TRIBAL EXPLOITATION -

FACTORS LEADING TO THE

COMMUNISTS LED
AGRARIAN MOVEMENTS
 :: 168::
CHAPTER IV

TRIBAL EXPLOITATION - FACTORS LEADING TO THE

COMMUNIST LED AGRARIAN MOVEMENTS

Land alienation was one of the major problems affecting the tribal
economy. This has been the unique experience of tribals of all areas
scheduled areas, particularly. Tribals all over the country generally, inhabit
in the forest and hill areas and they are isolated from the rest of the people.
As many as 90 percent of the total tribals live in country-side and they are
worst among the exploited sections ofthe society. Most ofthem are landless.
According to Report of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (April 1990). The percentage of landless ‘Adivasis’ has
grown and the same trend continued even in the next decades. According
to the Dhabar Commission Report, in respect of indebtedness, land
alienation, forced labour and illiteracy the tribals continued to be worst
among the exploited. Among the agricultural labourers, the tribals are the
most exploited class in India. A nation wide survey on bonded labour
revealed that about 25 percent of the bonded labourers are the tribals.
Indebtedness is considered as one of the major problems of tribals all over
India. Due to general poverty and unemployment in the tribal areas more
and more tribals are not only alienated from their lands and native places
but more and more people began to borrow ‘whatever’ available and
whereever available for the purposes of both consumption and production.
Consequently there is a high percentage of indebtedness among the tribal
families.

PROBLEMS OF LAND ALIENATION:-

The problem of land alienation in tribal areas is deeply connected

phenomenon with increasing level of contradictions related to the existing
socio-economic order.
 :: 169::

Satya Deva points out that alienation is inherent in exploitative relations of

production and that is nature and varies with that exploitation. Hence,
alienations and manifestations also differ among societies based on slavery,
Serfdom and capitalismr This concept of alienation may be interpreted to
understand a specific problem of tribals where land becomes the main
source of exploitation. Marx, in his early writings, especially in his ‘Economic
and Philosophical Manuscripts’ (EPM), discusses this concept as
“estranged labour”. The whole thrust of this piece is that the human
degradation entailing exploitation and alienation has reached its final stage,
in die relationship between worker and production in a capitalistic society.

He further develops the idea in his other writings with a few different
connotations that explain the basic concept of alienation^ Alienation, in
Marx’s conception of man in the capitalist society, in the process which
facilitates the exploitation ofmany by a few3. Thus the application of concept
of alienation to the problem of land alienation in tribal areas is to be
understood in the light ofthe issues like the dawn ofprivate property relations,
Land commodisation of the means of production (land, labour and capital)
and the very process of penetration ofprivate and state capital in the concept
of alienation propounded by marx still holds good to India as far as tribal
communities and their land problems is concemed.Land, being the major
source of livelihood of the vast majority of the Indian peasantry, it assumes

1. Satya Deva, Alienation and Administration in Developing countries, Mainstream, Vol. X3X 0.40,
June 6,1981, P.19.
2 The denote on ‘young’ and ‘Mature’, Marx, or the distinction ofhis works as ‘early’ and ‘later’
writings is to find the difference in the personality ofMarx as a ‘humanist’ in his basic philosophy
rather than accepting him as communist, reproduced from B. Janardhana Rao, Land alienation in
Tribal areas, 1987.
3. TiLSharma, Karl Marx From Alienation to Exploitation. Indian Journal of political science,
Vol. 40, No. 3 Spt. 1979, P. 353; and also see, Aruna Tara A Telugu Monthly Feb. 1981, P. 34.
 :: 170::

a great importance in their life. The land concentration particularly in the

hands of few results in structural inequalities, which would further engulf the
land disparities. It is in this context of broader spectrum of land disparities
that exist in the Indian Society4. That the land problem in the tribal areas
assumes much more importance, the structural changes that occur in plain
areas would invariably affect the neighbouring forest region where large
masses of tribal communities live in. The non-tribals came to these areas
and started grabbing the lands of the tribals and some of the non-tribal
labourers also settled as peasants, making tribal peasants as landless
labourers. The land question is not a just result of the existing situation but
its origin may be. traced to the periods of deprivation of tribals lands or to
the periods ofthe withdrawal of deprivation oftheir rights to exploit forests5.
Therefore, it is being realised that the tribals always have a strong desire for
land6. It is for land that in last few years they have fought and were killed7.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the states, having larger population of

Scheduled tribals, having 31, 76,001 (31.76 Lakh) Scheduled tribal

population, (belonging to nearly 3 3 tribes ) as per the census of 19 81. Most

of the tribals live in the northern part of the state, demarcated by the river

Vamsadhara in the north-east in Srikakulam District and river, Penganga in

the north west in Adilabad district with small pockets in Mahaboobnagar,

Kumool and Prakasam Districts. The tribals lived in the hills and forests.

4. Agrarian stratification in India from the Report of the Agricultural Enquiry included in Rural
Sociology; ed A.R. Desai, popular Prakashan, 1978, R 271.
5. M.L.Patel, Changing Land problem of Tribal India; progress publishers, Bhopal, 1979, P. 8.
6. The committee on Tribal Economy in Forest Areas, 1967. Government of Indian, New Delhi.
7. Amarita Ranga Swamy And then there were none A report from Srikakulam, Economic and
political weekly,^Vol. VIII No. 46. Nov. 17, PP. 2041-2042.
 :: 171

These areas were opened up to outsiders in the 19th century. On the whole,

the forest is a source of employment for all the tribals and their dependence

on it, is almost total.

TRIBAL EXPLOITATION-TELANGANA:-

The Telangana tribes particularly the tribals of Adilabad district, Raj

Gonds, Pardhans and the tribes of Khammam district Koyas, Hill Reddys

received the attention and masterly treatment of Renewed Anthropologist

professor, Christopher Van Furer, Haimendorf who published volumes, on

the four cultural zones, inhabited by the four dominant tribes. The volume

on the Chenchus of Mahaboobnagar unfolds in a vivid manner the life of

the most primitive tribes, inhabiting the northern portion of the Nallamala

Hills, The Koyas of Warangal throw a flood of light on the tribes inhabiting

the areas on the banks of Godavari. The Hill Reddys of the Bison-Hills

present a graphic picture of the socio-cultural and Economic organisation

of Hill Reddy of Khammam district, while in his magnum opus, he was

dealing with the Raj Gonds and the pardhans of the area.

When the British realised that the tempo ofNational movement against

them, if accompanies with tribal uprisings, their survival will be in great

threat and they started luring the Act (while Andhra Pradesh was in erstwhile

Madras) They passed many acts concerning to their land owing, land

transfer, land distribution and also about declaration ofAgency Area. Among

them are the Acts of 1822,1860,1874,1917 from plainsmen exploitation.

 :: 172::

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF TRIBALS:-

Inthe case of simple non-monetised economies, some ofthe economic

o

indices developed for advanced socio-economic systems have severe

limitations. Certain items like timber M.F.P. (Minor Forest Produce) land,
etc., may be of crucial importance in advanced areas, but they do not have
same significance in tribal areas mainly because the tribals do not attach
any commercial importance to such items. A tribal may notionally own a
large extent of land, yet he may be effectively utilising only a part of it.
Similarly, he may be using valuable timber for consequent purposes like
preparing a hedge for the field without knowing the market price. (M.F.P.)
Marginal Forest Produce which may fetch fancy price in the open market,
may be exchanged by him according to certain traditional exchange rates
with salt or some other necessities, which may be quite cheap in omney
terms of money. Thus the effective value of M.F.P. to a tribal, may be only
nominal.

Even comparision of individual income and expediture when

computed in money terms of advanced economies, may give a distorted
picture. For example, with the gradual advacement of economies, those
individuals who are comparatively in a better position, begin to use woolen
-blankets instead of sleeping by the side of fire during winter. But, if the
expenditure of the two families, one of which is still using fire and the other
who has switched over to the use of blanket, is compared in money terms,
the former may appear to be better off because of the value added for use
of firewood.
 :: 173::

CONCEPTS:-

The Economic law regarding supply and demand is not operative in

perfect sense in tribal areas. The tribal economy which is primitive and
which has no marketable surplus will not react to increase or decrease in
demand. As there is no marketable surplus among the tribes, though the
general price of agricultural produce is increased, the tribals will not be
benefitted. It is an age-old fact that the traditional shandies/markets in tribal
areas are dominated by non-tribal traders and merchants. Though the Girijan
Cooperative Corporation (G.C.C.) is procuring the agricultural produce in
open competition along with non-tribal traders and merchants, it cannot
delink the age old relationship of non-tribal traders and merchants with
tribals. However the operations of private traders and merchants are extended
to the door-steps of tribals. Whereas the G.C.C. procures agricultural
produce at shandy level. As such distress sales of agricultural produce are
observed as common features in tribal areas, this situation indicates that the
perfect competition in procuring agriculture produce cannot be ensured of
tribals. The Girijana Cooperative Corporation (G.C.C.) has got monopoly
rights in procuring minor forest produce from the tribals. In practical terms,
the monopoly in market will not help the tribals. As the price fixation policy
of G.C.C. is not only influenced by general market trends but also by
subjective/personal factors. The imperfect competition is prevailing for
procuring agriculural produce and M.F.P. in tribal areas as there are no
regulated markets. The purchase and sale transactions of tribals in shandies/
markets are not regulated by consumer’s behaviour. The concepts of
‘Consumer surplus’ and ‘Profit motive’ are not known to the tribal mind.
With the initaition ofthe activities of Girijan cooperative
 :: 174::

corporation in tribal areas, the tribals are acquainted with cash transactions.
Yet, the tribal is. not an ‘economic man’. His behaviour in the fields of
production, consumption, distribution and exchange of goods and services
is conditioned by apathy, shyness, inhibitions and superstitions.

The nature of conflict of new economic laws with traditional

economic concepts of tribal throws light on a different economic system in
tribal areas. Patterns of production, consumption, distribution and division
of labour deserve a greater attention for the emergence of economic
differentiation. A different scale of measurement for the social and
economic condition of tribal communities is necessary to compare and
contrast the once isolated tribal economy with advanced economy.

TRIBAL ECONOMY:- The economy of tribals rests almost completely

on agriculture. It is predominally customary but not competitive and
subsistence production is still the principal means of livelihood. The
savings of tribals are negligible and they lack initiative and enterprising
nature. The agricultural sector in tribal areas is neither mechanised nor
modernised. There is no balanced growth of primary, secondary and
tertiary sectors and the tribal economy is lagging far behind the general
economy. The disposal of man but the way in which he utilises them, or
only a fraction of it, depends very much upon his technical equipment and
the social organisation through which he operates the latter.

It is observed that tribal communities in the state, show a mixed

pattern of various elements - from food- gathering to agriculture. Koyas
and Gonds are settled agriculturists with the same economic impulses and
 :: 175::

motives as found among the agricultural communities of rural areas. They

are all engaged in production, distribution, exchange and consumption of

wealth. The main features that differentiate the tribal economy are the

appalling poverty of tribals, exploitation by more advanced non-tribal

communities, their social setup, customs and traditions, their ideas of right

and wrong and their whole set of values.

The tribal man cannot be treated and studied as an ‘economic man’

alone. The economy of the tribes should be studied in the context of

non-economic motives since the plans are to be drawn up for their amelioration.

Mental apathy, lack of ambition, absence of initiative and indolence are the

traits which will affect the very root of all economic efforts.

As the tribal economy is an agro-forest based economy, its renovation

cannot be achieved unless the industrial sector is improved. The removing

of imbalance between agricultural and industrial sectors is an essential step

for economic growth which will take considerable time in its process. The

development ofprimary and secondary sectors in tribal areas, is conditioned

by the availability of man-power and infrastructure such as transport,

communication, electricity etc. Abundance of unskilled manpower has to

be made use of, by improving their skills and knowledge which can be

possible through educational and vocational training programmes. The

development of these two sectors require huge amount of capital

formation.

The capital formation which is an essential step for economic growth,

does not have any solid foundation in tribal economy in view of their
 :: 176 ::

negligible savings. The low level of per capita income of a tribal makes it
difficult to “get over the hump”, to a desired level. According to W.A.
Lewis the central fact of economic development is rapid capital accumulation
(including knowledge and skills). Tt is imperative in a closed tribal economy
to have a minimum or critical effort or a ‘big push’ to capital formation to
pull the economy out of trap’.

The internal trade of the closed tribal economy has to be revitalised

and the consumer goods which are available due to its natural resources
have to be exported to the neighbouring non-tribal areas. Besides, the
capital goods sector of the tribal economy has to be strengthened by
investing more capital by democratic government and other big philanthropic
organisations. The solution for the rapid economic development of these
backward tribal regions, societies lies in making rapid radical changes in
the institutional structure of the tribal society which comprises of social,
religious and phycological changes. These institutional changes will lay a
foundation for capital formation in tribal areas.

The concept of economic growth indicates an increase in per capita

income and a rise in the level of consumption per head with a concomitant
rise in the standard of living which implies the adequate availability of goods
and services to the tribal people. The ultimate aim of this growth is a change
for the better in the economic structure of tribals and tribal area, which
lead to more comfortable living for tribal masses with greater leisure.

