The forgotten Gonds: How the community in tamil nadu struggles for recognition and basic rights

Time of India

30-04-2025

Sameera is only 12 but already knows the cruelty of social discrimination. Bullied by classmates and ignored by teachers, she dropped out of high school last year. "They made me sit separately and laughed at me because I'm Gond," she says. "I still want to study, but not when I am treated like that."
Sameera lives in Gondi Nagar, a tarpaulin-covered splinter settlement in Coimbatore that claims to be Tamil Nadu's only Gond enclave. Home to 1,500 people, it is tucked away in Sundarapuram, just a few kilometres from a bustling city centre. Yet its residents, originally from Central India, live without recognition, basic rights, or a sense of belonging.
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They are classified as scheduled tribes in states such as Odisha and Uttarakhand — the 2016 Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, includes them in Uttarakhand; Odisha recognises subgroups such as the Gond, Gondo, Rajgond, Maria Gond, and Dhur Gond. But in Tamil Nadu, while the govt has launched schemes to uplift tribal communities, the Gonds remain on the fringes.
They lack community certificates, access to govt scholarships, and the right to be counted as part of India's official tribal landscape. Many children never make it to high school, and most families still live in tents. In Gondi Nagar, there are no drains, toilets are few, open defecation is routine, and children fall sick often. Women walk long distances for water. There is no access to healthcare, and girls as young as 14 or 15 are married off — some already mothers before they turn 17.
Most Gonds earn a living selling jari booti (traditional herbal medicine). Some have turned to trading in auto spare parts, eking out a life through odd jobs. "Many women here are training as beauticians and work at salons," says 33-year-old Sangeeta, a school dropout. Families are large, with eight to ten children under one roof — or rather, under a tarpaulin stretched across four bamboo poles.
Gonds are one of India's oldest tribes, once rulers of Gondwana, a region spanning what is today eastern Madhya Pradesh. "Gond", meaning hill dweller, was a label given by Mughal administrators, according to eHRAF, a compendium of world cultures by Yale University. Though the Gonds now live scattered across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and parts of Odisha and Maharashtra, the ones in Tamil Nadu are almost invisible. Their language, Gondi, is spoken only by a few; most speak Tamil or Marathi.
Over the past three decades, with help from religious group scholarships, the Gondi Nagar community has seen 30 of its members graduate — some now working in MNCs, others as entrepreneurs or social workers. Sanjeet Samuel and Yacoob were among the first and still live in the settlement. "There are 350 families here and more than 400 children," says Sanjeet. "But in the past 10 years, only the children of graduates have made it to high school. Without ST status, we cannot opt for reservation or turn to the Right To Education Act, so education remains out of reach. Parents want better but can't do anything because they have no money. So, most children here are dropouts. Without community certificates, govt jobs and scholarships are ruled out."
Yacoob says education gave him "social status". "Many want a similar change in their lives and in the lives of their children. Even for small things such as filling a form or visiting a hospital, the few of us who studied now help the rest in the community," he says. A corporation primary school was set up for the community, and 75 children have been enrolled, but only about 25 show up daily. Middle and high school children are referred to a corporation high school 2 km away from Gondi Nagar. Irregular attendance is a problem, says a teacher. "Many come to school late, unwashed, and leave by midday," says the teacher. "Parents are not interested in education."
Artist D Anand Abraham, a member of the community, was nine years old when he came to Tamil Nadu in the 1960s and moved across districts such as Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, and Dindigul until they settled in Coimbatore in the 1980s. "We first lived in Podanur, but we were evicted and shifted to Sundarapuram. This area is well connected," says Abraham. A few houses were built under slum clearance board schemes, but as the population grew, many were forced to return to living in tents, cooking and sleeping on the roadside.
The Coimbatore district administration has now enlisted an anthropologist from the Tribal Research Centre, Ooty, to document the Gonds' culture and ancestry. "The study should conclude by May," says Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar. "If they're recognised elsewhere, we can propose reservations here too and issue community certificates." The development plan, says Giriyappanavar, focuses on housing, education, and sanitation. "Land verification is underway to build more homes nearby, ensuring the community isn't relocated. We are planning weekly reviews with NGOs, police, and officials of various departments. Once recognised, the Gonds will be eligible for land rights and welfare benefits under the tribal welfare board."
To reduce school dropouts, a bridge course will train teachers from within the community to teach students in Marathi and Tamil. "This approach was introduced in Tirupur and has had positive outcomes. A temporary classroom will also be set up inside the settlement," says Giriyappanavar. "Sanitation will be improved with new toilets and regular cleanliness drives."