Context: Generations of Dongria Kondh tribals in Odisha’s Rayagada district have not been to school because of the challenges of living in a hilly area in the forest.
About Kondh tribe
While many Khond have transitioned to rice cultivation, some groups, like the Kuttia Khond, continue to engage in slash-and-burn agriculture (kondhs call it dongar chaas or podu chaas)
- It is the largest tribal group in the state of Odisha. They are an also designated Scheduled Tribe in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
- They speak Kui and Kuvi as their native languages. They are most closely related to the Gondi language. Both are Dravidian languages and are written with the Odia script.
- Traditionally their religious beliefs were syncretic combining totemism, animism, ancestor worship, shamanism and nature worship.
- The tribe has a number of sub-tribes, such as, the Dongria, Kovi, Kuttia, Languli, Penga, and Jharnia.
About Dongria Kondh
- They are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
- They are located in the Niyamgiri hills in the state of Odisha in India.
- They sustain themselves from the resources of the Niyamgiri forests, practising horticulture and shifting cultivation.
- Niyamgiri is a hill range, which falls under the Rayagada and Kalahandi District in south-west Odisha, India. Its highest point is the mountain known as Niyamgiri or Niyam Dongar.
- Language: Kui language. The Kui language does not have a script, but it is spoken among the people of the Kondh community.
About Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG):
- A particularly vulnerable tribal group or PVTG, is a sub-classification of Scheduled Tribe or section of a Scheduled Tribe, that is considered more vulnerable than a regular Scheduled Tribe.
- The PVTG list was created by the Indian Government with the purpose of better improving the living standards of endangered tribal groups based on priority.
- The Dhebar Commission (1960-1961) found that within the Scheduled Tribe classification an inequality existed in the rate of development of certain tribes over others.
- As a result in the fourth Five Year Plan (1973), the sub-category "Primitive tribal group" was created within the grouping of Scheduled Tribe to identify groups considered to be especially lacking in modern development.
- In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
- The identification of such groups was based on one or more of the following characteristics:
- Preservation of pre-agricultural practices.
- Hunting and gathering practices.
- Decreasing or stagnant population growth.
- Relatively low levels of literacy in contrast to other tribal groups.
- 75 PTVGs have been identified across the country, spread over 18 states and 1 Union Territory (Andaman & Nicobar).
- Among the 75 listed PVTGs, the highest number are found in Odisha (13), followed by Andhra Pradesh.