Indigenous groups in the Nilgiris have raised concerns that the Census of India, which is to be undertaken soon, will not document important distinctions such as language and religion that distinguish the culture of their communities. Such omissions are equivalent to erasure of their unique identities and will diminish the goals of the exercise, they warned.
Elders and activists from the Nilgiris’ Adivasi groups, such as the Todas, Kotas and Kurumbas state that their cultures are often pigeon-holed into conforming to labels that the groups are not comfortable with adopting.
Sobha Madhan — an Adivasi rights activist from Gudalur and the district co-ordinator for the Nilgiris Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Federation — said that Adivasis like the Kurumbas have no formal religion, but instead only worship their ancestors. “Even the temples near to where I live in Ayyankolli, the spirit we pray to is called Ajji, or grandmother. How can we identify as Hindu, Christian or Muslim?” she wondered.
