The Bondos And Their Response To Development

Abstract

In the wild and remote south-western tip of Malkangiri uplands live some sparsely populated primitive tribes. The Remo-speaking Bondo tribe of South Munda language group is one among them. The mountainous tract inhabited by the Bondos enjoy a pleasant climate for its high elevation of about 3,000 ft, above the sea-level. The Bondos are identified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Odisha. Besides the low level of literacy, ecological constraint and aggressive bent of mind, the Bondo tribe as a whole represents a little change in a primitive society with ancient tribal cultural characteristics. Found nowhere else except in those 32 villages which are confined to 130 Sq. K.M.s hill areas in the Khairput Block of the Malkangiri subdivision, the Bondo occupies this territory all by itself and claims it as its own homeland. Moreover, sub-ordinate to none the Bondo society with a huge measure of social and political cohesion and solidarity appears to be autonomous and fulfils in all respects the definition of a tribe. From these points of view the Bondo as a primitive tribe has been very fascinating to the anthropologists for ethnographic studies. Some of the most striking features of the tribe are (1) Rude and ruthless manner of expression, (2) Spirit of independence and sense of freedom, (3) dormitory organization, (4) Excessive drinking of palm-wine, (5) Criminal propensity and (6) Unconventional dress pattern. The earlier writers have discussed and described vividly about these ethnographic features of the tribe. But no one of them have touched upon anything regarding the problems of their development. At the time of review of tribal development programmes on the eve of the Fifth Five-year Plan it was recommended that special programmes for the extremely backward tribal groups known as primitive tribes should be taken up on the basis of their proper identification. Following the guidelines issued by the Planning Commission and Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, many primitive tribes confined to very backward pockets were identified and aptitude-based and location specific developmental programmes prepared under a special project known as Micro-Project were implemented in such pockets. The Micro-Project meant for the Bondos is called Bondo Development Agency (BDA) and it covers all the 32 Bondo villages scattered in an areas of 130 Sq. Kms. around Mudulipada village which is the ancient village of the tribe and famous for the Patkhanda Mahaparbhu, the Supreme deity of the Bondo. This book presents not only basic socio-cultural profile of the tribe but also their responses to various developmental schemes implemented through the Micro-Project. The last two chapters of the book provide a vivid description of the approach which the Project has adopted for the development planning and the ways by which he introduces with considerable success many developmental programmes among the Bondos. The Bondos are now in the process of a great transformation under the impact of the Micro-Project and have begun realizing the existence of a new world full of prospects within their easy reach for their development and improvement in all spheres of their life.