ADILABAD: After staying low for sometime, Adivasis have yet again decided to boycott government employees belonging to the Lambada caste, starting from June 1. Advasis, who have been agitating under the common umbrella of the Adivasi Hakulla Porata Samithi (Thudum Debba) for the past few months, on Wednesday passed a resolution and submitted a memorandum to all the district collectors and mandal level officers informing them of their decision to boycott these officers.
The same Adivasis boycotted a few Lambada teachers in ashram and residential schools last year. For a long time now, people of other Scheduled Tribes (STs) have been complaining that they are being denied of benefits as the Lambadas take up most of them offered by the government to the STs. While the Telangana State identifies them as STs, they are categorised as OBCs and others in other states like Maharashtra. They allege that those from other states migrate to Telangana for this purpose and this is a blow to other Scheduled Tribes.
Speaking to Express, State president of the Samithi and former MLA from Boath Soyam Bapu Rao said, “The government has invited us for discussions regarding the matter but the date hasn’t been fixed yet. The government should invite leaders of all organisations along with the Adivasis to find a solution.” He added that they have been conducting these agitations in a peaceful manner and the government must take steps to resolve their problems. He said that Adivasis have been lagging behind, while the Lambadas have been utilising all the benefits, especially those migrating from other states, being provided by the government to STs. He also recalled the Tribal Advisory Committee recommended that the Lambadas must be merged into ST community in December 2017.
Meanwhile, president of the All India Banjara Seva Samaj Amar Singh Tilawath and former minister said that this is a politically motivated agitation, which is causing a divide between Adivasis and Lambadas. “If anyone has migrated from neighbouring states and claims the benefits, everyone will oppose them,” he said. He added that the State government has not yet taken any steps on those who dismantled the statues of Goddesses of Sakimatha from the tribal museum in Jodeghat. He also appealed to both the communities to live in harmony. “The Adivasis also filed a PIL in the Supreme Court let use see what happens.”