This concept of economic growth, if judged from the point of view

of tribal culture, it falls bit out of the scope of economies, since the concept
 ::177::

of comfortable life depends upon the materialistic urges and demands of

the organised human race. This cannot be something different in the context
of tribal society. The fatalistic attitude of a tribal and indifferent outlook in
life disturbs the economic planning or a tribal region to a certain extent.
This requires a psychological approach for a change in the values of life of
a tribal society.

The tribal society is a simple society and it has a domestic technology

which does not change from one generation to another and which supports
a subsistence economy of each household and domestic groups. The tribal
economic system and society are inter-related, since the kinship system
provides almost the sole framework of social action within which a variety
of activities are performed. Different activities are governed by different
norms and the pattern of normative consistency is maintained since each
member of society inter-acts with a large proportion of the total society. In
such tribal societies, powerful social control prevail and promote
cultural uniformity, but at the same time, the range of individuality
of economic-man narrows down.

DISPLACEMENT AND TRIBAL UNREST:-

Displacement can occur in two ways and cause difficulties to the
people. Physical displacement may result in temporarily dislocation in
workways and the society gets settled in the new environment or its own or
with help of an outside agency, It may slowly get adjusted to the new
situation, if basic requirements of life are available. What is really dangerous
is the problem of economic displacement which occurs due to factors
 :: 178::

extraneous to the society on which they do not have any control. Once
again this occurs due to two forces. Individuals migration or families coming
into the contact with the local society for trade etc., may initially help the
members of society by providing some of facilities like loans, goods etc.,
but ultimately usurp the resources of members of that society. The second
force is the state.

In case of tribal areas, the non-tribal migrants coming into contact

with tribals, always had the advantage of better knowledge, better financial
resources and better linkages with the state machinery. Therefore, they were
able to continue their hold over the resources, usurped by them through
various manipulations. It is also in our knowledge that active support of the
state machinery in the initial stage and its passive resistance to implementation
of legislation is protecting tribal interest in the later stages that is helping the
non-tribal exploiters to settle-down in tribal areas permanently to continue
their exploitation. While this is so, ever since the first forest Act came into
existence, state and its machinery started seriously increasing the control
over natural resources in tribal areas. The state appears to have over, taken
the non-tribal exploiter and became a bigger usurper of tribals’ rights over
the means of production.

The political wing of the state which also knows that it is

directly or indirectly responsible for the displacement of tribals did not
agree to it explicitly over the interests of these less vocal groups, living in
interior forest and hilly areas. Hence the continuation and aggravation of
problem for tribals. The state machinery which created the problems for
 :: 179::

the tribals, alone can solve it but not of course, without sacrificing some of
the interests of ruling class. A reversal in the policy is, therefore, urgently
required. Otherwise, the gap between the provision of the constitution of
India in Art 46 and its implementation will widen further.

In the tribal area of Adilabad district, the problems of social economic

cleavages developing with in the indigenous tribal communities have added
fuel to the fire, Today the tribal scene in India, presents a picture of chaos
and the central and state governments are still groping in the dark with their
trail and error methods in tribal development. In almost all the tribal areas
of India the tribal people are facing problems of various nature, resulting in
discontentment and unrest. The tribals have come to believe that the only
way can solve their problems is by taking to arms against the government.

Though the present study is confined to a region, its relevance

transcends the Telangana region and throws some light on the socio­
economic and political processes that are emerging in tribal India. Prior to
the present situation of tribal belt of Adilabad district of Utnoor area, and
the phenomenon of deteriorating economic conditions of native tribal of
Utnoor area (Adilabad district) the shift from subsistence agriculture to
commercial crops is neither a new finding nor confined to tribal areas alone,
This process has been prevalent throughout the developing countries. In this
connection, the comment that was made after a review of a number of
studies by Patrick Fleuret and Anne Fleuret is most relevant. They say that
“the multiple and multi-crop production strategies typical of subsistence
agricultural regions aimed at reducing the levels of risk to which producers
households are exposed to suffer irregularities in the food supply. They
 :: 180::

INTRODUCTION OF CASH CROPS-

Generally it is assumed that introduction of a cash-crop into any

agricultural community automatically leads to economic prosperity and raise
in the standard of living. But this is not true in all the cases. In the case of
small and marginal farmers already in deep economic difficulties, change
from food crops to commercial crops, leading to food shortages, and
malnutrition, for a small peasants like the tribal farmer in Adilabad district.
The changes from subsistence to commercial crops to be beneficial certain
ecological, social and economic conditions are a necessary pre requisites,
Gonds of Adilabad at present are basically settled dry-land-agriculturists
with Jowar as the main staple food crop, They have multiple cropping with
a wide range, of subsidiary crops. As far as traditional varieties of crops
are concerned a Gond cultivator has deep understanding of the technicalities
of soil conditions, mixing crops, crop rotation etc. In fact, an average
Gond has a wide knowledge of agricultural practices and techniques, suitable
to the environments in which he lives. The Kolams are also settled-
agriculturists but a few decades back, they were shifting cultivators. Same
is the case with Naik pod. The illiteracy ofthese native tribals has complicated
the situation. By taking up cotton cultivation they have not only lost the double
crop security but also the security of traditional production distribution
system. Cotton-cultivating-tribal, after allocating the cash, realised through
the sale of cotton to various purposes, like repayment of loan, purchase,
hardly finds any surplus left with him. The tribals of this area by resorting
to cotton crop entered onto a kind of vicious-circle resulting in economic
deterioration instead of improvement. The subsistence agricultural economy
of Gonds and other native tribes in Utnoor Revenue Division is deteriorating
 :: 181::

because of various reasons like, abnormal growth in the population of the

area due to immigration and consequent competition for rampart exploitation
by the elite sections, shift from subsistence to commercial crops and
deforestation coupled with restriction to the utilisation ofthe forest resources,
The deterioration in the economy of native tribals due to land alienation,
exploitation by the traders, businessmen and money lenders and the adverse
effects of large scale non-tribal immigration into the area, The tribal problem
in the state can be dealt with broadly under the heads of land, forest and
credit etc.

A) PROBLEMS OF IMMIGRATION AND LAND LIENATION:-

Immigration:- Immigration of non-tribals both from the surrounding areas
of A P and from Maharashtra took place into the tribal areas of Adilabad.
After the weakening ofthe Gond rule in the 15th century, the rule ofMarathas
and the Nizam followed successively in this area. Till the Nizam Government
realised the importance of forest wealth and allowed the non tribal immigrants
to cut the forest as much as they can, to bring it under cultivation. This
policy was followed with two motives. It was thought that the area could
be developed well only by populating it, with non-tribals and secondly
increase in the area under cultivation, would bring more money in the form
of land revenueg.

According to Prof. Haimendorf the non-tribal immigrants along with

them brought the extension of law and order of the developed area into the
tribal areas. The result was that it “enables traders and money-lenders to

8. Pagadi Seethumadhava Rao; Among the Gonds of Adilabad; popular Book Depot, Bombay,
1952.
 :: 182::

establish themselves in aboriginal villages and exploit the tribes men’s

ignorance of the working of a money economy to their own benefit^ Sethu
Madhava Rao’s observations on the pattern of non-tribal immigration into
Adilabad district throw much light on this problem. Cultivators of
non-tribal stock were settled since many generations, in the adjacent south
of the Penganga and north of the Godavari rivers. The district contains a
vast area under the forests. In fact the proportion of the forest to the total
area of the district is about 40 percent.

The density of population is about 100 persons, a square mile.

In Utnoor taluk the figures are lower i.e., about 40 persons a square mile.
Thus it was that the government pursued a policy of developing the district
and raising its income. Wide publicity given during 1940-50 by the Nizam
government allotments must have attracted a large population, land being
scarce and priced high in other areas., the immigrants believed that they will
be able to secure land easily at throw away prices in Utnoor area.

Cultivation of cotton, a cash-crop in Utnoor area, was another reason

for the large scale immigration ofmerchants and traders into the area. During
the two decades between 1961-1971 and 1971 -1981 the area witnessed the
development and growth of road side commercial centres like Indervelli,
Jainoor and Utnoor. Besides the large commercial centres, the number of
petty shop keepers and professional money-lenders who wanted to make
fast bucks also, increased.

Whatever may be the reasons for this enormous immigration into the
area, the ultimate result was that the native tribes, the original inhabitants of

9. C.V.F. Haimendorf; Tribes of India, The struggle for survival, 1977.

 :: 183::

the area, a minority in their share in the forest resources, has almost come
to an end because of the competition from the non-tribal immigrates. Finally,
the tribes were adversely affected in the cultivation of forest areas also. As
long as the tribals alone were the cultivators in the forest, the forest
department did not bother much about it, but once the new immigrants also
made an attempt to clear reserve-forests for cultivation, the forest department
took a stiff attitude and was forced to act, the result, the tribals were thrown
out from the lands, which they have been cultivating for a long time.

PROBLEMS OF LAND AND SETTLEMENT:-

In the states of India where land survey and settlement processes

have been lately started there the land problem was not a serious one for a
long time. In some states survey and settlement of the tribal areas were
under taken. But for technical reasons the process became slow and 10
percent land was surveyed. The rest of the land was recorded as belonging
to the Government. The land of village was collectively owned. Official
records were made only in the name of the village-chief. Under land reform
legislation, there was a ceiling on the extent of land ownership. Since all lands
were in the village chiefs name, the excess land was confiscated by the
Government. The villagers did not know it, till the Government allotted
their land to other land-less non-tribal people. Land hungry plain men often
got permission from the tribal leader to till the land. When the land reforms
came into force the non-tribal became the owner and the tribal who declared
the land lost it. Liquor shops have been a curse in tribal areas. Liquor
contractors by making the tribals addicted to liquor and got their lands
taken away by out-siders, and the Government grants land -records to the
out siders.
 ::184::

In the tribal areas of Telangana region, the exact boundaries of

individual ownership of plots of agricultural land, have been left with no

legal sanction. As a result of it, prior to the land survey and settlement,
areas oftribal communities by and large remained almost unjuridical in their

nature. The far reaching implications of this revenue policy are many10. The

problems that continued to bother tribals of Andhra Pradesh in general and

particularly Adilabad district, have been briefly mentioned here: survey was

not done in many areas. Where survey was completed, settlement was not
done. Names of non-tribal pattadars or influential tribal pattadars were

written against the names of innocent tribals. The problem of the tribal is

contributed not merely by the disputed forest boundaries but also because
of vast extent of unsurveyed land without proper survey records. Out of
nearly 11 lakh acres of unsurveyed lands, sofar only an extent of 3.37 lakh
acres have been surveyed through five special survey parties appointed for
purpose of updating land records of tribal areas besides assignment of
government lands to tribalsn.

It has been indicated that the number of survey parties working

effectively, has been considerably reduced by the large number of vacancies
in the category of surveyors and inspectors. Government have issued
orders for issue of pattas for those lands in possession of tribals before
1980 in the reserved forests and also to evict all non-tribals in possession
of reserve forest areas. (This has to be assumed with in a time bounded

10. P. Seta Madhava Rao, Among the Gonds of Adilabad.popular Book Depot, Bombay, 1952.
11. Brief Notes on the progress of work of special Survey Unit Utnoor; Submitted to the Director
settlement, Survey and Land Records; A.P. Hyderabad by Special Assistant Director, Utnoor,
Adilabad District ofA.P.
 :: 185::

programme and closely monitored at the highest level.) It is further

necessary to demarcate the forest boundaries and prevent the illicit of forests.
A dual policy of keeping strict visilence on forest boundaries along with
regularisation of land possession prior to 1980, has to be implemented in
right eamest12.

REVENUE - FOREST BOUNDARY DISPUTES:-

The controversy over revenue boundaries and forest-blocks had its

impact on tribals of the state. There are still unsettled boundary disputes
between revenue and forest department, in respect of several forest blocks
spread over the scheduled districts. Tribals hold assignment, orders or
pattas in respect of disputed lands claimed as forest land by the forest
department and revenue land by the revenue department. The joint survey
of all such disputed forest revenue boundaries has to be completed within
a definitely laid out time schedule. Agreed boundaries should be demarcated
with in a specified time.

LAND ALIENATION

The first and foremost form of alienation of land is in the form of

manipulation of land records. The unsatisfactory state of land records,
both in the initial stages of the survey and settlement operations and in the
period following the regular settlement operations contributed to the larger
extent of land alienation in these areas. It is observed by the National
Commission of backward areas that “The significant consequence

12. Office of the Sub-Collector Utnoor; Minutes of the Divisional level M.R.O.’s conference.
 ::186::

of the unsatisfactory state, of land records was that the tribals were never
legally recognised as owners of the lands which they cultivated as they
could simply occupy it till such time as a superior claim got enforced13.

Thus, this being the major draw back, it has effectively been misused
by the vested-interests among the non-tribal communities. The following
factors have been responsible for land alienation among tribals, Economic
poverty, ignorance, social customs, litigation in addiction to drinking, love
of ornaments, effect of outsiders and absence of alternative credit. Land
alienation in tribal areas is caused by rampant indebtedness among the
tribals and by their deep seated honesty in formal and in formal dealings14.

