OU faculty bags ICSSR major research project on ‘Thoti Tribe’

The research will focus on the Thoti tribe, a marginalised community primarily residing in the Godavari River Basin of Telangana

Hyderabad: The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, has awarded a two-year tenured major research project titled “Thoti Tribe of Telangana State: Geo-Ethnic Identity, Demo-Genetic Patterns, and Socioeconomic Transformations” to the Department of Sociology at Osmania University.

The ICSSR awarded the project under its multidisciplinary studies on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of India for the year 2024-25. Dr Ram Shepherd Bheenaveni will serve as the principal investigator, with Dr Parandamulu Ch as the co-investigator for the project.

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The research will focus on the Thoti tribe, a marginalised community primarily residing in the Godavari river basin of Telangana. Classified as a PVTG by the Indian Government in 1983, the Thoti tribe faces significant socio-economic isolation, demographic and health challenges, climate change, the gradual erosion of traditional livelihoods, and a lack of modern skills.

The study aims to explore the tribe’s geo-ethnic identity, demo-genetic patterns, and the socio-economic transformations that have shaped their way of life.