25 Gothikoya families dispossessed in Telangana despite government assurances

Hyderabad: Congress leaders have repeatedly assured the adivasis that forest officials will not disturb them tilling their podu lands. However, the land conflict between the Gothikoyas and forest officials in Telangana doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.

It has been over a month since 25 Gothikoya families in Ramanakkapeta hamlet in Aswaraopeta mandal in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district were dispossessed of their lands, after the forest officials laid trenches, preventing the adivasis from entering 180 acres of farmland.

For decades, several attempts to reclaim the forest lands from the possession of Gothikoyas were made by successive governments of undivided Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Uike Suresh, a hamlet resident, tells Siasat.com that this wasn’t the first time forest officials claimed that land. Even in the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, multiple attempts were made by forest officials to stake a claim to that land. This time, he feels that they have been permanently displaced.

Standing crops and huts were burnt, trenches were dug, and the plantation was snatched by the forest department.

There are around eight Gothikoyas whose lands have been completely taken away, rendering them landless, while the lands of others have been partially occupied by the forest department, the adivasis claim.

Origin of Gothikoyas

The Gothikoyas of Ramanakkapeta migrated from Sukma district in Chhattisgarh after leaving their villages and fleeing from the carnage unleashed by the Salwa Judum. Caught in the crossfire between the Maoists and security forces, they sought refuge in the undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2005.

Thousands fled to AP, Telangana, Odisha and Maharashtra made their newly found lands their homes.

Different governments, no resolution

During the BRS government tenure, a majority of Gothikoyas did not receive pattas for their podu lands, social security benefits or caste certificates, thus forced to lead a life of isolation. Education has been a distant dream for the younger generations, with a few exceptions in certain pockets.

However, their social status continues to remain the same after the Congress came to power in 2023. The Gothikoyas hoped that the forest department atrocities would end. However, their eviction from Ramanakkapeta proves otherwise.

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On March 11, they met National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) member Jathothu Hussain and voiced their concern. But the matter remains unresolved, with the adivasis finding themselves at the crossroads of life, staring at a livelihood crisis.

Yet another survey

In the present context of the security forces eliminating Maoists in large numbers in Chhattisgarh, an attempt is being made to find a solution for the Gothikoyas, who are officially named as Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in India, spread across five states.

On January 8 this year, a high-level meeting was held in New Delhi, chaired by Hussain, involving officials from five states and organisations working for the rights of the Gothikoyas discussed the reported seizure of their lands and an immediate intervention to safeguard their rights and livelihoods.

A survey to identify the displaced Gothikoyas from Chhattisgarh was recommended. Chhattisgarh officials were asked to study and take valuable information from other states on the Gothikoyas living there.

Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha were suggested to appoint a nodal officer from either the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), tribal welfare department, or a tribal research institute (in Telangana, it is the Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute), responsible for conducting the survey. The deadline has been set for May.

In 2019, the Central government started a survey in the Jayashankar-Bhupalapalli and Mulugu districts for Economic and Social Studies (CESS). However, it was never completed due to an alleged budget crunch and the sponsor of the survey project leaving midway for unknown reasons.

According to an official in the Union government who chose to remain anonymous, it will take 3-4 months to complete the survey, and once completed, a policy decision will be taken.

What is concerning here is that even while the survey is believed to be ongoing, Telangana government is evicting the Gothikoyas from their settlements (as being witnessed in Ramanakkapeta).

Decisive action need for the hour

The questions that remain unanswered are whether the survey will be completed on time and whether the Telangana government will maintain the status quo on protecting the land rights of Gothikoyas living in the state until a policy decision is taken by the Centre following the survey.

It is also unclear whether the Chhattisgarh government would be willing to facilitate a ‘ghar wapsi’ and take steps to rehabilitate or resettle its people, or whether other states, where Gothikoyas have lived for decades, would be open to doing so.

The most pressing concern is whether the Telangana government will halt ongoing evictions of Gothikoyas from their lands until the survey is concluded and a central policy decision is in place. Another critical question is whether the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) will intervene in cases of rights violations, either in Telangana or elsewhere, and direct the concerned state governments to refrain from such actions until further notice.

This issue is not limited to the 25 families living in Ramanakkapeta. According to submissions by Telangana officials before the NCST, there are around 23,500 Gothikoyas in Telangana and 8,500 in Andhra Pradesh, totalling approximately 32,000. Including those living in Odisha and Maharashtra, the estimated population of these internally displaced persons (IDPs) stands at nearly 50,000—a figure that can only be verified if the survey is conducted effectively.

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