The Gond is a very large tribe of Central India, numbering 12.7 million. Traditionally they have been cultivating land, producing crops, and raising livestock. They grow rice, wheat, and different types of lentils, sesame, millet and cotton. Location They live spread out in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal. A small number (2,500) live in Gujarat. Origin The derivation of the word Gond is uncertain. According to some, it may have come from khonda which means hill. General Cunningham, an ethnologist, speculated that it may come from Gauda, another name for eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal. In fact, the Gonds call themselves Koitur or Koi. They are the largest Dravidian tribe. Historically, they were the most important group of original Indian tribes. In the 1500′s, several Gond dynasties were established and the Gond Rajas ruled until they were conquered by Muslim armies in 1592. In the 1700′s, the G...