Gunjala is a village in the
Adilabad district
Adilabad district is a district located in the northern region of Telangana, India. It is known as the gateway district to South and Central India. The town of Adilabad is its headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Asifabad, Ni ...
of
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...
, India.
Demographics
India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, Gunjala had a population of 876. Of this figure, 474, or 54%, were males, while 402, or 46%, were females. Gunjala has a literacy rate of 48.7%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 55.7%, and female literacy is 40.5%. In Gunjala, 13.7% of the population is at or under 6 years of age.
Geography
To the north of the village lies the
Penganga River
The Painganga River (also known as the Penganga River) is the chief river of the Buldhana district, Hingoli district, Nanded district, Yavatmal district, Chandrapur district and Washim district in the Maharashtra state in India. It flows along th ...
, which demarcates the border between
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...
and
Maharashtra. The village lies approximately 25 km from the center of the district capital,
Adilabad
Adilabad is a city which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana. Telugu is the native language of Adilabad. Adilabad is famous for its rich cultivation of cotton. Hence, Adilabad is also referred as " ...
.
Significance
In 2006, the village emerged as a center of ethnic and linguistic significance for the
Gondi people
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra ...
. The
Gondi language
Gondi () is a South-Central Dravidian language, spoken by about three million Gondi people, chiefly in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and by small minorities in neighbouring states. A ...
has often been regarded as a
Dravidian language
The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant ...
without a script and was written using
Telugu script
Telugu script ( te, తెలుగు లిపి, Telugu lipi), an abugida from the Brahmic family of scripts, is used to write the Telugu language, a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well ...
and
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
. The revelation of a dozen manuscripts written in a native script, now called "Gunjala Gondi Lipi" in honor of the village, and comprehensible to a handful of elders in the village has received national media coverage
as an invigorating discovery of the lost heritage of the Gondi people. The
Gunjala Gondi Lipi
The Gunjala Gondi lipi or Gunjala Gondi script is a script used to write the Gondi language, a Dravidian language spoken by the Gond people of northern Telangana, eastern Maharashtra, southeastern Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Approximately ...
has been released by a team of researchers from the
University of Hyderabad
The University of Hyderabad ( IAST: ''Hydarāvād visvavidyālayamu'') is a top ranking public central research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students ...
, headed by Professor
Jayadheer Tirumala Rao
Jayadheer Tirumala Rao (born 20 June 1950) is a professor, poet, and historian from Telangana, India. He has been researching about tribal people and their culture for more than 35 years.
Life
Jayadheer Tirumala Rao graduated from Telugu univers ...
.
Transport
Gunjala is poorly connected by road. A train station is not evident in the near vicinity.
See also
*
Gunjala Gondi Lipi
The Gunjala Gondi lipi or Gunjala Gondi script is a script used to write the Gondi language, a Dravidian language spoken by the Gond people of northern Telangana, eastern Maharashtra, southeastern Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Approximately ...
*
Gondi language
Gondi () is a South-Central Dravidian language, spoken by about three million Gondi people, chiefly in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and by small minorities in neighbouring states. A ...
*
Gondi script Gondi has typically been written in Devanagari script or Telugu script, but native scripts are in existence. A Gond by the name of Munshi Mangal Singh Masaram designed a Brahmi-based script in 1918, and in 2006, a native script that dates up to 17 ...
*
Adilabad district
Adilabad district is a district located in the northern region of Telangana, India. It is known as the gateway district to South and Central India. The town of Adilabad is its headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Asifabad, Ni ...
References
{{Adilabad district
Villages in Adilabad district