Raj Gond
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India | 1,32,56,928 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 50,93,124 |
| Chhattisgarh | 42,98,404 |
| Maharashtra | 16,18,090 |
| Odisha | 8,88,581 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 5,69,035 |
| Andhra Pradesh (old) | 3,04,537 |
| Bihar | 2,56,738 |
| Karnataka | 1,58,243 |
| Jharkhand | 53,676 |
| West Bengal | 13,535 |
| Gujarat | 2,965 |
| Languages | |
| Gondi, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi | |
| Religion | |
|
Gondi ( Koya Punem ). |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Rajput | |
Gondi ( Koya Punem ).
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond people are Adivasi people of central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra (Vidarbha),Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Western Odisha.
The Gond are also known as the Raj Gond. The term was widely used in 1950s, but has now become almost obsolete, probably because of the political eclipse of the Gond Rajas. The Gondi language is closely related to the Telugu, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages. About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages including Hindi.
According to the 1971 census, their population was 5.1 million. By the 1991 census this had increased to 9.3 million and by 2001 census this was nearly 11 million. For the past few decades they have been at the receiving end of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in the central part of India. Gondi people were made to act as a militia against Naxalites by the Government of Chhattisgarh through Salwa Judum.
Scholars believe that Gonds settled in Gondwana, now known as eastern Madhya Pradesh, between the 13th and 19th centuries AD. Muslim writers described a rise of Gond state after the 14th century.
Gonds ruled in four kingdoms (Garha-Mandla, Deogarh, Chanda, and Kherla) in central India between the 16th and 18th centuries. They built number of forts, palaces, temples, tanks and lakes during the rule of the Gonds dynasty. The Gondwana kingdom survived until the late 16th century. They also gained control over the Malwa after the decline of the Mughals followed by the Marathas in 1690. The Maratha power swept into Gondland in the 1740s. The Marathas overthrew the Gond Rajas (princes) and seized most of their territory. While Some Gond zamindaris (estates) survived until recently.
...
Wikipedia