Warli Adivasi Revolt | 09 Mar 2020

In 1945, it began in Zari village, Talasari taluka (Maharashtra).
Affected from the exploitation from the landlords and money-lenders, nearly 5,000 indentured tribals gathered and refused to work on landlords’ fields until they received 12 annas a day in wages.
- Their resistance sowed the first seeds of rights-based movements among the region’s indigenous communities.
Women played an important role in the revolt and helped the men in all possible aspects.
- The involvement of the women was supported by the Kisan Sabha leader, Godaveri Parulekar, also known as Godutai (elder sister) by the Adivasis.
- Women followed her and spoke at meetings about the oppression they faced and encouraged other women to join the struggle.

They are spread across Thane, Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad district of Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
They are small-scale cultivators and cultivate rice, pulses and vegetables. They also sell toddy, mahua and fuelwood to their tribesmen and neighbouring communities for a living.
Warli are nature worshippers.
Warli art stems from their belief system shaped by their centuries-old subsistence on forest land.
They did not have a written word until recent times and their art was a way of transmitting their belief systems from one generation to the next.
Their drawings revolve around community traditions, the tools they use and their association with nature.