Unless indebtedness is checked, there will be no permanent solution

of the problem of land alienation. The second form of the land alienation is
reported to have taken place due to benami transfers. The report of study
team of the Union Home Ministry (May 1975) pointed out that large scale
transfers of ownership of Adivasi lands are being allowed to out of hands
through illegal and benami transactions, collusive civil proceedings, etc., in
which land remains to belong to the original owners who are reduced to the
level of share croppers. The third form of the land alienation is related to
the leasing or mortgaging of the land, for various needs tribal raises loans
from a trader, feudal lord or a rich peasant and invariably they have to give
either gold or land as security.

13. National commission backward Areas Development June 1981P. 50.

14. A.B. Bardhan; The problem in India. A communist party of India Publication. Ajay Bhavan, New
Delhi; P.52.
 :: 187::

‘Encroachment’ is another mode of dispossessing the tribals of then-

lands and this is adopted by the new trusts in all the places, where there
were no proper land records. Bringing the local patwari for manipulating
the data of settlement of land dispute to be on record prior to the stipulated
year is another method. These back date methods had been used because
the legislations that were enacted in all the states, had put a specific year as
a cut off year15.

According to these legislations, lands sold or mortgaged within that

specified year are to. be declared as illegal and restored to the tribals. To
avoid this anti-dating, it had become one of the powerful means to non-
tribals to enable the courts to sustain their claim. This is the revenue
machinery, who rarely note down all these operations seriously.

Concubinage or martial alliance is another form to circumvent the

law and it has emerged comparatively on a large scale, in the alienation of
land from the tribals. Large areas of fertile lands were purchased by non-
tribals and registered in the names of the tribal women whom they kept
(even falsely) as their mistresses. These martial alliances not only worked
as a strong ground for economic purposes but also for the substance of
political power by the non-tribal communities to use up the reserved seats
of authority at local levels16.

15. P.T. George; Access to land-An alternative Approach. National institute ofRural Development,
Hyderbad, P. 6.
16. Michael York; Gonds of Asifabad and Lakshettipet taluka, in Tribes of India-struggle for sur­
vival, Von Furer Haimendorf, P. 236.
 This is very much prevalent in other states too. Fictitious adoption
ofthe non-tribals by the tribal families also prevalent in a few parts of India.
Explaining this, ‘DhananT a tribal administrator, comments, acquisition of
lands in the names of non-tribal boys who become tribals over night after
the execution of the bogus adoption deeds in the name of a tribal, is
another impartent. method used by the non-tribals to grab tribal lands17.

This false adoption of the non-tribals as the tribals would not

only result in the land owning legitimacy but it enable such non-tribals to
enjoy the privileges that the Indian constitution made available only to the
tribals. Instances are there where landlords resorted to some other
manipulations. Many big land owners produced false medical certificates
to establish the incapability of the Adivasis to cultivate their lands and
managed to get these lands as lease for fixed periods18. It is further observed
that the exploiters would not hesitate even to employ goondas19. Whenever
the tribals assert their rights on their lands, they use political influence and
take the assistance of the state machinery^.

TRIBAL BELT OF ADILABAD DISTRICT:-

Generally the term ‘Land Alienation’ in tribal areas is applied when a
tribal alienated his land to a non-tribal. But in the correct sense we feel it,
should also encompass the transfer of land from a tribal to another tribal.

17. B. Dhanam. Land alienation in Andhra Pradesh tribal areas, in Land Alienation in tribal communities
in India; S.N. Dubey Ralha Mudia. P. 14.
18 Rathna Murdia, Land Allotment and Alienation among scheduled tribes, P. 1208.
19. Correspondent; Bhil Movement E.F.W. 1972, June, P. 206.
20. Correspondent; Another Massacre of Tribals; Economic and political weekly, May 2, No. 18, Vol.
XVI., P.796.
 :: 189::

In Utnoor taluk as mentioned earlier, the politically and economically

dominant tribals do dispossess the land of their brethren by using various
devious methods. This process of land alienation has been going on from
many decades. When the process of land transfer started in the tribal areas
of Adilabad district various factors in combination have brought pressure
on the tribal population, finally resulting in making a beginning towards
alienating their lands. The pattas to the individual tribals were issued gradually
not on the lands cultivated on hill slopes but to the lands in valleys and flat
lands.

It goes without saying that the declared policy ofthe Andhra Pradesh
Government is to protect the tribals from selling their lands to more dominant
and exploitative plains people. The land alienation cases unearthened in
Adilabad tribal areas by the concerned official agencies only touches the
tip of ‘iceberg’. In fact the official machinery became active in unearthing
land alienation cases21. only after the police firing incident
at Indervelli in 1981.

The Muslims, Hindus and other caste people occupied tribal lands
with connivance of Karnams or patwari and have secured the pattas. The
ignorant tribal little knowledge about, the market value of the land which
belonged to him, but illegally snatched away. Helpless tribals with no
political or proper Government support, bowing down to their misfortune
slowly and steadily, migrated to the deeper forests for the livelihood.

21. B. Venkata Naik; Land Transformation on Tribal Economy of Adilabad district (unpublished
M.Phil. These) Central University of Hyderbad, A.P. and BJanardhana Rao Land Alienation in
Tribal Areas; 1987, Warangal, A.P.
 :: 190::

Notwithstanding the protective regulation which adorned the statute

book for several decades, lands in the scheduled areas continued to pass
into the hands of non-tribal exploiter. The greater part of land alienation
occurred after the forties. The glaring fact that strikes one is that even
according to the official records, 55 percent of cultivable area in the
scheduled area of Andhra Pradesh is now in the hands of non-tribals. And
in the vast majority of cases, the non-tribals acquired the lands not in
conformity with the laws but by jumping the legal hurdles. They have made
use of every kind of loopholes in laws and under hand devices ranging
from forging records, physical violence, deceit, blackmail and bribery.

Because of the difficulty in identifying the cases of land alienation,

one can say without any hesitation, that the number of land alienation cases
not identified are definitely more than the identified ones. Besides, even in
the case of identified and favourable disposed off cases, it is not known
that, in how many cases the tribals still continue to hold possession of the
land . We have come across many cases wherein the tribal declared as
owner and the land handed over to him, but after the officials have left, the
tress-passers have once again taken “Kabja” grabbling of the land.21(a)

LAND TRANSFER REGULATION ACTS:- Besides the difficulties

mentioned above in identifying the cases of land alienation and restoring
the alienation land to the tribals, there seems to be some loop holes in
implementing scheduled areas land Transfer Regulation Act of Andhra
Pradesh. After the merge of Telangana district with Andhra Pradesh the
scheduled areas Land Transfer Regulation of 1959 was made applicable to

21(a). Andhra Prabha: Telugu Daily Paper: Series of Articles on Adilabad Tribal peasant struggle for
land on the name ofAuthor Panneshwarfrom9,10,13 Feb, 1990 to 18,19,28,29,30,31 August, 1991
and K. Balagopal Adilabad Tribal struggle: Srujana (Telugu) May, 1983.
 :: 191::

the Telangana districts also from 1963 onwards, particularly to the land
transactions which took place after 1963 onwards. Till 1963 the Hyderabad
Tribal areas Regulation Act of 1950 was in force in the Adilabad Tribal
areas. The important aspect of the Hyderabad Tribal Areas Regulation of
1950 was that it prohibited the transfer of lands from a tribal to put an end
to all illegal transfers of land from a tribal to a non-tribal. Many non-tribals
whose lands have been transferred back to the rightful owners remained
because of courts non-implemented stay orders. But, as the operational
rules under the act were not formulated, this act remained as dead letter for
nearly a decade. This cumulative discontent of the tribals led to the
Srikakulam rebellion of late sixties, which jolted the Government to enact a
more stringent law in the form of REGULATION OF 1970. It totally
prohibited the transfer of a tribal or non-tribal and placed on the non-tribals
to prove whether their acquisition of land had been in conformity with the
laws. It is this regulation, which is now the target of attack by the non-tribal
land holders and which the government has chosen to repeal in the year
198922.

It needs a close examination as to why the people are really aggrieved

by the regulation 1 of 1970. If any non-tribal acquired his land lawfully upto
1970 either from any non-tribal or even from a tribal, with the permission of
an authorised officer, his title to the land is secure. Only when the
non-tribals acquired the land without following the procedures his title comes
to be questioned.

21 B. Venkata Naik; Land Transformation on Tribal Economic of Adilabad district (unpublished

M.Phil. Theses) Central University of Hyderbad, A.P. and B Janardhana Rao Land
Alienation in Tribal Areas; 1987, Warangal, A.P. and C.V.F. Haimendrof; Tribes of India,
“The struggle for Survival” (The fate of Tribal Land) Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1982.
 :: 192::

As the non-tribals have been for a long time in the scheduled areas,
no more freedom than the tribal, should be given to his land to a non-tribal
under the existing regulation. A poor non-tribal owing small plots of land to
dire necessities by which he reduces himself to the position of landless
labourer. It is better to the same non-tribal to retain the land and raise loans
by mortgaging them while the subsequent incorporation of 3a(l) into the
Regulation of 1970, the lands legally owned by non-tribals in scheduled
areas were made eligible for mortgage with financial institutions.

The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation was

further amended in 1970 which came into effect from October 24, 1970,

prohibiting registration of any immovable property in contravention of the

regulation and continuing in possession of such property. The punishment

is one month rigorous imprisonment or a tune of fine Rs. 2000/- or both.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court23, in a judgement delivered on

21.08.1981 one such case held on that provisions of the Andhra Pradesh

Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation 1959 as amended by Regulation

of 1 of 1970 have no retrospective operation and they do not affect the

transfer of immovable property which had taken place prior to 1 st December,

1963 i.e., the date on which the said Act was extended to Telangana Area

ofthe State. The Government of Andhra Pmdesh filed a special level petition

in Supreme Court in January 1982 along with a request for stay of the

23. It is estimated that only abut 200 land alienation cases invol ving less ten 1000 acres of land were
registration in Utnoor taluk by the end of 1977.
 :: 193::

operation of the Judgement of the High Court. The Supreme Court of India

passed as interim order in December, 1981 for maintaining the ‘ Status quo’
only on the particular individual cases on which the Andhra Pradesh High
Court has passed its judgement. The High Court also ordered that land
should be immediately restored back to the non-tribals. The Government
of Andhra Pradesh issued a Government order in 1979 (G.OJMs.No. 129)
exempting the non-tribal poor who are holding five acres of wet land and
10 acres of dry land from eviction “for the present” the G.O. virtually
makes the Land Transfer Regulations non-operative. Since 1 September,
1983, it means for four years till the High Court struck down (has set aside
this G.O.) the G.O., the Government actually had given protection to the
non-tribals who might have grabbed the land of the tribals.

The set back has created more discontentment among the tribals and.
loss of faith on governments ability to do justice to them. Many of the
tribals cannot understand why government voluntarily handed over their
lost land back to them without their specific request (Result of‘suo-moto5
action) and again after a lapse of few months the same government took it
back and handed it over to the non-tribals. They cannot understand the
legal implications of the problem. For example, a Gond tribal moved to
another village and managed to become share cropper.

Inspite of these restrictions on the transfer of lands from scheduled

tribes in different states, a large average of tribal lands continued to be
alienated. The main reasons for this alienation may be classified as
Loop-holes in the tenancy legislation, slackness in the implementation of
restrictive provisions and socio-economic factors.
 :: 194::

B) FOREST POLICIES AND PROBLEMS OF NATIVE TREBES:-

Forest plays a vital role in the economic life of tribals as it is their home, a
source of livelihood and the very base of their existence. Forests are
recognised as a renewable natural resource and a national asset. As the
tribal economy is heavily dependent upon the forests which were originally
the exclusive resource base of the tribals before becoming ‘national
resource’. Forest is regarded as a national asset due to its innumerable
uses. It plays an important part in conserving the soil and thereby improving
the fertility of agricultural lands, besides providing forest produce for day-
to- day requirements and industrial raw-materials for paper mills, rayon,
chip wood, hard wood and other industries.

For the entire population of scheduled tribes in the sub-plan area, the
forest is the veritable source of food, shelter, herbs and raw material for
pursuit of their traditional crafts and callings. The entire fabric of their
socio-economic life is inextricably woven round the forest. The tribal calender
is marked by various seasons for various edible tubers, nuts, fruits, leaves
and hunting of different species of game.

Apart from being the veritable food bowl the forest provides them
with various kinds of minor forest produce fire wood, timber, thatching
material and ‘Jeelugu’ (Caryota) and Palmyra which provide them with
cherished drinks of food value. It also provides them with Koperi, bamboo,
rattan, fibres and leaves for the pursuit of their traditional crafts. Collection
of other important items of minor forest produce like tamarind, adda leaf,
herbs, soap nut, sheekai, mohwa flower and seed, gum, nuxvomica, broom
grass, etc., and their sale to the Girijan Cooperative Corporation is the
 :: 195::

major subsidiary source of income for the tribals in the sub-plan area.
Forest continues to be the largest single source of employment. Forest
Department is the largest employer and the forest labour and allied works
constitute the second most important source of employment and income
for the tribals.

Tribal religion is also linked up with forests as the religious rituals are
performed before the trees. It is interesting to note that many myths and
legends have their origin in the forest.

Forest Department came into being only in 1861, where as the tribals
used to live in and around forest even prior to this period. The Indian forest
Act for the first time came into force in 1973. The settlement of forests was
done in 1880 and forests were classified as reserved forests protected
forests and village forests.

