The ongoing fight between Adivasis and the Banjara Lambadas in Telangana turned violent on Thursday, The Hindu reported.
Hundreds of Adivasis damaged vehicles and vandalised an office of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency in Medaram village in the state’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. They were protesting against the inclusion of people from the Lambada and other Scheduled Tribes communities in the Medaram Temple Trust Board.
The protestors hurled stones at the car of Tourism Minister Azmeera Chandulal’s son Prahalad and damaged many vehicles parked nearby. Prahalad was one of the Lambadas who had gone to the Integrated Tribal Development Agency to be sworn in into the trust board.
The protestors claimed they were poorly represented in the temple trust board, which is involved in organising the Medarama tribal fair. There are only three Adivasis in the board, while it had two Lambadas and ten people from other tribes.
The fair is an exclusively Adivasi affair, the protestors claimed, as it commemorates the bravery of a mother and her daughter who fought a king 800 years ago. The fair draws thousands of people and generates businesses worth crores.
“Others have least regard for our customs and traditions...They take part in the Medaram Sammakka Sarakka jatara [fair] with the sole aim of making money by way of percentages and set up their own business,” Association of Adivasis State President Vattem Upender said. “We cannot bear this exploitation anymore.”
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