Hyderabad: Kalumu Shukram, 22, is a Goth Koya Adivasi whose family had migrated from the Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh to Mulugu district fearing for their lives decades ago. Caught in the crossfire between the Salwa Judum and the Naxals, the family wanted to begin a new life.
They made Rayabandam hamlet of Pedda Venkatapuram village of Eturunagaram mandal their home. Presently, 30 families of Gothi Koyas live there and only a couple of students have been able to complete their intermediate in the generation that was born away from the conflict. Shukram is the only individual in his village to complete post-graduation.
Thanks to RS Praveen Kumar, former secretary of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions, he was able to complete his schooling till intermediate in tribal welfare Gurukuls, after which he pursued his BSc in computer science from Delhi University.
He then completed his MCA from Pondicherry. Aspiring for a career in teaching, he took the UGC NET 2024 at an examination centre in Puducherry to qualify for a PhD program, but unfortunately, the exam was cancelled amid the NEET scam.
Back in his village, he is caught in a quagmire of sorts, as the next UGC NET exam is expected to be conducted towards the end of August, and he has chosen Puducherry as his exam centre. Unable to bear the cost of travelling that far, he hopes to take the exam in December, when it will be held again, apart from preparing to appear for the Staff Selection Commission’s combined graduate level examination (SSC-CGL) for a central government job in 24 services.
Belonging to a poor Adivasi household, Shukram was the only one among his five siblings to have reached this far in education. His parents have been cultivating a small piece of podu land with no ownership rights. He hopes to secure financial support to receive coaching and perform well in the exam.
“Till 2019 they used to give us caste certificate as ST Koya, but after the local tribes objected, the revenue officials stopped issuing us those certificates,” he told Siasat.com, observing that development as something which has been preventing the Gothi Koya youth from furthering their education and getting government jobs.
Kunja Anitha, 23, another Gothi Koya from Rayanipeta village of Aswapuram mandal in Bhadradri Kothagudem district has overcome all obstacles to graduate with a BSc in Chemistry from Delhi University, after which she pursued an MSc in Chemistry from Central University of Punjab this year. She too hopes to become a professor someday.
She’s preparing for the CSIR NET scheduled in December. She spent Rs 7,500 on online coaching but only completed half due to her final year coursework. She needs six months of coaching, which her family can’t afford. She believes coaching will help her take practice tests and stay ahead.
Fortunately, she does have a caste certificate that was issued in 2016. “Most of the children in the village have been pursuing education, only 3-4 students have dropped out,” she told Siasat.com. However, the number of graduates is still less, as only 5-6 have pursued a degree program, which makes her an exception.
Though there are favourable chances of receiving a caste certificate from Aswapuram mandal (that too on case-by-case basis); she said that in Mondikunta, Palvancha, Mulugu and Manuguru, Gothi Koyas receiving caste certificates was next to impossible.
She expressed worry for her younger sister Manasa, who has completed her intermediate BiPC, and aspires to join B-Pharmacy, but is directionless over securing an admission. Similar is the issue with her paternal uncle Anand, who has completed intermediate BiPC, but is struggling to secure an admission in a related program.
“Due to lack of awareness and financial constraints many from our community have been discontinuing their higher education,” she stated.
It has been seen on multiple occasions how former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had termed the Gothi Koyas “notorious” on the floor of the Assembly and called them outsiders who were infiltrating Telangana’s territories perpetrating deforestation and attacks against forest officials.
With the Congress government coming to power, the Gothi Koyas hoped for the spring to arrive. However, looking at the uphill task in front of the educated Gothi Koya tribes, it needs to be seen whether at least now this young generation of Gothi Koyas would receive acceptance among the administrators, and other Adivasi communities in Telangana.
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