The first statement of forest policy was made in 1894 (Government

of India, Resolution No. 22 F, dated: 19th October, 1894) and another
declaration of forest policy is based on this declaration which reiterated
that “fundamental concepts underlying the existing forest policy of (1894)
still hold good”. The two essential aspects in which the policy statement of
1952 differed from that of 1894 related to “the balancing of the needs of
the local population consistently with the national interests and the
replacements of the intermediaries who exploit both the forests and the
local labour for their own benefit24.

24, Report ofthe Committee on Tribal Economy in forest areas as Government ofIndia Department
of Social Welfare, New Delhi, March 1967. P-12.
 :: 196::

The National Forest Policy stated that “while, the needs of the local
population must be met to a reasonable extent, national interests should not
be sacrificed because they are not directly discemable, nor should the rights
and interests of future generations be subordinated to the improvement of
the present generation”.25

The National Forest Policy suggested that 1/3 oftotal land area should
be under forests. It recommended the classification of forests into four
divisions namely 1) Protection forests, 2) National forests, 3) Village forests
and 4) Free lands. As regards shifting cultivation, it recommended a
missionary and not an authoritative approach to wean the tribals from shifting
cultivation and the possibility ofregulating shifting cultivation by combining
it with forest regeneration. It further stated that “no forest policy, however
well intentioned and meticulously drawn up, has the slightest chance of the
people.26

In order to instill direct interest to the people in the utilisation of

forests, it recommended that intermediaries who exploit both forests and
labour be replaced gradually by forest labour cooperative societies.

The Andhra Pradesh Forest Act 1967 lays down the procedure for
declaration of any area as a reserved forest and prescribed the rules for
protection of these forests and penalties for infringement of the provisions
of the Act. The wild life (protection) Act 1972, a central Act was extended

25. The National ForestPolicy of India, Ministiy of Food and Agriculture, Govt, ofIndia, 1952. P.29.
26. Ibid(P.No. 32)
 :: 197::

to A.P. from August’73 for the protection of wild life for declaration of
sanctuaries and national parks.

Subsequently, in 1976 the new Forest Act was put on the anvil and
organically linked with the forest policy. The symbolic relationship of the
tribe and the forest is borne out by the provisions of the new forest policy.
It was decided that there should be village forests to cater to the village
needs. The new policy extended one important concession, it admitted that
it was emphatically opposed to shifting cultivation, persuasion and not
coercive measures should be used in a sort of missionary rather than in
authoritarian manner to attempt to wean the tribals away from their
traditional axe cultivation.

According to rule 3 of the A.P. protected Forest rules of 1970, the

following are some important concessions extended to the tribals living in
the forest areas.

The programmes and policies of the forest department in the state

stem from the National Forest Policy of 1952. Even though the National
Forest Policy of 1952 made several departures from the previous policy,
which adversely affected the interests of the tribals in the forests, it is not
altogether oblivious of the interests of the tribal inhabitants of the forests.

Government have aptly recognised the interests ofthe tribal inhabitants

of the forests and their role in the forest development. However, the policy
pronouncement has still remained on paper and yet to be translated into
 :: 198::

action. The result is that, the autochthon is still regarded as an intruder and
restrictions on use of forest by the autochthon are on the increase. These
restrictions are often unnecessarily harsh and oppressive in their forest
conservation as well as tribal unless a radical change is brought about in the
outlook and attitude of forest, will not be of any substantial benefit. How a.
forest cooperative society with the purpose of improving the economic
conditions of forest living tribals, could not function successfully for long
due to non-cooperation of the forest department is vividly described by the
study team on Tribal Development programmes, Planning Commission in
its report on Andhra Pradesh.

In the face of competition from die entrenched vested interest, non­

cooperation from the forest department and lack of preferential treatment
for tribals and safeguards against the import of outside labour, the benefits
from the mounting demand for forest labour are not likely to accrue to the
tribals.27 In view of the extreme backwardness of the tribals coupled with
their illiteracy and ignorance, the cooperative form of organisation with its
emphasis on a non-exploitation society based on mutual help and cooperation
offers the most suitable institutional frame work to safeguard the interests
ofthe tribals. The cooperatives cannot, however, succeed without the strong
support from the Government in the initial stages since the entrenched outside
elements with their superior economic strength constitute for weaker section
stand no chance of survival.

27. Report of the stydy team on tribal development programmes, A.R Committee on projects,
planning commission, 1967.P.No.43-44
 :: 199::

National policy has imposed certain restrictions on the free use of

forest resources by the tribal. This policy has indirectly contributed to
reduction of dependency of forest and its resources. However, the tribal
continues to enjoy certain concessions and privileges. In view of the change
in the forests policy, the social forestry schemes have also been taken up to
provide employment opportunities.operation. The result is situation of
confrontation, mutual distrust and resentment between the two groups -
Forest Department and the tribals. It goes without saying that such an
atmosphere is far from congenial for the forest area in A.P. extends over
sixty four thousand square kms constituting 23% of land area of the State
which falls short of the minimum recommended by National Forest Policy,
from time to time. Major forest areas in the State occur in the hilly regions
ofthe Godavari and Krishna river valleys. Khammam and Adilabad districts
of Telangana region with a forest area of 15 lakhs hectares account of 25%
of the area. Tropical dry deciduous forests are found with teak as a major
species in Telangana region. These are pockets of moist deciduous forest
in river valley of Godavari and Krishna. Bamboo occurs in the forests of
Adilabad, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Kumool, East and West Godavari,
Vizag and Srikakulam districts. Timber, fuel wood, Bamboo, Beedi leaf
and minor forest products are the major forest products. Teak, Maddi and
Yegisa are the main timbers. Beedi leaf occurs mostly in Telangana region.

Problems with Forest Department in Study Area :

All the tribal population of Andhra Pradesh were traditionally, closely

associated with forests and there are some who even today, spend the
greater part of their lives in the proximity of trees. It is for this reason, that
 :: 200::

aboriginals were often referred to as ‘Jangli’, today a derogatory term

standing for “Uncivilised” but literally meaning “forest dweller” In the tribal
areas now forming part of Andhra Pradesh, Similar conditions prevailed
until the beginning of the 20th century. Communities living near forests
depend on them for building material, fuel fodder, and often also food in
the shape of wild fruits and roots. Forests once provided them all their
shelter and even clothing • Presentation ofthe resources, necessities of life,
viz food on which they relied for so many of their needs, was in the tribe
men interests, and as long as there was no interference by advanced
populations the ecological balance was usually well maintained. A new
situation was created, however, when the demands of modem Industires
situated outside the tribal areas led to the commercial exploitation of forests.
Tribal communities dwelt in caves inside the forest were either evicted or
denied access to the forest produce on which they had depended for many
necessities. Thus arose a conflict between the traditional tribal ownership
and the State’s claim to the entire forest wealthy

Dr. B.D. Sharma, commissioner of Tribals development, Govt. M.P.

stated the position very clearly when he said, “as the ownership of the state
gets consolidated and formalised, the special relationship of the tribals with
the forest is not appreciated. Their rights are viewed as a ‘burden’ on the
forests and an impediment in their scientific and economic exploitation.”

28. Dr. V.N.V.R.K. Sastry; Sanchara Sravanthi; ( Telugu Andhra Prabha, Telugu daily paper; (from
October 1989 to October, 1990) and Andhra Prabha Telugu daily paper; Series of Articles on
“Adilabad Tribal peasant Struggle for land” on the name of Parmesvar from 9,10,13 Feb. 1990;
18,19,28,29,30,31, August, 1991, and K. Balagopal;Adilabad Tribal Struggle; “Srujana” (Telugu)
May, 1983.
 :: 201::

Since the forest produce is treated as nature’s gift the state stakes it full
claim over it. At the best, the tribal may be allowed a reasonable wage for
the labour which he may put in for the collection of minor forest produce
(MFP) or extraction of major produce. The defacto and conventional
command of the tribal over resources is completely denied and he is reduced
to the status of merely a casual wage eamer.29

It is a well known fact that since the very day of the implementation
of forest policy in the country during the British period, the discontentment
and a sense of insecurity was planted in the minds of tribal communities.
Conflict between the forest officials, and the tribals, who were misunderstood
as destroyers of the forest, became a common and day-to-day affair. As
the forest rules and regulations tightened tribal communities who were
suffocated and in many parts of the country reacted violently. The Indian
Forest Act was enacted in 1865. It was first All-India Legislation which
attempted to consolidate all existing laws on forests. It laid emphasis on
exploitation of forests for revenue purpose rather than for the values of
preservation conservation of wild life or the right of human beings, whose
homes were the forests before Government existed.

The 1927 Act by adopting the policy of reservation of forests

deprived the tribal of ancient rights and privileges.30 The interest of the
Government was more'in commerce and revenue by using forest produce

29. B.B.Sharma Tribal development the concept and the frame

30. C.V.F. Haimendorf; Tribes of India; The Straggle for survival (The Fate of Tribal Land).
 ::202::

for building Railway sleepers and ships. The forests of Adilabad are
considered to be very old and ancient and even fossil fuel seems to exist in
these forests. At one time it was reported that the entire “Utnoor” areas
was covered by forest and almost all the tribal villages were located in
dense forests. The elderly Gonds and Kolams still remember the days of
dense forests. Kolams and Naikpods were till recently heavily depended
on forest for shifting cultivation as well as food collection were the worst
sufferers due to strict forest rules and regulation. The effect of the
reservation of large areas of forest on the Gonds was not quite as
catastrophic as it had been for Kolams and Naikpods, but it disrupted their
agricultural system by restricting the cultivation of light soils in rotation.
The demarcation of forest lines drawn round the villages did not take place
at the same time in the whole district, nor were the same principles every
where applied. There was little doubt that the demarcation of the forest
lines was done in a very haphazard way and depended to a large extent on
the amount of money the villagers were able to pay to the forest officials.
One of the reasons for the conflicts between the tribal population and the
forest officials is the uncertainty about the status of a considerable amount
of land allotted to tribal cultivators on pattas by the local revenue authorities
but claimed by the forest department as reserved forest. The sense of
injustice felt by Gonds and Kolams is all the greater as with in the past
many years thousands of acres of forest have been cleared and occupied
by affluent non-tribals, most of whom had only recently immigrated into
Adilabad district.
 ::203::

FOREST POLICIES:-

A brief examination of forest policies relevant to Adilabad would,

give us a good idea how the tribals slowly and how the lost control over
the forest and its resources. The forest and its resources, they strongly
even today believe belong to them by virtue of their birth and growing up in
the sylvan surroundings. Reservations of forests in the Adilabad district
was disastrous to the economic life of the native tribal communities. Large
blocks of forests some times more than 1,00,000 acres are found only in
the heart of the tribal areas of the district.

The forest department in the beginning did not even leave the minor
forest produce untouched. The excise department started auctioning the
Mohha flower which formed the only edible item for the tribals of the area
under the conditions of scarcity. The auction of minor forest produce like
Mohha, chiranje, bamboo and even thatching grass not only deprived the
local tribal of his means of subsistence but also opened the flood gates for
the exploitation ofthe tribals by the unscrupulous non-tribal traders, money­
lenders and forest contractors.

Large scale reservation of forest for assignment to the tribals of the

area around 1945 though provided relief temporarily, but it sowed the seed
for further immigration of non-tribals as well as tribals from the Maratha
areas into the Adilabad tribal area. With the result within a decade land
alienation and consequent encroachment into the reserved forest became a
problem once again With the tribal communities. This time a new dimension
was added not only the native tribes encroached into reserve forest for
cultivation but the non-tribal immigrants also. Once again we see the tension
 :: 204::

building up between the tribals and the forest officials. The forest department
redemarcated the reserved forest area and many tribal villages once again
fell within this area or the boundaries of villages were drawn so tightly that
when they step outside their village they would be straight walking into the
area marked as reserved.

POST-1964 CULTIVATION - ENCROACHMENT:- The illicit

cultivation in the forest has been there since the forest came under
Government control. However, their extent was not known. A detailed
survey was carried out during the 1963-64 and 1964-65 to locate the area
under illicit cultivation^. The series of discussions and Government orders
issued between 1964 to 1972 reveals that although the preservation of
forest has always been considered a sound proposition but it has not been
possible to implement the hard decision like eviction. While all this was
recorded in the discussion the encroachment into the forest continued.
Almost all the pre - 1964 cultivation were extended further. The attempts
made by the forest department to vacate the post-64 cultivations were
strongly opposed. Many of the tribals went to the High Court and brought
stay orders. In the year 1977 Lambadas were included in the S.T. list in
Andhra Pradesh, whereas their counterpart in the adjoining state of Maharastra
were not included in S.T. list. The result was a large number of lambadas
from Maharastra came to Adilabad because of proximity. This increase in
tribal population coupled with the failure of the forest department to carry
out the eviction programme resulted in increase in post-64 cultivation.

