New Delhi
After Salwa Judum, the Government-backed militia movement against Maoist violence, started in Chhattisgarh in 2005, an estimated 50,000 internally displaced tribals took refuge across the border in the then undivided Andhra Pradesh. It was bifurcated in 2014 to create the State of Telangana.
Called the Muriyas, the tribals from the most naxal-affected districts of Sukma, Bijapur and Dantwada, enjoyed the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in Chhattisgarh. In the two southern States, they are called Gutti Koyas, and are without the ST tag.
Though created to finish insurgency, Salwa Judum failed in its objective. The Supreme Court of India disbanded it in 2011.
But for last 20 years, the Gutti Koyas have been living a life of alienation. They say, they are considered encroachers, their houses demolished and cultivable lands snatched away in the neighbouring southern States.
Forest officials of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh say the Gutti Koyas clear valuable commercial plantations for agricultural activities.
Shubhranshu Choudhary, who has been working for a long time with the Gutti Koyas, admits encroachment but holds the view that these people have nowhere else to go after being uprooted due to violence.
Though encroachment is a logical concern, there is an apprehension that Maoists may use these displaced people as launch pads. Some feel it has become a security issue for the two southern States.
Living As Aliens
“The forest department in Telangana wants to evict all of us for plantations. Mostly, the Gutti Koyas carry out labour work and have small plots of land for cultivation. This was only possible after clearing forests.
“We cut down trees for growing crops like paddy and cotton, but as it is not legal, we do not have land titles under the FRA (Forest Rights Act). Our houses are destroyed from time to time,” said Madvi Hiresh, a member of the Valasa Adhivasula Samaikya, a confederation of migrant tribes, based in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
The organisation, comprising nine people and formed in 2022, recently carried out a survey of the Gutti Koyas living across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
“The Samaikya conducted the survey as official Government figures are not available. The truth is that most of these displaced tribals don’t want to go back to Chhattisgarh. Even before the start of Salwa Judum, some people escaped Chhattisgarh due to the fear of Maoist violence. They wanted to secure their lives as well as those of their children. It was a tug of war back then with both sides demanding allegiance. But those who fled didn’t want to take sides,” Hiresh added.
The survey carried out by Hiresh’s organisation states that the number of displaced families across these two states stands at 9651 and the total population is 48,300, spread over 283 unrecognised habitations.
The Valasa Adhivasula Samaikya has sent a letter in this regard to the National Commission for Schedule Tribes (NCST) on September 8.
The NCST had ordered a survey during a meeting held in January this year. The Samaikya states in its letter that it could not finish the survey due to the lack of resources. Apart from these two southern States, some displaced people are also residing in Odisha and Maharashtra.
The letter also alleges that Chhattisgarh did not carry out a survey and demands proper rehabilitation package, Scheduled Tribe status and the regularisation of encroached lands using the 3 (1) (m) clause of the Forest Rights Act.
The clause states the right to in situ rehabilitation, including alternative land, in cases where Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers have been illegally evicted or displaced from forest land of any description without receiving their legal entitlement to rehabilitation prior to the 13th day of December, 2005.
Choudharypointed out that Chhattisgarh was ordered to conduct a survey in 2019 which was not carried out. “A rehabilitation package should be announced. The Gutti Koyas, who work as daily wagers, live in unauthorised settlements. That is why they are evicted and their fields bulldozed. Due to plantations by the forest department, many of them have lost their cultivable lands acquired after forest clearance,” he said.
Altercation With Forest Departments
As the Gutti Koyas clear forest lands from time to time for cultivable and habitation, altercation with the forest departments of both the States are frequent.
In Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district, a range officer was hacked to death by the Gutti Koyas in November 2022 following an altercation. “My people didn’t want to kill the range officer. But sometimes they pollute our drinking water sources,” alleged Hiresh. For him, getting the caste certificates would help their case.
In a June 2022 report of The United Nations Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, it is said that the number of internally displaced people or IDPs has doubled over the past 10 years with women and children facing the maximum impacts in times of climate change.
A Telangana forest official said on the condition of anonymity that there are 72 Gutti Koya habitations in Mulugu district and the total area occupied by the displaced people amounts to about 9000 acres.
“Out of these 72 habitations, 36 are inside the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in Mulugu and the rest in reserve forests. This is leading to poaching, and the loss of biodiversity and forest, at a time when carbon sequestration is vital to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” he maintained.
Among the four districts in Telangana, Bhadradri Kothagudem has 130 Gutti Koya habitations and is the most impacted.
“Forest officials conduct awareness meetings and urge the Gutti Koyas not to cut down trees, but it is of no avail. It is a win-win for them as they feel forests offer them protection. Also, they do not possess the knowledge of advance cultivation techniques. Sometimes, they go back to Chhattisgarh and carry out cultivation and return after the harvest. Locals sometimes use these Gutti Koyas to encroach upon forest land in lieu of money. As they aren’t considered tribals in Telangana, they do not own land under FRA, but have voter and Aadhaar cards,” the official added.
Kishta Goud, the Divisional Forest Officer of Bhadradri Kothagudem district, said that the Gutti Koyas illegally occupy reserve forest area whereas they can reside in the villages. “In 2022, they killed one of my range officers. They should not live in areas rich in forest and wildlife, but they get water availability easily.”
According to Azam Ali, a beat officer from the Tallada range in Khammam district of Telangana, the Gutti Koyas are spreading out to new areas and capturing fresh forest lands for cultivation. “For this, they constantly get into altercation with forest officials. It is a pressure on us as we have to report to our seniors about forest clearance,” he said.
In this condition of statelessness for the past two decades, aid on humanitarian grounds may help these displaced tribals.
According to Bastar Inspector General of Police P Sundarraj, many people fled Chhattisgarh at the time of Salwa Judum to protect their lives. Gradually, they settled down in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to earn a living by means of cultivation and the collection of minor forest produce, he said.
“The Chhattisgarh government is ready to rehabilitate them even though it may take some time. However, many of them feel settled outside Chhattisgarh through marital ties and don’t want to come back. But as the situation in Chhattisgarh improves by next year with the Maoist movement on the decline, some of them may want to return and cultivate the lands they had once left behind,” IG Sundarraj averred.
A source based in Telangana explained that right now Chhattisgarh is not peaceful for the Gutti Koyas due to the ongoing fight between the police and the Maoists. He said that these displaced people get protection in the south from local political parties in lieu of votes. Besides medical facilities, even borewells are given to them that help in the cultivation of crops, he claimed.
Meghali Das, who is doing a PhD thesis in Delhi University on the legal situation of the IDPs, pointed that the absence of any law is a grave issue. “There is no specific law or policy for these people. That is the reason they don’t enjoy rights, continue in a stateless situation and are seen as encroachers. The lands they reside in belong to the host states. Legal remedies and access to justice are hindered in this way.”
Naxalism: Present Status
- As of April 2025, the Centre’s sustained anti-Naxal operations over the years have resulted in the total number of affected districts dropping to just 38. Among these, the number of most affected districts has reduced to 6 from 12, number of District of Concern has come down to 6 from 9 and number of Other LWE-affected Districts has also been reduced from 17 to 6.
- Of the most affected districts, 4 districts (Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma) are from Chhattisgarh while one (West Singhbhum) is from Jharkhand and one (Gadchiroli) from Maharashtra. From most-affected once, Dantewada is now in the Other LWE-affected Districts category. The Centre has fixed March 31, 2026 as the deadline to eradicate Naxalism from the country.
