The Land of the Koitur

MOHAN GURUSWAMY

There is a vast and mostly forested region spanning almost the entire midriff of India, from Orissa to Gujarat, lying between the westbound Narmada and eastbound Godavari rivers. Bounded by mountain ranges like the Vindhya, Satpura, Mahadeo, Meykul, and Abujhmar, this area was once the main home of the original autochthonous Indian, the Adivasi. While it is inhabited by many tribal groups, the largest among them, the Gonds, dominated the region. The earliest Gond kingdom dates back to the 10th century, with Gond Rajas maintaining a relatively independent existence until the 18th century, albeit under nominal Mughal suzerainty.  

The renowned historian Jadunath Sarkar records:  

"In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, much of the modern Central Provinces (today’s Madhya Pradesh) were under the sway of aboriginal Gond chiefs and was known as Gondwana. A Mughal invasion and the sack of the capital crippled the great Gond kingdom of Garh-Mandla during Akbar’s reign, followed by Bundela encroachments from the north. However, in the mid-seventeenth century, another Gond kingdom with its capital at Deogarh rose to prominence, extending its influence over Betul, Chindwara, Nagpur, and parts of Seoni, Bhandara, and Balaghat. In southern Gondwana, the town of Chanda was the seat of a third Gond dynasty, a hereditary rival of the Raja of Deogarh."

Deogarh’s glory faded when the Maratha ruler of Nagpur annexed it after the death of Chand Sultan. Interestingly, the Gond ruler of Deogarh, Bakht Buland, founded the city of Nagpur. Jadunath Sarkar writes of him:  

"He expanded his kingdom’s area, power, and prosperity significantly, posing the greatest challenge to Aurangzeb in his later years."

Indeed, Aurangzeb’s inability to fully deploy his forces against Shivaji was largely due to the Gond kings’ relentless warfare against the Mughals, which disrupted supply lines between the Deccan and Agra. Yet, modern Indian history scarcely acknowledges their contributions.  

Jabalpur, a major center of the Garh-Mandla kingdom, boasted a large fort and palace, as did other dynastic capitals. Temples and palaces with exquisite carvings and erotic sculptures were built across Gond kingdoms. The Bhoramdeo temple at Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, stands as a testament to the cultural and artistic zenith of the Gonds.  

During British rule, this region formed much of the Central Provinces, later becoming Madhya Pradesh. It remains the primary home of approximately seven million Gonds, India’s largest tribal group. Today, the Gonds are culturally and linguistically heterogeneous, influenced by the dominant languages of their regions. For instance, Gonds in eastern and northwestern Madhya Pradesh (including Chhattisgarh) speak Chattisgarhi and western Hindi. However, the Gonds of Bastar, in southeastern Chhattisgarh, are distinct. Among the various tribal groups like the Halbas, Bhatras, Parjas, and Dorlas, the Maria and Bison Horned Gonds are the most numerous. Their language, akin to that of the Koyas of Andhra Pradesh, is an intermediate Dravidian tongue closer to Telugu and Kanarese. This has a historical basis.  

According to Sir W.V. Grigson, ICS, who wrote *The Maria Gonds of Bastar* (1938), the Bastar princely family descended from the Kakatiya kings of Warangal (1150–1425 AD). After Pratap Rudra Raya, the greatest Kakatiya king, was killed in battle against Ahmad Shah Bahmani’s forces, his brother Annam Deo fled across the Godavari into Bastar, then a feudal dependency of Warangal.  

Annam Deo founded a lineage that endured until 1966, when the last ruler, Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo, was assassinated by the Madhya Pradesh government under Dwarka Prasad Mishra. Pravir Chandra, who ascended the throne in 1936 as the twentieth ruler of Bastar, had resisted Congress’s encroachment into the region and championed tribal rights. His reverence among the tribals persists; his images are still sold at the Danteshwari temple in Dantewara.  

Telugu inscriptions at Barsur and Kuruspal on the Indrawati River mention the Nagavansi kings, who ruled Bastar as early as the 11th century. Today, Bastar’s Gonds are recognized by anthropologists as a distinct group, the “Koitur.” Grigson notes that the Maria and Bison Horned Gonds of Bastar resent being called Gonds.  

Wherever Gonds retain their language, they call themselves *Koi* or *Koitur*. Only in Telugu regions are they referred to as *Koya*, a name closer to their self-designation. Anthropologists use “Koitur” primarily for these “Teluguized” Gonds, though large Koitur populations exist in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Bastar, however, remains the true land of the Koitur. The former Bastar state, once as large as Kerala, was incorporated into independent India as a district of the Central Provinces. It has since been divided, with Dantewara carved out as a separate district and Antagarh tehsil merged into Kanker district.  

I have visited Bastar since my teenage years in the mid-1960s, when I accompanied my father across the Godavari in pursuit of a man-eating leopard near Pujari Kanker in the Abalaka range. Since then, changes have largely disadvantaged the Adivasis. Hinduization and Hindi cultural dominance have pushed the egalitarian Koitur to the bottom of the social strata.  

Dr. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarthy, Director of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya in Bhopal, eloquently addresses this in his chapter *Extinction or Adaptation of the Gonds* in the book *Tribal Identity in India*. The Sangrahalaya, dedicated to studying and preserving tribal cultures, has beautifully recreated Adivasi homes and lifestyles on Shamla Hills overlooking Bhopal’s lake. A visit to this museum is highly recommended.  

Public attitudes in metropolitan India, however, are shaped by artists like J.P. Singhal, whose calendar art of bare-breasted tribal women has perpetuated stereotypical views. Bollywood’s lurid depictions of tribals, often painted black and dancing in grass skirts, further reinforce these biases. Even the *Ramayana* reflects historical prejudices, with its portrayal of a “monkey army” likely metaphorical for indigenous people. Scholars have critiqued this, but popular sentiment often overrides political correctness.  

Bastar’s dense forests have been decimated, and wildlife hunted to near extinction. Wild buffalo herds near Kutru and tigers in the Kanger Valley Reserve are now critically endangered. The Koitur’s traditional way of life is equally threatened. Migrants from Hindi-speaking regions of Madhya Pradesh have reduced the indigenous population to a minority in areas like Jagdalpur and Kondagaon.  

The National Mineral Development Corporation’s iron ore mine in Bailadilla, Dantewara, has caused irreversible harm. While yielding minimal local benefits, it has led to ecological devastation and social degradation, including the sexual exploitation of Koitur women by outsiders.  

*Mohan Guruswamy