31. G.P. Reddy; Politics of Tribal Exploitation; 1987. Mithal Publication Delhi; See Andhara Pradesh
Economic Association Conference paper, ninth Annual Conference 16-17 Feb, 1991. Tribal
Economy of Andhara Pradesh.
 The regularisation of illicit cultivation of pre-64 did not satisfy the
people. The action taken by the forest department for eviction of past-64
cultivation brought it indirect confrontation with the people. Firing
incident of Indervelly in April, 1981 in which large number of tribals were
killed brought a new. dimension to the existing problem. The sympathy of
the Government towards the tribals and support of the naxelite elements
made the tribal bold. The sporadic incident of illicit felling and encroachment
in forest took a turn into organised action. Large scale illicit felling and
encroachment into reserved forest took place. The maximum damage was
caused to the forest of Adilabad district. There was a total non-cooperation
from the villagers for any action of eviction from encroachment.

It looks, according to many tribals that the survey carried out to

asses the extent of encroachment in the forest prior to 1964 was half hazard
and it even included in many cases the lands of tribals who had ‘pattas’.
Further in the case of many tribals, their lands which were brought under
cultivation before 1964 were also declared as lands encroached. After the
Divisional forest officers ruled against the claims of the tribal peasants, the
forest department started evicting these people from their lands. In all these
representation, the following allegations against the forest department were
made. The forest department did not recognise the ‘pattas’ given to the
tribals by the Revenue Department prior to the 1964 on the plea that patta
lands fall under Reserve forest and conflicts between the tribals and forest
officials became a frequent affair and the situation was getting out of hands
of all the concerned. During this period only, the People’s War entered into
the Utnoor tribal areas and started organising the tribals for action through
 ::206::

the establishment of “Girijana Rytu Cooli Sangham” (Tribal peasant and

agricultural labour union).

The presumtion under this was that the Minor Forest Produce (MFP)
such as Beedi-leaves; Haleela, Honey, Wax, Chiranje, etc., will be collected
even from all over the Forest areas. The beedi leaves which are an important
item of Minor Forest produce was prescribed to be collected even from
the patta lands also. The beedi-leaves are being extracted departmentally
from 1987 onwards. All the other minor forest produce items are being
leased out to state owned Girijan cooperative corporation (GCC) one year
to one year basis for collection of Minor Forest Production (M.F.P.) to
give their wages to tribals32>

ILLEGAL EXACTIONS BY FOREST OFFICIALS:-

Apart from the problem trible land claimed by the forest depertment,
which is frequent source of friction between tribals and forest officials,
there is also the continuious eviction of illegal fees collected by forest guards
from the tribal villagers. It is an old practice of forest guards to demand from
the cultivators annual contribution, usually calculated according to the
number of ploughs a man uses for cultivation (Dumoa patti) Though this
tax was abolished as part of the liberalisation of government policy vis-a-
vis the tribals, the forest guards continued to exert from the cultivators
annual fees which went into their own pockets. The amount of these illegal
fees varied from area to area and from forest guard. Any one who refused
to pay the illegal fees is

32. . Adilabad Forest; Regularisation of illicit cultivation and problem of forest protection; (1964 to
August 1988) issued by conservator of forest Adilabad Dt. 14.8.88.
 ::207::

certain to be harassed by the forest guard. Another form of exploitation of

tribals by officials ofthe forest department is recruitment for virtually unpaid
labour, both in plantation and for clearing the forest lines.

Much of the Gonds hard eamed-money had to be used to pay bribes

to forest officials and other minor government servants. B.D. Sharma, who

suggests “that the local tribal community which provides the labour should

be accepted as a partner in the management and sharing of profits. They

should not be taken merely as casual wage earners, whose services can be

dispensed with at will”33.

Then, yet other source of exploitation which has to be

effectively sought to be prevented is the exploitation by the traders, arrack
contractors and government functionaries. The causes of tribal discontent
can be traced to exploitation in land alienation and deprivation of produce
in the forest the poor economic standards of tribals and inadequacy of
basic amenities.

Tribals live in the hilly and forest areas. Their economy in the past to
a great extent had been self-sufficient and non-specified. About 95 percent
ofthe tribals are living in rural India and are engaged as agricultural labourers,
tenants, and small peasants. One of the most peculiar problems faced by
the tribals is their indebtedness^. Indebtedness is a strong factor that begins

33. Government of A.P, forest department plan of Adilabad district, A.P. issued by office of the
conservator of Forest, Adilabad.
34. B.D.Sharma; Tribal Development; The concept and the frame; P. 14.
 ::208::

the process of exploitation in the sense that no sooner a person incurs a

debt, other economic and social consequences undermining his status follow.
Indebtedness may be regarded as a normal fact of life of tribals caused by
their backwardness. Indebtedness is considered as one of the major
problems leading to the tribal misery and exploitation.

C) TRIBAL EXPLOITATION ORIGINS AND GROWTH OF

COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN STUDY AREA:-
FORMS OF EXPLOITATION:
Tribals in India have been the victims of virulent feudal exploitation.
There are almost 30 million tribals in India, as many as 95 percent are living
in rural areas. The socio-economic condition in which these tribal live is
miserable. They are mostly agricultural labourers and are the most exploited
class. As no large scale effective measures to better their living conditions
have not been adopted. There have been sporadic outbursts among the
tribals which have led to armed struggles.
\

After India’s Independence non-tribal immigration into tribal areas

become an avalanche resulting in large number of local tribals deprived of
their lands. Further these non-tribals also become competitors to the tribals
in the exploitation of forest resources. Scheduled Tribes who have for long
been socially suppressed and economically exploited depend for their
subsistence primarily on the cultivation of land. The ownership of land not
only improves the economic condition of a person but it also raises in
social status. But the tribals have been alienated from their lands and they
are struggling for survival.
 ::209::

TRIBAL EXPLOITATION - SOCIO ECONOMIC FACTORS:-

Exploitation has been taking place since times immemorial in tribal society,
since the tribals are honest, illiterate and gullieable. Exploitation normally
assumes two forms viz. Economic and social, and it has been gradually
getting intensified. The various important aspects of this problem needing
special attention are (a) Land Alienation, (b) Bonded Labour, (c)
Indebtedness, (d) Marketing. Economic Exploitation can be measured in
term of average indebtedness, plain sales, low rates for minor forest produce
and agricultural produce, low economic value for their services etc. Social
exploitation is inherent in the tribal society in terms of bride price, heavy
expenditure on social ceremonies, rituals, liquor, superstitious beliefs, social
norms, etc. The economic and social exploitation are inter-linked in such a
way that the unscrupulous (economy) of tribals resulted in high incidence
of indebtedness which is perpetuated by heavy expenditure on unproductive
items such as festivals, social ceremonies etc.

Empirically, the agencies of exploitation can be broadly classified .

into traditional and emerging. The traditional agencies are money lenders,
sowcars, and petty traders; whereas the emerging agencies of exploitation
are contractors, non-tribal cultivators, village level functionaries and
development functionaries. One ofthe impediments in development of tribal
economy was the existence of a traditional money lender-cum-trader in
tribal areas. The economic activity of a traditional tribal society is developed
in such a direction that a particular money lender / trader used to control a
group of tribal families by serving them as purchaser and seller from
generation to generation.
 :: 210::

The British Government started a sort of indirect rule over these

inaccessible tracts through feudal intermediaries in coastal districts. In
Telangana region also, the Nizam had similar relationship with tribals through
feudal intermediaries like jagirdars, Mokhas etc. With the formation of roads
and gradual opening up of tribal areas, some people from plains settled in
agency areas and started systematic exploitation of the tribals. As most of
the agency areas lack proper transport and communication facilities, the
forest produce collected by the tribals could not command satisfactory
market. The absence of organised marketing facilities deprived the tribals
of an equitable pricing system leading to a class of petty traders taking
advantage of the tribals’ helpless situation to exploit them. They were
supplying the tribals with their daily requirements in exchange for agency
produce.

This barter type of transactions always worked against the interests

of tribals. The traditional money lender and trader were taking away in
exchange forest produce which was two to three times the value of the
domestic requirements supplied to the tribal, besides under weighing the
produce by the tribal. The minor forest and agricultural produce being
seasonal and perishable, the tribal coming to the shandy from a long distance,
used to sell the produce to the merchants at whatever rate that is offered to
him. The tribal had none but the money lender to depend upon, for petty
loans for short term purposes and this put him under a perpetual compulsion
to sell his produce to the trader.
 The economic and educational backwardness of tribals has led to
large scale exploitation by money lenders / Sowcars / petty traders who
have migrated to tribal areas for livelihood. Vagaries of nature, small land
holdings, bigger families, perpetual indebtedness, low economic returns
from their occupations, comparatively high family expenditure, unproductive
borrowings and above all the economic exploitation by non-tribal money
lenders and Sowcars are mainly responsible for the downfall of the tribal
from subsistence level to object poverty.

In Adilabad district of the then Hyderabad State, many Gonds and

Kolams rebelled-in 1941 due to alienation of their lands and restrictions
imposed by forest Department. In accordance with provisions of
constitution, certain concrete legal and administrative measures were
undertaken by Government to protect the Scheduled Tribes from
exploitation.

Apart from the exploitation, by the merchant and trading community,

the forest officials, revenue officials and excise officials also try to penalise
them and extract bribes from them. Corruption become rampant. Harassment
of tribal by revenue, forest, excise and Police officials also increased. The
another problem is the immigration into the tribal areas of Adilabad district
in case of Lambadas both from Maharastra as well as from other parts of
the Andhra Pradesh. As they are categorised as backward classes in
Maharashtra, a jump across the border makes them eligible to preferential
treatment in the Governmental programmes in Andhara Pradesh.
 Opening of tribal areas by laying roads for improvement in
communication, provision of better medical facilities, digging of drinking
water wells, control of Malaria and plying of buses by state road transport
corporation etc., have helped non-tribal migration and their settlement in
tribal areas. In Utnoor erstwhile Taluka (Which is the heart of tribal area)
alone the population increased by 60 percent between 1961 and 1971 and
more than 100 percent between 1971 and 1981. Much of the population
increased due to non-tribal influx.

At this juncture, the peasant movement led by the left parties that
have chosen parliamentary path, were gathering some momentum. Around
the same period in the plain areas another left party groups, C.P.I. ( M. L )
P.W.G. have been organising the tribal peasants in the agency area.

AGRARIAN STRUCTURE : AGRARIAN UNREST:-

The Agrarian relations that shaped the agrarian structure have been a
primary factor for the contradictions that developed later in various parts
of the country during the British period. The British occupation of India for
nearly two centuries brought about profound changes in almost all sectors
of the Indian society. The present concern is however confined to the
changes it produced in the agrarian class relations as well as the peasant
response to these changes.

Soon after independence, the land problem was recognised as one

of the key issues in economic development. The objectives of land reforms
 :: 213::

were officially formulated for the first time in the first Five Year Plan and
their scope was broadened from one plan to another plan. The land reforms,
apart from the gaps between the legislation and its implementation, did not
envisages to abolish all forms of absentee landlordism and guarantee land
to the actual cultivator.

Land grab movements and militant action by peasants have

highlighted the urgency of the land problem. The militant movements,
naturally sparked of a probe into the causes for agrarian unrest. Land had
been cited as one of the major factors for agrarian unrest. The causes for
agrarian unrest had also been traced by a report on “the causes and nature
of the current agrarian tension” released by the Ministry of Home Affairs of
Government of India in 1969.

ORIGINS AND GROWTH OF COMMUNIST MOVEMENT:-

Whatever be the bourgeois, petty bourgeois, or pre-bourgeois
origins of the ideology of communism, this much is certain that it owned its
defence and development to the working class movements that shock the
continent of Europe in the early decades of the 19th century. But in colonial
and semi-colonial countries the formation of communist parties took
another route because it was completely divorced from whatever insignificant
sections of the proletariat that were existing in these countries, like India.
The sole inspiration of the communist parties in such countries came from
the educated middle classes dedicated to the cause of national revolution
and influenced by the historic October Revolution led by the Bolsheviks of
Russia under the leadership of Lenin. The formation ofthe Communist Party
of India, at first abroad and later in India, was no exception to this trend.
 :: 214::

Although the exact starting point of the communist party of India

(hereafter C.P.I.) has been polemical issue., it could be safely said that the
foundation of the Indian Communist movement was laid at the Second
Congress ofthe Communist International (Moscow, July-August 1920) M.N.
Roy who was founding member of CPI envisaged ‘the Indian revolution
originating from the workers and peasants on the Russian model’. For the
purpose, he pleaded for the commintem’s exclusive assistance in the
formation of the C.P.I. Since that alone could organize the masses for the
class struggle, and the British imperialism as well as destroy the European
Capitalism and thus accomplish the Indian revolution^.

In the first years (1920-24) the C.P.I. functioned in different parts of

the country but lacked coordination, the Central Committee of the C.P.I.
was not formed until December 192536. In conformity with the cominstem’s
directive, Roy and a few other Indian communists tried to spread then-
ideas in the Indian National Congress by taking full advantage of its built in
organised factionalism. After the first non-cooperation movement had been
called off by Gandhi early in 1922, a faction led by C.R. Das became
dissatisfied with Gandhi’s leadership. Roy sought to cultivate a few out
spoken congressmen, including Das and through them to influence the
thinking and economic programme of the Congress. At the Gaya session

35. M.N.Roy’s: Political Memoris, Bombay, 1964 P.411-418 and D.N.Dube Soviet Russain and
Indian Communism New York 1959 P.23-26.
36. Mazaffer Ahmed: The communist party of India, years of formation 1921-33, Calcutta, 1958
P.14.
 :: 215::

of the Congress (1922) S.A. Dange and S. Chettiar, two of the pioneers of
the C.P.I. proclaimed themselves to be communists and boldly presented
Roy’s programme for progressive economic reforms37.

