Warli Adivasi Revolt

Key Facts

• In 1945, it began in Zari village, Talasari taluka (Maharashtra).
• Affected from the exploitation from the landlords and money-lenders, nearly 5,000 indentured tribals gathered and refused to work on landlords’ fields until they received 12 annas a day in wages.
• Their resistance sowed the first seeds of rights-based movements among the region’s indigenous communities.
• Women played an important role in the revolt and helped the men in all possible aspects.
• The involvement of the women was supported by the Kisan Sabha leader, Godavari Parulekar, also known as Godutai (elder sister) by the Adivasis.
• Women followed her and spoke at meetings about the oppression they faced and encouraged other women to join the struggle.

Warli Tribe

• They are spread across Thane, Nashik, and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad district of Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
• They are small-scale cultivators and cultivate rice, pulses, and vegetables. They also sell toddy, mahua, and fuelwood to their tribesmen and neighboring communities for a living.
• Warli are nature worshippers.
• Warli art stems from their belief system shaped by their centuries-old subsistence on forest land.
• They did not have a written word until recent times and their art was a way of transmitting their belief systems from one generation to the next.
• Their drawings revolve around community traditions, the tools they use and their association with nature.

Source: Indian Express