Jodeghat (Kumarambheem Asifabad): The tribal museum that was established at Jodeghat has shockingly widened the gap between Lambadas and Adivasis in the old Adilabad district.
A statue of Lambada woman (Shymka Matha) went missing from the tribal museum and it was allegedly destroyed by unidentified persons late on Thursday. Following this, the cultural differences among the tribal groups once again came to the fore, as Adivasis had been demanding removal of the statue since long.
Members of the Lambada community staged protests against the incident and burnt an effigy of former MLA Soyam Bapurao at various places.
Lambada Hakkula Porata Samiti leaders announced that they will stage a protest in front of the Asifabad collectorate on Saturday demanding action against persons involved in the incident.
Meanwhile, some Adivasi leaders questioned the officials of ITDA for allowing Lambada woman's statue in the Tribal Museum.
Adivasis have expressed their displeasure over the presence of the statue of the Lambada woman in her traditional attire in the Tribal Museum, saying that the museum was meant for the aboriginal tribes popularly called as Adivasis.
The Adivasis have been against the mixing Lambada culture with their culture from the time Lambadas were included in Scheduled Tribes’ list in 1976 in Telangana. Since then, Adivasis have been demanding the state government remove Lambadas from the list.
The Adivasis allege that the Lamabadas have been cornering all the education and employment benefits meant for STs.
In the meanwhile, the Lambada community has become a political force in the state due to their higher numbers in the new state, while the population of the Adivasis is lower.
Besides, creation of Telangana state brought an unforeseen boon to the Lambadas – the state government has been making recruitments through the TSPSC without categorisation of STs. This has handed Lambadas the advantage when compared to aboriginal tribes.
Reacting to the disappearance of the statue, Kumarambheem Asifabad collector K. Champalal said they will not tolerate such incidents and initiate action against those involved in the incident in the Tribal Museum at Jodeghat.