However the communist party of India on its own seems to have

achieved no note worthy results, in organisational development. But the
formation of the workers and peasants parties all over India and their
Struggles engulfing considerable sections of the toiling masses were chiefly
due to the efforts of communists and to the advice of M.N.Roy from
abroad.

Now, to come back to the communist movement prior to the Meerut

trial and the consequent large scale arrests of the leaders of the C.P.I.,
meant a great blow to the communist movement. The absconder in the
Meerut conspiracy case, Amir Haider Khan, first evaded arrest by going
abroad and after about two years of stay at abroad, returned to India in the
guise of a seeman at the end of March, 1931 and settled down in Madras.
There he influenced some press-workers and also students and gradually
established himself as a communist leader of importance. The nascent
communist movement in Andhra and Tamilnadu owed much to the great
talents and fervent organisational work ofthis communist revolutionary^.

37. See Report of the proceedings of the 37th session of the Indian National Congress. Gaya,
December 1922, Allahabad, 1923, P. 116-117.
38. William Son: Indian and communism, Indian reprint, Calcutta, 1976, P. 172-173.
 :: 216::

ANTI-IMPERIALIST STRUGGLES:-

The policy adopted at the Seventh Congress of the eomintem (July-

August 1935). Expected the Indian communists to give up their radical
protestations and to organise an anti-imperialist broad based mass
movement, comprising the working class, peasantry and middle class,
though consolidation of all leftist elements whether in or outside the congress.
In 1934 some socialists and congress left-wingers established the congress
socialist party (CSP). Although it seemed imminent several times, actually
it never left the congress. With respect to agrarian question the C.S.P’s
policies and programmes were certainly more radical than those of the
congress and reflected better understanding and clarity than C.P.I.-W.P.P.’s
did. At any rate, close contacts with the C.S.P. served the interests of the
C.P.I. in view of the latter ‘United Front’ strategy and new emphasis on
mobilisation of the peasantry. The C.P.I. workers utilised the period (mid­
thirties) to lay the foundation of their own peasant orgnisation the All India
Kisan Sabha (hereafter A.I.K.S.)39.

MOBILISATION OF PEASANTRY:- The mobilisation of peasantry in

the Andhra districts of the Madras Presidency, began in 1928-29 and
gathered momentum during the depression and Nation wide civil
disobedience campaign. The Andhra provincial Ryot’s Association was
first founded by N.G.Ranga and M.B.Naidu in 1928 at Guntur, but it came
into prominence only after 1934. The C.P.I. leaders tried to cultivate him by
designating him president of the All India peasants and workers conference

39. For the early History of the A.I.K.S. see N.G.Ranga, The All India Kesan Movement, The
Indian Annual Register, N.N.Mistra (Ed) July-Dec, 1936. Vol.n P.280-284
 ::217::

organized in Madras in October 1935. During the years of the ‘People’s

War’ 1941-43, A.I.K.S. passed into the hands of communists under whose
ideological influence ‘Swamy Sahajanand’ began to build up the A.I.K.S.
as a purely poor peasants organisation. The communists had more or less
completely established their hold on A.I.K.S. by 1942. During the second
world war the C.P.I. was forced to take an unequivocal stand on the war.

Despite the frictions in the peasant parties in the forties, the take over
ofthe A.I.K.S. by the C.P.I. was veiy largely successful, it was an achievement
of ‘United Front’ strategy. The A.I.K.S. remained the principal peasant
organisations in India Its influence spread fast in Andhra, Bengal and Punjab,
particularly among the poor peasants, tenants-at-will, share-croppers and
landless agricultural labourers. It was only when an attempt to change the
class basis of the party succeeded that the A.I.K.S. and C.P.I. staged the
first two left-wing peasant insurrections in India. The Tebhaga Struggle in
Bengal (1946-47) and the Telangana Peasant revolt (1946-51).

PRESENCE OF THE COMMUNISTS IN COASTAL ANDHRA:-

The communist party in Andhra was officially organised in September
1934. The development ofthe communist movement in India was terror for
the imperialists and they banned it in 1934, even before its branches could
be organised in Andhra. The communist, while working in the congress
organisation, conducted agitation on the demands of agricultural labour
and poor peasants in the villages and the working class in towns could
build up their independent base among them, to a considerable extent.
Forced by the anti-fascist war situation, the imperialist lifted the ban on the
 ::218::
-:50 : -
Communist Party in 1942, Communists came out legally and directly plunged
into the battle against fascism. It was this constant and ceaseless work on
people’s issues close ties with the people through thick and thin, that
enabled the communists to rally 100,000 people at the All India Kisan Sabha
Conference held in Bezwada in 1944 and the next year 50,000 to the
provincial kisan sabha conference in Tenali.

The first major struggle of the communists came in 1931 when they
organised a 1500 miles march from Ichapuram to Madras city to rouse the
peasants against the agrarian system. The march drew participants from
525 villages. It’s purpose was to create a new consciousness among the
peasants.

HYDERABAD STATE:- The communists arrived on the Telangana only

during the latter half of the war period. They had been active in the delta
districts since 1934 when the Andhra Communist party was established
during the ban (1940-41) they operated through ‘front organisations like
the Kisan Sabha, Andhra Maha Sabha (A.M.S.)and so on. The growing
influence of the communists in the delta naturally had its spill-ever to the
adjoining Telangana region. This was visible in the changing complexion of
the leadership and of the worker of the A.M.S. conference. The young
radical elements within the A.M.S. conference therefore turned to
communism and converted the cultural form into a mass militant orgnisation
a united front of the youth, peasants, middle classes and workers, against
the Nizam’s Government^. Through the A.M.S. conference young
communists voiced the peasant’s grievances, paid more and more attention

40. P.Sundaraiah Telangana People’s Streggfle and its lessons Calcutta, 1972 P.19-20.
 ::219::

to the agrarian problems in Telangana and mobilized opinion in favour of

abolition of landlordism and the oppressive “Vetti” system, (bonded labour)

CPI JN TELANGANA:-
The Telangana Communist leaders under the guidance of their Andhra
Counter part played an important role in radicalising Andhra Maha Sabha
came under spell of youthful communist leaders Ravi Narayana Reddy,
Baddam Yella Reddy. They succeeded in converting the Andhra Maha
Sabha (A.M.S.) into a front organisation, ultimately to launch an all out
struggle against Nizam’s regimes. It was utilized to build up a powerful
peasant movement, finally resulting into an armed uprising against the Nizam
and later as against the Union Government of Independent India41.

In 1939 communist oriented leaders, member of ‘Comrades

Association’ joined together to form Hyderabad communist committee.
They were in close touch with the Andhra communist leaders Sundarayya
and Chandra Raj eswar Rao who played an important role in the formation
of the Communist party in Hyderabad State42. Formation of A.P. Communist
Party:- In 1956 first Visalandhra communist conference was held at
Hyderabad oil July 8, 1956 in which the units of Andhra and Telangana
were merged into one and elected Chandra Rajeswar Rao as the secretary
of the Andhra Pradesh Communist Committee43. The war years (1939-45)

41. Walh James : Factria and Fronts a study of the party systems in South India, yound Asia Pub.
New Delhi, 1977, P.31.
42. Ravi Narayana Reddy: Heroic Telangana C.P.I. Publication, Hyderabad, A.P. 1972, P.31
43. Visalandra Daily News Paper, July 9th, 1956, Vijayawada, A.P.
 ::220::

had witnessed a phenomenal growth ofthe communist movement in Telugu

speaking areas. This happened despite its isolation from the peak of the
national movement and the repressive measures and opted by the
Congress Ministry of Madras State against the communists. Finally, the
linguistic patriotism of the communists had also won them some popular
support. The Visalandhara-cause championed by them made the communist
movement popular till the formation of the Andhra State in 1953.

After 1951 the communist party which led the Telangana Peasant -
armed struggle, entered in the parliamentary democracy. C.P.I. members
elected to the people’s bodies. In 1962 when there were a border conflict
between India and China within the C.P.I. there were two different opinions
on the stand of the Indian Government. In 1964 the communist party of
India split into two, on ideological differences. The majority members of
the Central council continued as C.P.I. and the remaining members formed
as C.P.I.(M). Further in 1968 C.P.I(M) split and formed C.P.I.(ML) under
the leadership ‘Mao’ ideology.

FIRST SPLIT OF 1964:-

The year, 1964 was a watershed in the history of Indian Communist

movement. Like many other political parties, the communist party of India
had also been split into the C.P.I. and C.P.I. (M), in the wake of the Chinese
aggression on India. However, the Chinese aggression in 1962 was not the
sole cause for the split in the C.P.I. other factors, particularly parliamentary
path adopted by the C.P.I. made in many young radicals restless and they
 :: 221::

wanted the party to become active. Hence the C.P.I.(M) was borne out of
the first split in the Indian Communist movement44.

RISE OF NAXALITE MOVEMENT:-

The left movement in this country has been characterised by
periodic splits. These splits have closely paralleled ideological rifts
between dominant centres of international communism (U.S.S.R. & China).
While the CPI sided with the soviet union. The CPM’s stand was ambiguous.
The CPI-M leadership acknowledged that the situation in India was not yet
ripe for revolution and opted for participating in legislative politics. A United
Front Government with CPI-M participation came into existence in West
Bengal in 1967. This led to the emergence of a number of groups which
criticized the party i.e., Siliguri sub-division of Daijeeling district under the
leadership of Charu Mazundar, Kanu Sanyal and Sourenbose45. The
Naxalbari peasant uprising exaggerated the existing schemes within the CPI-
M and the extremist radical groups were either expelled or disassociated
themselves from the party. The extremists in Andhra Pradesh deferred the
formation of a coordination committee until they were expelled by the
C.P.I.(M) in their Burdwan plenum in April 1968. In June 1968 the
members of the expelled state committee C.P.I.(M) and representatives
from various districts held meeting in Vijayawada. They decided to
complete the break of the C.P.I.(M) and formed the Andhra Pradesh

44. Ralph Relzalaff: The Communist Revolution in Asia 1969, P.336 and also and also Shanta Sinha
Mavoist in A.P. and Charu Mazumber: One year of Naxalberi. Liberation. June 1968 and Sept
1969,Vol.2No.5.
45. Open letter resolution of APCCRDt: 15-06-1968 P.32. In see Shanta Sinha Mavoists in A.P.
 :: 222::

Coordination Committee for Communist revolutionaries. The Naxalite

movement in Andhra Pradesh first started in Srikakulam district. The threat
from Naxalbari area ofWest Bengal appeared among the tribals of Srikakulam
district of Andhra Pradesh in 1968 and lasted till 1970. The grievances of
tribals here are not different from that of either Naxalbari area or that of
pre-independent tribal India46.
D) PEASANT STRUGGLES IN TRIBAL AREAS OF ADILABAD
DISTRICT OF TELANGANA:-
Communist Movement in Adilabad District:-
Adilabad district in Telangana region is very backward in all respects.
Before the communist movement the landlords exploiting the people. There
was the prominence for the urdu language in the district. The Government
also encouraged the urdu language by ignoring the Telugu and Marathi
Languages. Some students started a movement against the attitude of the
Government with regards to the language. The movement developed as
library movement and fought for Telugu and Marathi languages. The
movement was not only for languages and started political movement. The
movement was the base for many youths to join in political activities.

The peasants struggles against the feudal Nizam in Telangana and the
national movement, inspired the People of the district, to raise their political
voice against the feudalism.

In 1938 the Congress organised Satygraha in Adilabad, which is also

inspired the youth and students and they participated in Satyagraha47.
46. Charu Mazuldar: One year ofNaxal ban. Liberation. June, 1968 and Sept, 1969, Vol.2.No.5.
47. Resource Rama Krishna Stastri: Freedom Fighter, Adilabad, A.R Leaf let published by C.P.I.
Adilabad district committee; Dt. 25.03.1954.
 :: 223::

It was in 1938, when the Nizam Government banned the singing of the
prayer “Vande Mataram”, it was the National Anthem of the Indian during
the Independence struggle. The students and democratic forces in the State,
opposed this move of the Government and condemned, the verdictive action
of the Government and demanded their right to sing their patriotic song. An
effort was made to organise the state Congress after this movement. But it
was banned. A Satyagraha struggle was launched by the State Congress, in
which many active leaders of the Andhra Maha Sabha also participated.

The Communist Party of India, Andhra Unit contacted the militants

of Hyderabad State and formed regular unit of the party. Andhra and
Telangana units of C.P.I. emerged as powerful groups. Many leaders such
as Ravi Narayana Reddy, Baddam Yella Reddy and others of
Andhra Maha Sabha (A.M.S.) attracted the party and joined in the C.P.I.

