Saluting VNVK Sastry, a selfless supporter of adivasis

Little boys and girls of a primary school in Nalgonda district once cried inconsolably when their beloved teacher, V N V K Sastry, was transferred. Refusing to accept the loss quietly, they walked nearly ten kilometres to the national highway and staged a protest until their voices were heard. Blessed indeed is the teacher who wins such young hearts.

That instinctive affection followed Dr Sastry wherever he went. A retired senior officer, social anthropologist, and lifelong fieldworker, he habitually won hearts through devotion to duty and an unshakeable concern for the people he served. Recalling their nearly five-decade-long association around 2020, senior journalist and former editor of The Hindu (Hyderabad), Dasu Keshav Rao, summed him up in simple terms: a man who never worked for files alone, but for people.

A full moon night in Srisailam:

One incident narrated by Keshav Rao captures the essence of Dr Sastry’s life. On a full-moon night in December 1988, when he was heading the Chenchu Project, they were in the core area of the Srisailam Tiger Sanctuary, where they were treated to welcome festivities that were organised by the Chenchu community. Earlier that day, they had visited an ashram school where conditions were appalling. The warden was absent, as usual; children were being served rotten rice and tamarind water in the name of sambar. The fine rice meant for the children never reached the school.

Dr Sastry suspended the absentee warden on the spot and immediately arranged a proper meal—rice, curries, sambar and milk—something the children rarely got to toast. The following morning, as they were driving away, a group of men suddenly intercepted their vehicle, running and panting from a distant hamlet located beyond a hill.

Alarmed, they asked if something was wrong.

“Pani emi ledu saar. Meeru maa penta vachaaru. Memu adiviki poyaamu. Choodadaaniki vachaamu. Anthe saar.”

Nothing was wrong, they explained. They had only come to see and thank the officer who had visited their village.

A life dedicated to adivasi communities:

The humble friend of adivasis he passed away in the early hours of December 8, at the age of 78. His demise marks the end of a remarkable five-decade journey that was dedicated to understanding, documenting, and empowering adivasi communities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

A Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Andhra University (1980), he spent 52 years in research, fieldwork, institutional building, and training. He emerged as one of South India’s most respected scholars of tribal societies. He authored ten major books and over a hundred research papers and articles in English and Telugu, covering tribal women, forest rights, cultural change, development models, and the everyday lives of remote communities. Reflecting on the physical price of such commitment, he once remarked with characteristic humour:

“I earned malaria as a recurring deposit and amoebiasis as a fixed deposit—no regrets.”

Asked what “VNVK” stood for, he smiled and said, “I don’t know—perhaps Very Nice, Very Kind.”

20 years of service post-retirement:

Joining government service in the early 1970s, Dr Sastry served for 34 years in the Tribal Welfare Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, retiring in 2005 as Director of Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute (TCR&TI), Hyderabad.

His postings took him deep into the tribal belts of Warangal, Adilabad, Kurnool, and the erstwhile Khammam district, where he implemented complex welfare, education, forest rights, and rehabilitation programmes.

He held key positions across ITDAs, TCR&TI, TWREIS, and EPTRI Hyderabad.

Colleagues remember him as a deeply field-oriented officer whose work consistently placed tribal communities—not bureaucratic convenience—at the centre of administration.

A Adilabad specialist:

Reverentially hailed as an Adilabad specialist, the district’s history, culture, and struggles were etched deeply into his scholarship and memory. It is now 44 years since the police firing at Indervelli, where several Gond tribals were martyred. His work stands as a tribute not only to the Gonds, but also to the people of the district and their rich cultural diversity.

The mighty Godavari, Pranahitha, Penganga, Kaddem, and numerous rivulets flow through dense forests that account for nearly half of the district’s geographical area.

Adilabad also houses a significant tribal population. Here, diversity is strikingly evident: Gonds, Kolams, Naikpods, Lambadas, Pardhans, and Thotis live in a complex and symbiotic relationship with nature.

Images from those years flicker vividly: the Indervelli firing on the Gonds; police–Naxal encounters in the Aalampally forests; the Tamil Nadu Express accident near Sirpur; the Dakshin Express derailment at Mancherial; and the tireless efforts of committed officers such as VPC. Sastry, CVSK Sarma, KR Kishore, Subrahmanyam, Manohar Prasad, GN Phani Kumar, and VNVK Sastry to improve the lives of tribal communities. Equally vivid are memories of Prof Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf’s visit to Marlawai to perform the last rites of his wife, Betty, and the vibrant Keslapur Jatra.

Indervelli killings:

Three officers from Hyderabad were among the first to reach Indervelli, where police had opened fire on protesting Gonds the previous evening, killing many and injuring several others. The administration was dazed and uncertain about the actual casualty figures. The three officers trekked through forests and hill-top habitations, braving scorching summer heat and humidity, to meet the injured and the families of the deceased.

Later, when the Collector, AK Goel, informed forest officials at Mancherial that the Indervelli toll was far higher than the officially stated figure—he did mention the actual number to Keshav Rao—it became clear how deeply the truth had been suppressed.

A pioneering anthropologist

Dr Sastry’s scholarliness traversed anthropology, ecology, tribal history, and literature. His works, published in academic journals and government reports, and available on public platforms, remain foundational texts for students, administrators, and young researchers.

His notable publications are: Andhra Pradesh Tribal Women and Children – An Overview, Changing Patterns in Tribal Societies, Komaram Bheem (Telugu), Sanchara Sravanthi (Telugu), Reports for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and Training manuals and textbooks, including contributions to undergraduate curricula

Mentor, adviser and advocate:

Even after retirement, Dr Sastry remained intellectually active and socially committed. For nearly two decades, he served as a freelance consultant and guest faculty, Institute of Tribal Development Studies, Hyderabad; contributed to NALSA Tribal Rights training modules for legal services authorities; expert investigator, Centre for Good Governance (World Bank land governance project); Course editor, PG Diploma in Tribal Development Management, NIRD; Member, National Expert Committees on Bauxite Mining (A.P.) and Kolleru Lake Sanctuary; senior consultant, APARD and adviser for Andhra Pradesh Community Forest Management Project (World Bank).

His deep understanding of forest rights, land governance, and community institutions made him a sought-after expert across government agencies and academic institutions.

Friends and former colleagues remember him as a gentle intellectual, a disciplined researcher, and an unwavering advocate of Adivasi dignity. He combined rigorous empirical fieldwork with rare human warmth, ensuring that tribal voices found space in policy, scholarship, and public discourse.

His passing away leaves a profound void in anthropology, tribal welfare administration, and development studies. Yet his writings, training programmes, institutions, students, and the countless tribal families, whose lives he touched, stand as his enduring legacy.

(The writer is a ormer Central Information Commissioner, and presently Professor, School of Law, Mahindra University, Hyderabad)