The Gonds- A Closer Look

Introduction

Since 2900 BCE the Indian civilization has seen thousands of groups and clans in society. Starting with the Indus Valley Civilization to the 21st-century composite Indian society. All these different forms of societal structures have left their imprints on Indian history and culture. The Gonds are one of them.

Tribal history in India in India is still vague, but a few tribes like Gonds, Bhils, Santhals, et al have some form of literature to support their history. So here we will study the history of the Gonds and how their society has evolved over the years.

Changes in the Indian Society During the Medieval Era

From 750 CE to the 1200s, India was dominated by various Kshatriya rulers. But along with them some non-Kshatriya rulers also rose to power causing significant upheaval in the society. Also, new occupations started emerging, for example- carpenters, stone masons, the sword makes, etc. These people still did not have a defined place in the Varna system, leading to further division of the society into castes or jatis.

Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishya, and Shudras were further subdivided into jatis by the Brahmanas. New Rajput clans belonging to the lineages of the Huns, Chandelas, and Chalukyas came to power. Many tribal rulers with the help of the Brahmanas entered the ruling class of the varna system. However, in north-western India, the tribes rejected the hierarchical structure of Hinduism and adopted Islam.

Tribes in the Medieval Period

There were numerous tribes in medieval India. Gakkhars, Khokhars. Janjuhas, Langahs, et al in the northwest, Cheros in Jharkhand and Bihar, Mundas and Santhals in Orissa, Kolis in Maharashtra, and Ahoms in the north-east. Some of these tribes were pastoral and others were settled. The Banjaras were trader-nomads. Their caravans were called Tandas. They carried out large-scale trade in wheat and rice across the country. Even Alauddin Khalji used these tribes to transport grain to the cities. Banjaras were extremely useful in the time of war to supply food for the army.

Origin and Society of Gonds

The Gonds emerged in the hilly regions of central India covering parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra. The first king, Jadurai ruled in the 14th-15th century period after overthrowing the Kalchuri Rajputs..

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The land over which they ruled was called Gondwana land, part of Madhya Pradesh. The Gond tribe was subdivided into several clans ruled over by a raja or rai. However, not much literature of their own survives. We get information about their societal and administrative from other rulers’ records.

Like Akbar, Nama mentions a Gond Kingdom of Garh Katanga comprising 70,000 villages. Gradually some clans within the empire tried to acquire higher status. Brahmans were given land grants, in return for various yajnas which gave the Rajput status to some rajas, resulting in an unequal society. Even the raja of Garh Katanga, Aman Das took the title, Sangram Shah. He also married off his son Dalpat Shah to princess Durgawati, the daughter of the Chandel ruler of Mahoba.

Approximate Extent of the Gond Kingdom of Deogarh

Pls I dank memer, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Administrative and Political Structure of the Gonds

The Gonds ruled over an extremely centralized kingdom ruled over by a raja. Akbar Nama by Abul Fazal describes the administrative structure of the kingdom in detail. The entire kingdom was divided into garhs. This garh was ruled by a particular Gond clan and each garh was composed of a group of 84 villages called chaurasi. And a group of 12 villages called barhot made up each chaurasi.

The Gonds were impacted by the interaction with the Rajputs and Mughal rulers. Their administrative structure was also influenced by them. For example- rulers converted to higher castes to uphold their supremacy.

The Economy of the Gonds

Although the society was mainly pastoral and agricultural. But people were also skilled in several regional crafts of cultivation, dam construction, gur(jaggery) making, etc. The rulers tried to imitate the methods of development used by the Rajput and Mughals, i.e. clearing the forests for agriculture and constructing dams and tanks for irrigation. Expert cultivators were called from other regions to increase the production of grains. In addition to this, the elephant trade was a prominent source of revenue for the kingdom. These activities made the Gonds a rich community and also acted as a gateway to north and south India.

The Decline of the Gonds

After his marriage to Durgawati, Dalpat Shah could not rule for a long time and died soon. However, Rani Duragawati started ruling as queen- reagent, on behalf of her fiveyear old son Bir Narain. The period of 1550 to 1564 was marked by initial heightening led by gradual and deadly decline.

The tales of their wealth reached the doors of the Mughal assembly. Akbar also wanted to expand his empire to the south and the Gonds were a major roadblock. So he sent the Mughal army led by Asaf Khan in the year 1565 to capture the kingdom. The Gonds could not withhold the mighty Mughal army. Rani Durgawati died on the battlefield and the Mughals looted the expansive wealth of the villages and seized their elephants.

Some part of the kingdom was given to Chandra Shah, the uncle of Bir Narain after he accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals.

Conclusion

Indian history has seen its fair share of rich and powerful kingdoms, but very few of them belonged to the tribal community. The Gonds were a peculiar case of a rich tribal kingdom over an expansive empire. Their kingdom was marked by a largely egalitarian society, unlike the Hindu kingdoms. Similarly, Ahoms also rose to power in the northeast covering large areas of the Brahmaputra basin.

Gond art

Sumita Roy Dutta, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

However, a lot of their history is unknown and vague, because of the lack of written literature. Their oral tradition of passing knowledge has led to more conflict than clarity.

FAQs

Q1. What is the present status of the Gonds?

Ans. The Gonds are still one of the most prosperous tribal communities in the country. Their presence is known in every field like business, trade, government services, and legislatures.

Q2. What is the population of tribal communities in India?

Ans. The tribal population in India is approximately 10.43 crores. 9.38 crores of them reside in rural areas while the urban population is 1.05 crores.

Q3. Name some other tribes of India.

Ans. Some of the tribes in India are - Singpos, Abor, Monpa in Arunachal Pradesh, Bhotias in Uttarakhand, Khond, Hajong, Ho in West Bengal, Dimasa and Chakma in Mizoram, etc.

Q4. Who was Birsa Munda?

Ans. Born on 15th November 1875, Birsa Munda was a member of the Munda tribe of the Chotanagpur plateau. He led the Munda rebellion against the British empire in 1899.

Q5. What are PVTGs?

Ans. PVTGs stands for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. These tribes are the most backward and primitive tribes of India. First notified in 1975 on the basis of the Dhebar commission report, presently there are 75 PVTGs in India.