SPREAD OF COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES:- The Andhra Maha Sabha

Teachers and some important communist party leaders visited Adilabad in
1940 and 1941 and organised a meeting with youth and students those who
are connected with library and Vandematharam movement^. In 1940 the
Gond tribals in Asifabad Taluk under the leadership of Sri. Komaram Bheem
revolted against the exploitation but the Government with the help of
landlords and police force repressed the revolt. Under these circumstances
the Andhra Maha Sabha mobilised the people against the feudal Nizams
atrocities. They demanded the abolition of Vetti, banning of arrack-renting,
no eviction of tenants, land to the tillers, abolition of Jagirdari, reduction of
Taxes and rents, compulsory survey settlements, and abolition of hakkee,
malikana tax (Tax and Toddy trees).

48. Resource: Daji Shankar Rao: Freedom Fighter & Ex. M.LA.; Adilabad.
 ::224::

In the eleventh session ofthe Andhra Maha Sabha (A.M.S.) at Bhongiri

in 1944, the A.M.S. vertically divided into two, one group went out of
A.M.S. and formed, their own organisation separately. In 1945 the twelfth
and last session of the A.M.S. was held in Khammam49. The A.M.S. called
on the people to participate in struggles more actively to achieve their
demands. When the Andhra Maha Sabha struggle activities were in large
scale, the influence of this struggle in Adilabad district was negligible and
this was also confined to some parts of the district. Adilabad and Asifabad
where Marathi language was used and majority of the people are tribes, in
the remaining parts of the district being their culture also Teiugu.

Speaking language was Teiugu, The entire district is politically,

economically and socially very backward. In this far end Taluk of northern
part of Telangana tribals were very backward and suffered from feudal
oppression. There were two kinds of agricultural labourers, one, term -
ervants were paid 40-50 seers (seer = 1/2 kg) measures (seers) of “Jawar”
(millet) per month. Fourteen hours of work, a day both agricultural and
domestic duties, were extracted from them. They were not given any off
day even if they fell ill. They usually had grass - huts but many of them also
lived in their masters - cattle sheds. Their wives and children of 8 to 10
years of age also worked in the fields of their masters and grazed their
cattle. The women were paid Rs. 40 or an equivalent in the form of grain
for the year; The wage was not sufficient for the family, hence they half-
starved, and was forced to borrow from the master. The life of agricultural
labourer who was given a large share of the crop, was equally miserable.
He was given 40 to 50 seers (kgs) of grains per month, for six months. And

49. Ravi Narayana Reddy - Heroic Telangana: C.P.I., Pub. Hyderabad, A.P. 1972.
 :: 225::

for the remaining 6 months a bulk - share. In Mandamarri and some of the
parts of the district, the landlords treated their servants and agricultural
labourers worst than slaves. In Boath and Nirmal talukas the Ryotwari system
was prevailing. In 1941 the Andhra Maha Sabha launched a struggle opposing
the Begaar (no work) system. The movement was intensified against the
atrocities on women, Vetti Chakri, (work without any payment).

The Andhra Maha Sabha (A.M.S.) organised the struggles for

wage - increase and other demands such as abolition of forced labour and
forced levies, bribes, chonbeena and bancharai, abolition of old debts, for
rent reduction etc. To achieve the demands of waiving of old debts, rent
reduction etc., the A.M.S. mobilised the poor and middle peasants, all
tenants and all the other poor sections of the society. The main slogan was
“Land to the Tiller”.

MOBILISATION OF PEOPLE:- In the district the C.P.I. was started

functioning from 1942 by selling the party papers (pamphlets). Propagating
the principles of the Communist party and awakening the people against
the landlords. The C.P.I. organised the people in the rural areas, under the
banner of Kisan Sabha to oppose the levy collection of landlords in
1943-44. In 1946 under the leadership of the C.P.I. leaders mobilised the
people demanding the removal of control of goods. The Communist party
oragnised Singareni Workers strike at Bellampally. The large number of
workers participated in strike and achieved some of their demands in 1945.
This strike helped to strengthen the trade union movement in the district.
 :: 226::

Adilabad is located in the northern part of Telangana and nearby the

Godavari River. The district consists of mountains and dense forests. There

is a plain - area on the southern parts of Godavari and penganga a tributary

of the Godavari in the north. In the hilly and forest region the tribal people

lived. The landlords occupied the land in the plain areas. For example

Nagpur Samasthan Raja holding over 50,000 -1,00,000 acres. Mandamarri

MadhavaRao, Vatandar of 20 villages, owning 10,000 acres. Pasuluri family

owners of 10,000 - 20,000 acres of land. There were other big Velma and

Reddy castes landlords in this area, later period they had become important

political leaders (Congress) of the State.

The Union Government took all precautions to retain the Telangana

peasants armed struggle and its spread in the district. It kept the vigil along

the river - belt and posted the Homeguards in the villages and propagated

against the communist party.

PEASANT ARMED STRUGGLE:- During 1947-48 the communist party

spread the movement in Adilabad district by organising guerilla squads.

The peasants and agricultural labour received enthusiastically and participated

in the parly programme. In 1950 the guerilla squads crossed Godavari river

at Manthene taluk, Karimnagar district and extended the movement to mining

belt of Bellampally and Sirpur. Another groups of squads enterd into the

district from the western side. In month of October, 1950 workers attacked
Rampuram village patwari, and destroyed all false records created by him

and distributed bags of grains to the poor people of the village. The party

also organised Jaytrayatra (Victory March) in 55 villages of the district.

Many peasants and landless agricultural workers participated in the

programmes of the communist party and occupied the waste lands, forest

lands, anyakrantam (forcibly seized land) by the landlords of the poor and

tribal people. The party also took the programme of demanding the wage

increase, removal of Dalari (Middle men) system reasonable price for beedi

leaves and for ‘ippa puwu’ (a kind of flower)

HEAVY REPRESSION:- After police action (1948) the Union Government

unleashed repression on Communist party in the plain areas of Telangana.

The Government established police camps in the villages. They arrested

large number ofparty workers and killed many innocent people in die name

of encounter. Under this situation for the protection and shelter, some of

leaders and workers of the other districts shifted to Adilabad district forest

area. These leaders and workers of the party formed guerilla - squads and

attacked the landlords to end their atrocities. The local leaders are limited

to small groups and helped the guerilla squads only. No leader of the district

was killed because the communist party called off the armed struggle in
1951 and all the leaders and workers who came from other districts left for
their places in 1951. Meanwhile communist movement spread to many areas
such as Mandamarri and Asifabad taluks. Communist party and Kisan Sabha
 :: 228::

organised agricultural workers and carried the struggles and achieved many
of their demands50.

At the time of re-organisation of state in 1956, large part of Adilabad

district was merged in Visalandhra (state). There was a great controversy
among different groups and parties regarding the question of merger. A
press statement was issued in the name of District Congress Committee
(D.C.C.) of Adilabad threatening to star: agitation, if the district is merged
in Visalandhra. Added to this, the congress members of Asifabad argued
that more than 50 percent ofpeople ofBoath, Adilabad, Sirpur (Kagaznagar),
Asifabad not only speak but also well conversants in Marathi. At the same
time D.C.C. west of Adilabad (comprising of Chinnur, Manchiryala;
Luxxettipet, Nirmal, Khanapur) made statement, condemning the arguments
of D.C.C. Adilabad. They mentioned that the statement need not be taken
as the official version of D.C.C.’s51.

Similarly, District Committee of Communist party of India (C.P.I.)

condemned the statement of anti-mergex, which was alleged to be issued in
the name of D.C.C. Adilabad. In the midst of development of arguments
the editor of “SANDESH” (Local publication 1954) opposed the merger
of Adilabad in Visalandhra in the name of Andhra Pradesh. It argued for
“Gondwana” State.

The district committee of C.P.I. condemned the proposal of

independent “Gondwana” state proposed by the editor of Sandesh. It also
50. P. Sundarayya: Telangana People’s Struggle and its lessons, Calcutta - 1972.
51. Deji Shankar Rao: Freedom Fighter, Ex. M.L.A., Adilabad and G. Mallesh; Ex. M.L.A.; Asifabad,
Adilabad Dist.
 ::229::

issued a leaf-let on 25.03.1954 demanding the merger of Adilabad district.

With Visalandhra because the majority ofthe people speak Telugu. Finally,
a major part of the district was brought into Andhra Pradesh at the time of
the State re-organisation.

After the suppression of Naxalite movement in Srikakulam district,

the extremists shifted, their activities to the Northern Telangana districts,
mainly to the tribal areas of Adilabad, Warangal, Khammam. The Naxalites
found this area a fertile one and ready for their activities. The tribal areas of
these districts particularly that of Adilabad district despite early start in
developmental and welfare activities during the Nizam’s time itself were
ready to receive the extremists. The extremists in tribal areas of Adilabad
came to prominence in the year 1976 with the killing of a landlord by name
Digamber Rao along with four of his followers in the village Tapalpur52.
For the next two years, very little was heard about the activities of the
naxalite groups in the district. During the period C.P.I.(ML) People’s War
Group (PWG) of Kondapally Seetharamaiah retreated into the interior
forests and started propaganda among the Gonds and other native tribes of
Utnoor, Boath and Asifbad talukas. The importance of “Gond” unrest in
1981 at Indervelly in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh lies not so much
as armed revolt but due to the enormity of the death toll of tribals on a
single,day in the police firing and the causes that led to this state of affairs.
Though it was started in Srikakulam district gradually spread to Northern
Telangana districts ofKarimnagar, Warangal, Adilabad and Nizamabad.
As the living conditions of tribals deteriorated, their dependence on
(CPI-ML), CPI Maoists to save themselves from exploiters increased by

52. Resource: Mr. Ganga Ram; Freedom fighter; chiefvice president, Singareni Colonies employees
union, Bellampally, Adilabad District, A.P. andG. Mallesh; Ex. M.L.A.; Asifabad, Adilabad Dist.
 :: 230::

the same token. The naxalite held village - courts and threatened forest,
excise and revenue officials who are creating problems for tribals. The
landlords who grabbed tribal - land also got warnings.

After occurrence of a series of such acts, many of the lower level

officials stopped going to tribal areas, while higher level officials also stopped
going in a routine way.

The Naxalite movement in Northern districts of Telangana also

fighting for the raise of the price of Beedi-leaf. They are also fighting for the
rise of Agricultural prices and the wage rise of the agricultural labours.

The naxalites on the other hand are' reported to have purchased arms
like AK-47 assault riffle with (this money) the arrack contractors
contributed huge amounts. This has changed the very strategy of the
naxalites in these areas with the acquisition of sophisticated arms, their
‘striking power’, improved. Their earlier strategy of “hit and run” has
changed to “hit and stay” only to challenge to police on August 18,1987,
the naxalites ambushed and killed ten police men including two
sub-inspectors near Allampally village in Khanapur - Utnoor forests. The
active support of tribals to naxalites during this incident is another
important factor to be noted here. Once again the state wokeup as its
writ in those tribals, areas was at stake.

ORIGINS OF NAXALISM IN ANDHRA $RADESH:- The first

recorded debate in the world communist movement on the legitimacy of

Mao Tsetung’s theories as part of Marxism-Leninism took place in India in
1948-49 and the first open denunciation ofthese theories as alien to Marxism-
Leninism came from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of
India, B.T. Ranadive, in 1949. In the wake of the “Left sectarian” deviation
at the Calcutta (second) Congress of the CPI, early in 1948, the Andhra
communists, who were already leading an armed struggle of the Telangana
peasantry, turned to Mao Tsetung’s New Democracy (published in 1944)
in their search for revolution based on a four-class alliance and the tactic of
peasant partisan warfare53.

The Andhra communists were invoking Mao Tsetung in June 1948,

when what now is regarded as Mao’s theories are known as Maoism, had
not been formalised under this nomenclature. The Chinese revolution had
not yet triumphed fully and the People’s Republic of China had not been
founded when the Andhra communists hailed Mao Tsetung’s New
Democracy and regarded him as a new source of Marxism.

Twenty years later, the wheel has turned a full circle. The Communist
Party of India split into two in 1964. The Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist),
formed in 1964, rejected at its Eight Congress (December 1968) an
amendment to its political resolution, requiring it to accept Mao Tsetung’s
thought as the Marxism-Leninism of the present epoch. Later, in may 1969,
its Politbureau (CPI(m)) suggested that the analysis of the world situation
contained in the main document of the Eight Congress of the Communist
Party of China had nothing to do with Marxism-Leninism.

53. Mallikaijuna Rao, Indian Maoism, Two Shades - See in Naxalbari and after a frontier anthol­
ogy, Vol.H, Kathashilpa, Calcutta, 1978.
 ::232::

With this, the polarisation in the Indian communist movement was

complete. The CPI and the CPI(M) constitutes the non-maoist or anti-
Maoist wing. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Lennist), formed in
April 1969, is the only organised Maoist party in India, though it cannot
claim to represent the majority of Maoists in the country. The Revolutionary
Communist Committee of Andhra Pradesh as well as other formations,
have chosen to keep out of the new party. The Communist Party of China
conferred “recognition” on the CPI (ML) by reprinting extracts from its
political resolution in the People’s Daily (July 2 1969). But there are two
principal shades of Maoism in India - one represented by the CPI (ML)
and the other by the Andhra Maoists.

There is broad agreement among the various Indian Maoist groups

on the international general line. There is also broad agreement among them
on the stage of the Indian revolution, though the CPI(ML) identifies it as
die people’s democratic stage [semantically this is in agreement with the
CPI (M)’s] while the Revolutionary Communist Committee of Andhra
Pradesh call it the new-democratic stage.

