Bhadrachalam (Khammam): The resurrection of Gondi/Koya, a unique language connected with the aspirations of the largest forest-dwell...
Bhadrachalam (Khammam): The resurrection of Gondi/Koya, a unique language connected with the aspirations of the largest forest-dwelling tribal group in the country, will soon be a reality. The Central Gondwana Network’s (CGNet) mission to bring a standardized dictionary of the Gondi language will soon take a shape.
According to Census-2011, the Gondi population is 1.13 crore while the Gondi-speaking population is 27.13 lakh. However, the Gondi community leaders claim that the actual numbers could be much higher as no Census was taken place in Left Wing Extremism spread across Telangana, AP, MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Considering the numbers and the vastness of the geographical area over which this language is spoken, the fact is that the due standardization of Gondi language didn’t take place like other languages which have undergone a standardisation process and are included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
Five teams consisting of experts and resource persons led by Dr Moti Ravan Kangali, a researcher of Gondi Dharma, are working on the standardization of Gondi dictionary. If the Gondi-Hindi-Telugu dictionary compiled by New Zealand’s Mark Penny is the benchmark, the upcoming work of the CGNet’s dictionary would include the words spoken by the Gondis spread across 14 states numbering around 1.50 crore.
In a bid to resurrect and set a unique standard of the language, the CGNet had so far conducted workshops in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Amarkantak and Utnoor before the ongoing meeting at temple town Bhadrachalam. The inputs are being gathered from different States to bring out a comprehensive dictionary which can be truly representing the Gondi language.
According to information, the expert teams have compiled as many as 2,000 words and another 500 words are being verified. Speaking at the workshop in Bhadrachalam on Tuesday, Kangali, who has been working on it for the last four years, said that the standardization of the dialect would help retracing the origins of Proto-Dravidian languages.
Madivi Nehru, the resource person representing AP and Telangana, said, “This is an identity crisis for the Gondis. Though we number around 1.50 crore in the country’s population, the community was given a raw deal by the Centre.”
