thanda, Kuralakshmi thanda, Dubba thanda and so on - the Lambadas of Devarakonda, Dindi and Chandampet mandals of Nalgonda district have not gained from the community welfare programmes that have been launched in the past 50 years.

Hundreds of Lambada families, which settled down in these areas after the completion of the Nagarjunasagar project, were promised that they would be rehabilitated by the State Government. But so far nothing has come of the rehabilitation package.

Efforts to attain social acceptability began after the Lambadas settled down in Nalgonda district. Tribal culture and rituals gave way to non-tribal and brahminical rituals and along with this came financial burdens. The oli system gave way to dowry and the demand for boys, who were far outnumbered by girls, rose steeply. A dowry of Rs.30,000 and more is in vogue now. Educated Lambadas turn away from the lifestyle of their families and seek respectability elsewhere.

The girl child soon became an expendable commodity and the arrival of racketeers doubling as social workers began around the same time. Adoption agencies, which needed little by way of investment, mushroomed in the region. All that they needed was a few social workers to go about the thandas convincing Lambadas to sell their infants. The offers constituted a source of income for the poverty-stricken community, and many parents struck deals with the agencies. Children became commodities to be booked in the womb.

The business flourished and kept both sides happy. But for the Lambada girl child, it was a choice between going from her mother's lap to the cradle of the NGO or to the grave.

Frontline Volume 16 - Issue 9, Apr. 24 - May. 07, 1999, India's National Magazine from the publishers of THE HINDU

(With Thanks from hinduonnet.com)