In 1969, the AICCCR (All India Co Ordination Commitee of

CommunistRevolutionari.es) leadership decided on the immediate formation
of the party. Its resolution said that an excellent revolutionary situation
existed in the country and there was growing unity of revolutionary ranks.
The political and organisational needs of a fast developing struggle could
no longer be met by a co-ordination committee, because “without a
revolutionary party, there can be no revolutionary discipline and without
 :: 233::

revolutionary discipline the struggles cannot be raised to a higher level”. Its

earlier idea that a party should be formed only “after all the opportunist
tendencies, alien trends and undesirable elements have been purged through
class struggle, is nothing but subjective idealism. To conceive of a party
without contradictions, without the struggle between the opposites, i.e. to
think of a pure faultless party is to indulge in idealist fantasy”. Thus the CPI
(ML) was formed from above, Kanu Sanyal said at the Calcutta Maiden
rally on May 1, 1969, that those who speak of building a party through
struggle, are indulging in petty-bourgeois romanticism.

In contrast, the Revolutionary Communist Committee of Andhra

Pradesh (formerly the A.P. State Co-ordination Committee of Communist
Revolutionaries) believes in building a party in the course of revolutionary
struggle. It has taken a decision in principle to form a party but thinks, as its
journal, “Jana sakti”, made it clear, that revolutionary action should precede
the formation of a revolutionary party.

But the differences between the CPI (ML) and the Andhra Maoists
relate primarily to the tactical line. The first difference is over the principal
contradictions in India. The second difference, obviously and off-shoot of
the first, relates to the form of struggle. More specifically, the third difference
is as follows. Is guerilla warfare the only form of struggle in the present
stage in India? Is there any need for mass organisation to carry on the
democratic struggle? Should a Maoist party be a secret organisation? These
are the issues being debated within and among the various Maoist groups
in India, including the Andhra Maoist group.
 ::234::

FORMATION OF DIFFERENT GROUPS:- The history of the

influence of Mao Tsetung on the Indian communist movement can be traced
back to the Telangana armed struggle of 1946-51. The communists of
Telengana had then, in the teeth ofbitter opposition from the central leadership
of the Communist Party of India (CPI), upheld the relevance of Mao
Tsetung’s theory of New Democracy in the Indian context. Since then, the
communist movement in India, underwent significant changes. The undivided
CPI later accepted the path of peaceful transition to socialism as charted
out by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in its 20th
Congress. Discontent within the CPI came to ahead with ‘India’s China in
March 1967, in the Fourth General Elections, non-Congress governments
were formed in eight of the seventeen states. The CPI(M) joined the United
Front governments in Kerala and West Bengal. In may 1967, Naxalbari, till
then an obscure spot in North Bengal, suddenly became an object of
widespread attention, with an armed peasant uprising. Before this, Charu
Majumdar had written ‘Eight Documents’ which according to the leadership
of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) [CPI(ML)], formed
later in 1969, were the ideological basis ofthe uprising. Charu Muzamdar’s
article ‘Carry Forward the Peasant Struggle by Fighting Revisionism’,
included in this volume, is the last of the ‘Eight Documents’. In his ‘Report
on the Peasant Movement in the Terai Region’, Kanu Sanyal one of the
chief architects of Naxalbari, gave an analytical account of the uprising. In
a later document, ‘More About Naxalbari’, written from jail in 1973, Sanyal,
however, pointed to some lacunae in his earlier report.

Meanwhile, in an editorial ‘ Spring Thunder Over India’, published in

the July 5,1967 issue of the People’s Daily, the Communist Party of China
[CPC] had come out in support of the Naxalbari peasant movement. All
 ::235

this had its share in accentuating the contradictions within the CPI (M). The
leadership of the CPI (M) disowned Naxalbari. And the U.F. Government
in West Bengal let loose severe police - repression.

Then came the parting of ways. A large number of cadres of the

CPI(M) and a section of the leaders were expelled from the Party. The
Darjeeling District Committee was disbanded. Thousands of members left
the Party. The dissident and the expelled members branded the CPI(M)
leadership ‘neo-revisionist’ and started “Deshabrati”, a Bengali weekly, and
Liberation, an English monthly. A ‘Declaration of the Revolutionaries of
the CPI(M)’ was issued by the All India Coordination Committee of the
exodus continued to gain momentum. In April 1968, at the CPI(M) plenum
held at Burdwan, West Bengal, the draft ‘For Ideological Discussion’,
placed before the members back in August 1967, was approved. The draft
criticized the CPSU, but at the same time charged the CPC with interference
in the internal affairs of the CPI(M). The Jammu and Kashmir and the
Andhra State Committee opposed this draft. Some of the contentions of
the latter were that the draft rejected people’s war as the universal form of
struggle in backward countries like India and abandoned agrarian revolution
as the principal line. The Andhra State Committee walked out of the CPI(M).

With the Burdwan Plenum the breach was final. On May 14, 1968,
the AICCCR enlarged itself into the All India Coordination Committee of
Communist Revolutionaries [AICCCR], under the leadership of Charu
Muzamdar’s. On the same day, were issued the ‘Second Declaration’ and
a ‘Resolution on Elections’.

The process of consolidation of revolutionaries, however, made little

headway. A large section of the communists in Andhra Pradesh formed the
 ::236::

Andhra Pradesh Revolutionary Communist Committee (APRCC) in

September 1968, which acted as the Andhra State Committee of the
AICCCR until February 7, 1969, when the latter decided ‘to part with the
Andhra Committee’ and to ‘maintain non-antagonistic relations’ with them
as ‘Mends and comrades outside the AICCCR’. The causes of the discord
were that the Andhra Committee and T.Nagi Reddy were not unconditionally
loyal to the CPC (Communist Party of China) that instead of owning and
glorifying the Srikakulam struggle, they accorded it at most a lukewarm
support. While the AICCCR considered boycott of elections a basic
question for an entire period, the Andhra Committee maintained, it was a
tactical question. Breaking away from the AICCCR, the APRCC adopted
the ‘Immediate Programme’ in April 1969.

On the other hand, the AICCR had decided to form itself into a
party, and the CPI(ML) was bom on April 22, 1969. On that day, the
central committee of the C.P.I. (M.L) adopted the ‘political’ Resolution,
and the hitherto unpubublished document, ‘Resolution on party on party
organisation.’^

Telangana has become the center of activity for all the Naxalite groups
of India, besides a few pockets here and there in West Bengal. After the
death of Cham Mazumder, the leadership has concentrated in the hands of
Telangana Maoists. The movement bom among the peasants of Naxalbari
in West Bengal, has forced the tribals of Srikakulam and form workers of
Telangana region and gained momentum. The only Naxalites to be hanged
to far in the country - Bhoomaiah and Kista Goud were from Telangana of
Adilabad district. The movement under Cham Mazumdar, leadership

54, Mallikarjuna Rao, Indian Maoism, Two Shades - See in Naxalbari and after a frontier anthology,
Vol.n,Kathashilpa, Calcutta, 1978.
 ::237::

suffered a death blow by its terrorist path. His death brought the debate in
to open and his followers split in to various factions like :

(1) Pro-Lin Piao of the C.P.I (M.L) (pro-Charu Mazumdar) After

Charu Mazumdaru’s death, a group of Maoists any change. They followed
the guerilla strategy of ‘Warfare’ and held the slogan “China’s Chairman
‘Mad’ is our Chairman” as correct and expressed the opinion that it is a
correct tatics defend chairman’s China, and carry forward the world
revolution.^

(2) C.O.C - C.P.I. (M.L) (Central Organizing Committee, C.P.I.M.L)

Though it was initiated in November, 1973 by Kondapally Seetharamaiah,
it is an amalgamation of four major groups from Bengal, Kerala, Uttar
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The COC believes in the units of working
class, poor peasant, landless labour, petty bourgeoise and national
bourgeoise. It says that the main contradiction was only between feudalism
and vast masses but not between Landlords and Peasants. Kondapally
Seetharamaiah explained his stand that there is no clear vision between
mass organisation and party organisation. For him mass organisaions were
instruments ofmobilising people directly for revolution and armed struggled
was the main form of struggle.
(3) U.C.C.R.I. (M. L) (Unity Centre of the Communicst Revolutionaries
of India, (Marxist Leninist)):- Communist party group was advocating a
more positive role through out the period till 1970. It was criticised by
T. Nagireddy who repeatedly stressed on the mass line, the need to rally
masses and completely to ground on their strength, otherwise the
Government was too strong to be faced forcibly. After the death of
T. Nagi Reddy on July 28,1976, his faithful deputy Devulapalli Venkateswar

55. Editorial: “Deshabrate” editorial of the March 1978, issue, the Bengali Organ of the Pro-charu
Mazumdar, and Pro - Linpiao group ofthe C.P.I. (M.L) led by Mahadeb Mukheijee.
 :: 238::

Rao rechristened unity group as Unity Centre of Communist Revolutionaries

of India (UCCRI).
(4) C. C - C. RI. (M L) (Central Committee, C.RI. (M.L))Satyanaraian
Singh (sinha) was the first to break away from Charu Majumdar Group and
established a Central Committee (C .C .-CPI(ML)) (Draft dated 3rd
April 1977). He was the first Maoist who tried for the unity of all the Maoists
factions in India. His allies were Chandra Pulla Reddy and Pyla Vasudeva
Rao of Andhra who later joined him and C.C-CP.I .(ML) came into
existing. They issued the document called Self Critical Report in 1973
condemning the policy of annihilation and asserting the importance of land
occupation struggles. They gave a clear direction on the nature of economic
struggles. They said such struggle should be organised as a pre-condition
to armed struggle and that it must be based on peoples own demands and
the form of struggle to achieve the demands, must be appropriate to the
level of people’s consciousness. They further emphasised the necessity of
building mass organisation of all kinds56.

Though no auspicious day can be fixed to start armed struggle, the

Revolutionary Communist Committee in its ‘Immediate Programme’ fixed
‘muhurat’ for the start of such struggle57. “With the onset of the rainy
season, provides in June, we can start the armed struggle. Rainy season
provides the favourable climate for resistance movement,” the ‘Immediate
Programme’ stated. This fixing of ‘muhuratam’ was ridiculed by the CPI
(ML), and PC (Provincial Committee Outside Jail of the Revolutionary

56. Samersen, Debabrata Panda, Ashish Lahiri: Naxal ban and after afrontier anthology, Vol.II,
Kathashilpa, Calcutta, 1978.
57. A correspondent Andhra Pradesh Analysis of a split; Naxal bari and after afrontier anthol­
ogy, VoLH, Kathashilpa, Calcutta, 1978.
 :: 239::

Communist Party of Andhra Pradesh Split in 1970) later could note the
mistake they committed. T.Nagi Reddy and D.Venkateswara Rao in their
document ‘Left Deviation’ tried to defend the fixing of the date, saying that
when they formulated the ‘Immediate Programme’ there was an exodus of
party members into the Marxist-Lennist Party and to stop it and give
confidence to the rank and file of the party they had to fix a time! But later,
T.Nagi Reddy and D.Venkateswara Rao accused the Agency leadership
for starting the armed struggle in the name of self defence “before the
people were prepared for occupation and distribution of the land of
landlords”. The PC contested this line of thinking and explained that the
landlords and the government would not sit with hands tied till the people
were prepared to seize their lands. But at the same time, the PC did not
forget the importance of the preparedness of the people to come forward
to occupy the landlords’ lands5g.

When the people launch mass struggle on their own issues against
feudal exploitation, the landlords and the reactionary government come
down heavily on the movement using the armed police to suppress it. In
such a case, if the people, in defence of their movement, are prepared to
resist the armed repression of the government with arms, the communist
revolutionaries should lead such a struggle, and must strive to develop the
movement which had started on partial demands into agrarian revolution.

If and when people are not prepared to resist the brutal armed
suppression and repression to which the people’s movement is subjected

58. Samersen, Debabrata Panda, Ashish Lahiri: Naxal bari and after afrontier anthology, Vol.II,
Kathashilpa, Calcutta, 1978.
 ::240::

to, in the process of its development, they must adopt necessary tactics for
self-defence of the cadre and the mass movement to develop the movement
into agrarian revolution. They have to decide upon the forms of struggle
for self- defence taking into consideration the degree of the preparedness
of the people for armed struggle, their support, geographical conditions
(contiguity) of the area concerned etc.

In the forest areas of Adilabad, Warangal, Khammam and Karimnagar

districts, when mass struggles were developing against feudal and other
exploiting classes, the reactionary Congress Government unleashed heavy
police repression to suppress the people’s movement. In order to
safeguard this movement and its gains and to save the cadre, the people
and the party were forced to take up arms in self-defence. So, armed squads
were formed. The party and the armed squads have put forward before
themselves the main task of mobilisation of people for armed revolution.

After the suppression of the Srikakulam Girijan uprising, various

naxal groups shifted their focus of attention and activities to the remote
northern Telangana, more particularly to organise the tribals of Adilabad
district. They have chosen Adilabad for its geographical strategic
importance. This district is bordering both Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh
with thick tracks of vast forests. At any time if the police combing
becomes intense, naxals can retreat into the inaccessible interior forest and
from dense places, there they can have a safe passage into the Dandakaranyas
of Madhya Pradesh.