10-foot bronze statue of Alluri unveiled
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The event was organised by the Kshatriya Seva Samiti. The statue was unveiled by assembly speaker Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, minister Durgesh, excise minister Kollu Ravindra, Anakapalli MP CM Ramesh and other dignitaries, who paid rich tributes to the legendary figure.
Following this, the dignitaries participated in the birth anniversary celebrations held at the Smritivanam (memorial forest) of Alluri at Krishnadevipeta, Golugonda mandal.
Speaking on the occasion, Durgesh said Alluri was a first-generation freedom fighter who led a significant tribal movement and heroically fought for the rights of Adivasis. He urged the youth to draw inspiration from Alluri's fighting spirit and contribute to the development of society.
He pledged to transform the region into a tourist hub and promised the creation of a tourism circuit connecting spiritual and scenic locations across Anakapalli district. He assured that the ghats and surrounding areas where Alluri sacrificed his life would also be developed. Durgesh also remarked that Alluri is a symbol of Telugu valor and that the state is officially commemorating his birth anniversary across all regions.
Later, the Speaker, ministers, and MPs elaborated on Alluri's greatness and the steps required to fulfill his vision.
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The Hindu
12 hours ago
- The Hindu
36 lakh school kits, sans political branding, distributed to students in State
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The Wire
15 hours ago
- The Wire
Adivasis Must Be Allowed to Register Their Religions in the Census
Every time a census enumerator visits my home, I wait eagerly for them to ask me the question: "What is your religion?". To my disappointment, they always record my religion as Hindu without even asking me. Almost every Adivasi or indigenous man in India meets this fate during a census enumeration. The government of India has just announced its decision to conduct census enumeration in 2027 after a long mulling. What is new about this census is the decision to enumerate the caste of every individual citizen, a practice that was discontinued after the 1931 census. Additionally, there is talk of a proposal to assimilate Adivasis into Hinduism by removing them from the 'Other Religions and Persuasions' category. Denying Adivasis the right to register their religion under this category would violate Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which ensures freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. Hundreds of diverse religious sects and communities take the help of this category to claim their religious identity in the census. The Indian government's move could be catastrophic to these communities, particularly to Adivasis, who have been increasingly asserting their separate religious identity in recent times. If the decision comes through, Adivasis would now be left with no option but to record themselves in one of the six institutionalised religions given as options by the Census Commission, namely Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain. Adivasis are mostly enumerated as Hindus unless they claim one from the remaining religious denominations. The mishmash of the Adivasi religion can be mainly attributed to British colonial rule. The British initially treated all the Indian religious sects and practices as paganism, which means worshipping multiple gods, spirits, demons and idolatry. All these were crafted as Hinduism in the 19th century by socio-religious reformers and the colonial census. The fact is that India has seen thousands of religious sects and traditions from the early historical period which are known by local names. However, the dominant pan-Indian traditions in ancient times were called Brahminic and Shamanic (Buddhist and Jaina). They were further divided into numerous sects, particularly Brahmanism, popularly known as Vaishnavism and Saivism from the early medieval period, which were developed appropriating non-Brahminic or non-Aryan religious traditions and practices. Saivism browned from non-Aryan ingredients. In the 11th century, Al Beruni, a Muslim chronicler, is thought to have used the term 'Hindustan/Hindustani' for the first time, in a broader geographical and cultural sense encompassing the region east of the Indus river. Over a period, the term Hindustani gained popularity and was used to distinguish the Muslims from the native people or non-Muslims in North India. South India was called 'Deccan or Deccanis'. All medieval texts and documents use these terms to describe the religion, language, and culture of native Indians. However, the religious and cultural plurality of the country continued to flourish under the Sultanate and Mughal rulers. Indian religious plurality came under threat with the advent of British rule in India, as it endeavoured to homogenise diverse religious sects and traditions such as Hinduism. However, the task was full of tension. There was intense debate among colonial administrators and Orientalist scholars about the nature of Hinduism, as it lacked the defining traits of an institutionalised religion, particularly those based on monotheistic philosophy. Raja Rammohan Roy's treatises on monotheism from the Upanishad texts in the early 19th century popularised Hinduism as a modern religion. The making of modern Hinduism had a severe impact on the Adivasi religion and belief system. This is because there is no comparison between philosophy and practice in Hinduism. Although it talks of monotheism, in reality, it is polytheism, which was formed by appropriating many Adivasi gods and goddesses into the Hindu pantheon of gods. This created utter confusion when the religion of individuals was enumerated in the census, as there was a thinner line between Hinduism and other native religious sects. Nineteenth century socio-religious reformers had tried to separate Hinduism from native sects in order to prove and maintain its purity. Dayananda Saraswathi disowned pagan practices of Hinduism and advocated for pure Aryanism founded on Vedic philosophy. For him, only Aryans were the true Hindus. 