B.R. SHYAMALA DEVI*
Integration of Lambadas as Gangmen on the Railways in A.P., a Study witfi reference to Poosala thanda of Dornakal District Warangal
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Under the British regime the colonisers and Christian missionaries, being one, had a common aim in exploiting the poor people of India through the instrument of religious propaganda and in the name of developing the economy, two objectives which went hand in hand. For this, they tried their best to develop communications by advancing transport facilities to promote their own interest of extracting raw materials and flooding the home market with manufactured goods.
From its beginnings in 1853 India's railway system expanded rapidly to become by 1910 the fourth largest in the world. This net-work which covered most of the subcontinent, radically altered India's transport system.' 'So sure was the Government of India that railways were a necessity for the effective political and military control of India and for economic development that it did not seriously consider encouraging or undertaking significant alternative invetments.
In the 1920s the Hyderabad-Madras railway line was expanded, comparatively late in Telangana region compared to other regions. With this construction of railways, missionaries also moved to construct Christian schools, hospitals and colonies at as many places as possible in Telangana area. This had an impact on the 'Wanderers' or 'Banjaras' (who were frequent migrants) who are called Lambadas now in Telangana. They had been approached by both Christian missionaries and Government agencies for construction work in railways and buildings in several parts of Telangana. In Dornakal, one of the best and biggest cathedrals had been constructed by missionaries in mid 1920s, simultaneously with expansion of railway tracks in the same vicinity. In this process most of the non-tribal poor supplied cheap
* Reader, Dept. of Economics, University Arts & Science College, Subedari, Warangal,Andhra Pradesh.
Social Scientist Vol. 18, Nos. 11-12, November-December 1990