Andh

The Andh are a designated Scheduled Tribe in the Indian states of Telangana and Maharashtra.[1] They seem to have originated in southern India in the vicinity of Madras which was once ruled by the Andhra dynasty. However the identification is only used for the people who by the start of the 20th century had a long history of residence in central India.

Andh claim themselves to be the original descendants of Andhra dynasty or Satvahana dynasty that ruled between third century BC to second century AD. The word Andh is derived from the word Andhra community { The tadbhav words are the words that gets changed when derived from Sanskrit into Hindi or Marathi , eg. Pitru becomes pita, matru becomes mata, Andhra becomes Andh..( pronunciation of R becomes silent for convenience)}

The Andhs live primarily in the hills of the Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh. They are further subdivided into the Vertali and the Khaltali. The Vertali consider themselves as superior people and avoid marrying the Khaltali. Andhs are dark in complexion,with thick lips, and prominent cheeks bones. "It seems highly possible that the word Andh is only a corruption of the Sanskirt 'Andhra', a designation given by the ancient Aryans to an aboriginal Tribe dwelling in the Andhra Desh " (Wilson,V.P.190).

In Maharashtra the Andh community comprise 474110 population (census 2011). Andh people are distributed in Parbhani, Nanded, Yeotmal, Akola districts mainly. They called them self Hindu and are relatively well progressed in education.

According to the Anthropological Survey of India, there are over 74,000 Andhs in Maharashtra. These Andhs speak Marathi. The Andhs are primarily Hindus.[2] About 100,000 Andh speak the Andh language.

Sources

  1. ↑ "List of notified Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census India. pp. 19–22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. ↑ K. S. Singh; B. V. Bhanu; Anthropological Survey of India (2004). Maharashtra. Popular Prakashan. p. 65. ISBN 978-81-7991-100-6. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
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