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With the spread of intense communal politics, Adivasis came to occupy a religious no man's land where Christian missionaries and Hindutva forces competed to traverse through their areas and bring them into their religious fold. Christian missionaries were the first, but the Hindutva forces who followed them could assimilate them into Hinduism without much effort. This was done through propaganda campaigns and lobbying with colonial officials. Hindutva associations brought tremendous pressure on the Census Commission to enumerate Adivasis as Hindus irrespective of their claims. Although this was never officially declared, many Adivasis were enumerated as Hindus in the 1941 census. Ironically, Verrier Elwin, who was considered to be a champion of the Adivasi cause, was among those who believed that Adivasis other than those in Assam were Hindus. Enumerating the Adivasi religion was a difficult task of the Census in India, which started in 1871-72. The main difficulty faced by the Census Commission was drawing a line between Hinduism and other native sects, as there was no strict definition of Hinduism in place. The term Hindustani was still used in terms of race, nationality, language, and culture. The debate on who Aryans and non-Aryans are also added to this chaos. Out of the chaos, the Census Commission classified Indians into five religious categories, namely Hindus, Muhammedans, Christians, Buddhists and Others. The Adivasis, along with the castes outside the Varna system, were included in the Other category. Adivasis were, however, recorded with their community name as their religion – Gond, Munda, Banjara, etc. The 1881 Census followed almost the same model. In this Census, 14 religious categories were recognised in Bengal. Santhals, Kols, Eastern Aboriginal and Western Aboriginal were recorded as separate religious categories, but in the total tabulation, they were shown as one Aboriginal religion, separating them from the All Other Religions category. It is worth noting here that a new term called Animism was used to designate the Adivasi religion in the 1891 census. The Census Commissioner, J.A. Baines, defined Animism as the belief in the existence of souls or spirits that freely move through earth, air, man, and all other objects, which become divine and objects of worship. Those forest tribes who were not acknowledged as Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist were enumerated as Animists. Enumerators were instructed to enter the names of the forest communities in the prescribed column, and in the compilation, they were included in the Animism category. The Adivasis were enumerated under the same category in the 1901 and 1911 censuses. 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However, the Adivasis took the help of the Other Religion category to reclaim their religion in the census. The decision to assimilate Adivasis into Hinduism is a purely political move that aimed at suppressing the Adivasis' assertion of a distinct religious identity, particularly the Sarna Dharam movement in central India. Adivasis primarily constituted the majority under the Other Religions and Persuasions category. In 1951, 18.4 lakh individuals were recorded under Other Religions and Persuasions, which rose to 79.3 lakh by 2011. Specifically, those identifying as Sarna Dharam increased from 18 lakh in 1991 to 35 lakh in 2011. Adivasis have historically been living outside the caste-village society, resorting to the forests and hills. Over time, they developed their own language, belief system and culture in order to carve out their separate identity. Their history and identity are their weapon in negotiating with the imperial and modern states, and in keeping them at bay. A move to erase their identity will be considered an attempt to erase their histories by bringing them into the Hindu fold by force. Bhangya Bhukya is a professor at the department of history, University of Hyderabad.
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
35 lakh school students to receive ‘Vidyarthi Mitra' kits
Vijayawada: The state government has undertaken an extensive exercise of distributing student kits called 'Vidyarthi Mitra kits' at a cost of Rs 953 crore to over 35 lakh students. To ensure the highest standards of quality, all materials provided to students have undergone a rigorous three-layer quality check by the Quality Council of India (QCI) before distribution. For the first time, the state has partnered with the QCI to conduct three-stage quality checks, covering raw materials, final production and packaging. Only those products that passed all stages were dispatched to schools. To ensure transparency, 'Quality Walls' have been set up at mandal stock points to test and display the kit items. Government school students across the state are stepping into the new academic year with pride and confidence, thanks to the distribution of the Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyarthi Mitra kits. Spearheaded by education minister Nara Lokesh, the initiative has brought a fresh look to classrooms, along with renewed energy and enthusiasm among students. Designed to ensure an equal start for every student, the kits include uniforms, shoes, belts, socks, school bags, textbooks, notebooks, workbooks, and Oxford dictionaries — all of high quality and presented in attractive, student-friendly colors. Significantly, this is the first time that government-provided kits are free from political branding. The kits have been renamed after India's second President, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Under the previous YSRCP government, the kits were branded as Jagananna Vidya Kanuka and featured images of the then chief minister. This was widely criticised for exposing schoolchildren to political influence and using government material to do political publicity. This year, the government has distributed these kits to over 35.94 lakh students from Classes 1 to 10 across government and aided schools. With a total budget of Rs 953.71 crore — Rs 778.68 crore from the state and Rs 175.03 crore from the Centre — each kit is valued at approximately 2,279. The government has also borne the stitching charges — Rs 120 for Classes 1–8 and Rs 240 for Classes 9–10 — ensuring uniforms are ready to wear. As part of the initiative each student received three sets of uniform cloth in new colours (olive green pants/gowns and light yellow-green striped shirts), one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, a belt, and a school bag, textbooks, workbooks, and notebooks, an Oxford English-English-Telugu dictionary for Class 6 students, pictorial dictionaries for Class 1 students and dictionaries in regional/minority languages like Urdu, Tamil, and Odia where needed With transparent online tenders through the e-procurement system, the government saved Rs 63.80 crore compared to previous years.
