BHOPAL: The two day national conclave organised by Akhil Rajgond Mahasabha in the state capital has earned criticism from the community.
Most of the Gond activists and leaders termed it as an effort to divide community.
A two day conclave of Akhil Rajgond Mahasabha concluded on Saturday.
The gathering was organised with an objective to unite successors of ‘258 Tribal Estates’ spread across the country.
Citing difference between Rajgond and Gond, president of the Akhil Rajgond Mahasabha, Neelkaran Raj said that Rajgonds are the ruling class while Gonds are common people (praja) from the community. “Our contribution in the Indian History has gone unnoticed and now we have started compiling it,” Neelkaran.
On the other, most of the ‘distinguished guests’ invited in the programme chose to stay away as they termed this effort as divisive. ‘In government records only ‘Gond’ has been registered as scheduled name and there is nothing like Rajgond that exists in our community,’ said secretary of Saga Suggum Adim Samajik Sanstha, Sukhchain Singh Kadope.
Organisers had invited noted tribal researchers, specially from Gond community for special presentation in the programme. But most of the guests did not agree with the theme.
“Why, all of a sudden, a category called Rajgond appears. In our culture, traditionally we used to choose ‘expert on nature’ as our leader,” said Shyamlal Warkade, expert on Gond traditions. These so called ‘ruler class’ is trying to create a divide among community members, he added.
A distinguished guest who was refused to attend the programme commented that these people were portraying themselves as ‘owners’ of the community, which is not the fact. In fact, these people are losing grounds therefore are desperate to reestablish their identities.
