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For the unrelated Canadian literary fictional god, see Gond (god)

Gondi
Total population
4 million
Regions with significant populations
India            Madhya Pradesh            Maharashtra            Chhattisgarh            Andhra Pradesh            Orissa
Language(s)
Gondi, Hindi
Religion(s)
Hinduism, traditional beliefs
Related ethnic groups
Dravidian people · Brahui people · Kannadigas · Kodava · Malayalis · Tamils · Telugus · Tuluvas

The Gondi (Gōndi) are a people in central India. The Gondi, or Gond people are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, and western Orissa. With over four million people, they are the largest tribe in Central India.

The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages. About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages, while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages including Hindi.

The Gonds are traditionally agriculturalists; some practice shifting cultivation, while others raise cereals or herd cattle. Gond society is highly stratified and does not conform to the usual image of egalitarianism among tribals. The Gonds belong to a category of very large tribes (also including Santals and Bhils) that have traditionally dominated the regions in which they have lived. However, like other Adivasis, the Gonds have suffered from increasing landlessness since the 1960s.

Traditional Gond religion involves a distinct pantheon of gods and spirits, which many Gonds practice along with Hinduism.

Gondwana or "land of the Gonds", is a loosely-defined area of southeastern Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra, and parts of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and northern Andhra Pradesh. The region was home to several Gond kingdoms from the 15th century to the mid-18th century, when the Marathas expanded into the region from the west. The region gave its name to Gondwanaland, the ancient southern supercontinent which comprised present-day Africa, Madagascar, South America, Australia, the Indian subcontinent and Antarctica.

The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh effectively lost their only advantage in trying to protect their lands when the Banjaras, a group of nomadic cattle herders that had been settling in Gond territory, were classified as a Scheduled Tribe in 1977. Their newly acquired tribal status made the Banjaras eligible to acquire Gond land 'legally' and to compete with Gonds for reserved political seats, places in education institutions, and other benefits. Because the Banjaras are not scheduled in neighboring Maharashtra, there has been an influx of Banjara emigrants from that state into Andhra Pradesh in search of better opportunities.

Commission after commission on the "language question" has called for instruction, at least at the primary level, in the students' native tongue. However, state governments have often demanded the introduction of regional language instruction in Gondi areas. Primary schooling among the Gonds of Andhra Pradesh, for example, began in the 1940s and 1950s. The government selected a group of Gonds who were semiliterate in Telugu and taught them the basics of written script. These individuals became teachers who taught in Gondi, and their efforts enjoyed a measure of success until the 1970s, when state policy demanded instruction in Telugu. The switch in the language of instruction both made the Gond teachers superfluous because they could not teach in Telugu and also presented the government with the problem of finding reasonably qualified teachers willing to teach in outlying tribal schools.

Gonds frequently are reluctant to send their children to school, needing them to work in the fields instead.

• Banerjee, B. G., and Kiran Bhatia. Tribal Demography of Gonds. Delhi: Gian Pub. House, 1988. ISBN 812120237X
• Elwin, Verrier. Phulmat of the Hills; A Tale of the Gonds. London: J. Murray, 1937.
• Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von, and Elizabeth von Fürer-Haimendorf. The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh: Tradition and Change in an Indian Tribe. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1979. ISBN 0043010903
• Kaufmann, Walter. Songs and Drummings of the Hill Maria, Jhoria Muria and Bastar Muria Gonds. [And, the Musical Instruments of the Marias and Murias. 1950.
• Mehta, B. H. Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands: A Study of the Dynamics of Gond Society. New Delhi: Concept, 1984.
• Museum of Mankind, Shelagh Weir, and Hira Lal. The Gonds of Central India; The Material Culture of the Gonds of Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh. London: British Museum, 1973. ISBN 0714115371
• Pagdi, Setumadhava Rao. Among the Gonds of Adilabad. Bombay: Popular Book Depot, 1952.
• Pingle, Urmila, and Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf. Gonds and Their Neighbours: A Study in Genetic Diversity. Lucknow, India: Ethnographic & Folk Culture Society, 1987.
• Sharma, Anima. Tribe in Transition: A Study of Thakur Gonds. India: Mittal Publications, 2005. ISBN 8170999898
• Singh, Indrajit. The Gondwana and the Gonds. Lucknow, India: The Universal publishers ltd, 1944.

This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Study on India.