Kol Community

March 1, 2023

Ahead of the MP elections which are to be held in November 2023, the Kol community has taken the centre stage. The population of Kols in the state is big. Therefore, gaining the support of these tribes will bring victory. With Scindia joining the BJP in 2022, the election battle in the state has become fierce.

Why are the political parties after the community?

The Kol community is spread across several districts. There are 11.67 Kol tribal in the state. In the previous election, they recorded 78% of the voting percentage. So winning the community means, winning a dozen of seats!

Recent Steps taken by GoI for the Kol community

Kols will take the centre stage at the tribal freedom fighter museum to be built by the central government. The GoI has allocated Rs 200 crores for the museum.

The current Chief Minister of MP, Shri Shivraj Chouhan recently announced that the Kol community women will be granted Rs 1000 per month. This is being done to bring improvements in their health. The money shall be used by the women in the community to get nutritious food. The CM made the announcement during the Mata Shabri Jayanti celebrations. Shabri mata was a great devotee of Lord Ram. Also, Kol Tribal Convention was held,

About the KOI Community

The Kol Community is an indigenous tribal community in Chotanagpur in India’s eastern parts. These tribal people are mostly landless. They rely on forest produce for sustenance. These tribal people consider themselves to be the descendants of Sahara Mata, who is known as the “Mother of the Kol”.

Spread of Kol Community in India

The Kol community is mostly concentrated in central India, especially in the northern districts of Madhya Pradesh. Members of this community are also settled in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra.

Festivals of the Kol community

The tribal community celebrates the Jawara festival, which is organized twice a year. Though it is an ancient tribal agricultural festival, it has certain characteristics of Hindu festivals.