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Gondi PeopleGondi refers to a people and their language in central India. The Gondi, or Gond people are spread over the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. They are the largest tribe in Central India. The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages. The Gonds are traditionally agriculturalists; Gond society is highly stratified and does not conform to the usual image of egalitarianism among tribals. The Gonds belong to a category of very large tribes (also including Santals and Bhils) that have traditionally dominated the regions in which they have lived. However, like other Adivasis, the Gonds have suffered from increasing landlessness since the 1960s. The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh effectively lost their only advantage in trying to protect their lands when the Banjaras, a group of nomadic cattle herders that had been settling in Gond territory, were classified as a Scheduled Tribe in 1977. Their newly acquired tribal status made the Banjaras eligible to acquire Gond land 'legally' and to compete with Gonds for reserved political seats, places in education institutions, and other benefits. Because the Banjaras are not scheduled in neighboring Maharashtra, there has been an influx of Banjara emigrants from that state into Andhra Pradesh in search of better opportunities. The name Gondwanaland, referring to the southern supercontinent comprising Africa, South America, Australia, India and Antarctica derives its name from Gondwana, the name of the Gondi homeland. Education Commission after commission on the "language question" has called for instruction, at least at the primary level, in the students' native tongue. However, state governments have often demanded the introduction of regional language instruction in Gondi areas. Primary schooling among the Gonds of Andhra Pradesh, for example, began in the 1940s and 1950s. The government selected a group of Gonds who were semiliterate in Telugu and taught them the basics of written script. These individuals became teachers who taught in Gondi, and their efforts enjoyed a measure of success until the 1970s, when state policy demanded instruction in Telugu. The switch in the language of instruction both made the Gond teachers superfluous because they could not teach in Telugu and also presented the government with the problem of finding reasonably qualified teachers willing to teach in outlying tribal schools. Gonds frequently are reluctant to send their children to school, needing them to work in the fields instead. This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Study on India.
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