Context: Kotia, a predominantly tribal gram panchayat that Odisha and Andhra both claim, seeks to vote differently with two votes to a person, one in each State, in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
About Kotia, a tribal gram panchayat:
- It is a group of tribal villages on the AP-Odisha border. Both states claim territorial rights over them.
- These villages are inhabited by Kondh tribals.
- The area is abundant in mineral reserves such as gold, platinum, manganese, bauxite, graphite, and limestone.
- Before 1936, villages within the Kotia panchayat were part of the Jeypore Estate. Since 1936, this gram panchayat has been in Odisha. In 1953, Andhra Pradesh claimed it as part of the state.
- In the 1980s, Odisha filed a case in the Supreme Court seeking control and jurisdiction over 21 villages. However, in 2006, the court decided that disputes regarding state boundaries fall outside its jurisdiction, stating that only Parliament could resolve such issues.
About Kondh tribe:
- It is the largest tribal group in the state of Odisha. They are a 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.
- 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)
- The Niyamgiri hills in Odisha are home to the Dongria Khond, recognized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.