Once a Maoist stronghold, Tummala now has schools and roads, says young Koya artiste

Patra Sowjanya rests an arm on her mother Jayamma’s shoulder before the Kommu Koya dance in Vijayawada on Monday. The two, from Tummala village in Chintur mandal, danced with their troupe on World Adivasi Day; Sowjanya’s father Mutyam was killed by Maoists in the village. | Photo Credit: G.N. Rao “My mother said Maoists had shot dead my father, Patra Mutyam, when I was about one year old. I don’t know how my father looked. Now my village, Tummala in Chintoor mandal of Polavaram district, is peaceful after the Maoists have been eliminated,” said Patra Sowjanya, a young Kommu Koya dance artiste.Sowjanya, along with her mother, Patra Jayamma, was in Vijayawada on Monday (August 10, 2026) in connection with the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (World Adivasi Day), observed on August 9.“Now, there are no Naxalite movements, and Tummala, on the Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha borders, has drinking water, a school, roads, medical and other facilities,” said Sowjanya, a first-year degree student.Kommu Koya dancers perform at the World Tribal Day event in Vijayawada on Sunday. The day marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Video: G.N. Rao pic.twitter.com/gprUU6TPs7— The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh (@THAndhra) August 9, 2026“On the night of March 10, 2014, a group of Maoists came to my hut and took my husband, Mutyam, away, saying they wanted to talk. When I followed him, the Naxals ordered me to stay back. After a few minutes I heard the sound of firing, and my husband was shot dead. The reason for the killing is not known till today,” said Ms. Jayamma, also a Kommu Koya dance artiste.Mr. Mutyam was a postman, a CPI(M) activist and a well-known Kommu Koya dance troupe organiser in the tribal habitations.“I am doing podu cultivation and feeding my family. I am educating my two daughters, and my son is crippled by health problems. I do agricultural labour and give Kommu Koya dance performances too,” Ms. Jayamma told The Hindu. Kommu Koya dancer Patra Sowjanya, with her mother Jayamma (right) at the World Adivasi Day celebrations in Vijayawada on Monday. | Photo Credit: G.N. Rao Earlier, Maoists used to visit Tummala, Chidumurum, Chatti, Edugurallapalle, Mothugudem, Mukkunuru, Boddugudem and other habitations, hold panchayats, solve village-level problems and conduct meetings. There is now no extremist problem in the villages, said another Kommu Koya artiste, who did not wish to be named.“I did my schooling and completed Intermediate in Kunavaram. My sister is pursuing Intermediate in the same tribal welfare hostel,” said Sowjanya, who helps her mother by giving dance performances.Ms. Sowjanya said she wanted to become a teacher, teach tribal students the importance of education and bring change to the tribal habitations.Kommu Koya dancers from Tummala village in the Chintoor Agency perform arm in arm in Vijayawada on Sunday, the men in buffalo-horn headdresses topped with peacock feathers. The dance marked the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Photo: G.N. Rao pic.twitter.com/RZm2KHruBB— The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh (@THAndhra) August 9, 2026 Published - August 10, 2026 05:10 pm IST