Scholar, Author, and Cultural Documentarian: Dr. V.N.V.K. Sastry

• A Pioneering Anthropologist Who Devoted His Life to Tribal Welfare

Dr. V.N.V.K. Sastry, one of India’s most respected social anthropologists and a distinguished scholar of tribal studies, passed away in the early hours of Monday. He was 78. His demise marks the end of a remarkable five-decade journey dedicated to understanding, documenting, and empowering Adivasi communities across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

A Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Andhra University (1980), Dr. Sastry spent 52 years in research, fieldwork, institutional building, and training, earning recognition as one of the most knowledgeable voices on tribal societies in South India. He authored 10 major books and over 100 research papers and articles in English and Telugu, covering themes ranging from tribal women and forest rights to cultural change, development models, and the everyday lives of remote and interior communities.

Distinguished Career in Tribal Welfare

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

His work spanned multiple tribal belts Warangal, Adilabad, Kurnool, and the erstwhile Khammam region where he implemented challenging welfare, education, forest rights, and rehabilitation programmes.

Among the important positions he held:

• Joint Director (Projects), EPTRI, Hyderabad
• Founder Joint Secretary, A.P. Tribal Welfare Residential School Education Institutional Society
• Assistant Project Officer, ITDA Eturnagaram, Warangal district
• Additional Project Officer, ITDA Utnoor, Adilabad district
• Founder Project Officer, ITDA Srisailam, Kurnool district
• Regional Joint Director, TCR&TI, Bhadrachalam

Colleagues recall him as a field-oriented, empathetic officer whose work always placed tribal communities—not bureaucracy—at the centre.

Scholar, Author, and Cultural Documentarian

Dr. Sastry’s scholarship traversed anthropology, tribal history, ecology, and literature. His works appear in academic repositories, government publications, and are available on platforms like Amazon.

Some of his notable publications include:

• 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
• Training materials and textbooks, including contributions to B.Sc. Mathematics curricula in Andhra Pradesh

His writings serve as foundational texts for students of tribal development, public administrators, and young researchers.

Significant Post-Retirement Contributions

Even after retirement, Dr. Sastry remained an active mentor, trainer, and policy adviser. He served as:

• Freelance consultant and guest faculty, Institute of Tribal Development Studies, Hyderabad
• Contributor to AP & Telangana Legal Services Authorities for the NALSA (Tribal Rights) training modules
• Expert Investigator, Centre for Good Governance (World Bank’s Land Governance Project – Forest Rights chapter)
• Course Editor, PG Diploma in Tribal Development Management, NIRD
• Member, National Expert Groups on Bauxite Mining (AP) and Kolleru Lake Sanctuary, MoEF
• Senior Consultant, APARD and Government of AP (GAD) on remote area development
• Advisor, AP Community Forest Management Project (World Bank)

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

A Life Devoted to India’s Indigenous Communities

Friends and former colleagues describe Dr. V.N.V.K. Sastry as a gentle intellectual, a disciplined researcher, and an unwavering advocate for Adivasi dignity. He combined empirical fieldwork with human warmth, ensuring that tribal voices were heard in policy, academia, and public discourse.

His death leaves a void in the fields of anthropology, tribal welfare administration, and development studies. But his writings, training programmes, and the institutions he helped build will continue to guide generations of scholars, officers, and community leaders. He is survived by his family, students, colleagues, and thousands of tribal families whose lives his work touched.

My condolence message

Dr. Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu
Former Central Information Commissioner
Former Professor of Law, NALSAR University of Law
Advisor, Mahindra University, Hyderabad

I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. V.N.V.K. Sastry, an extraordinary scholar, administrator, and humanist whose entire life was devoted to the upliftment of Adivasi and forest-dwelling communities. His demise today leaves an irreplaceable void in the fields of anthropology, tribal welfare, and development studies.

For more than five decades, Dr. Sastry worked selflessly in some of the most remote tribal regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. As an officer, researcher, and institution-builder, he carried the concerns of Girijan communities in his heart and translated them into concrete policies, studies, and programmes. His pioneering service in ITDAs, his leadership at the Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute, and his intellectual contributions have shaped generations of officers and scholars.

I had the privilege of writing several articles in Udayam and other newspapers about his remarkable commitment to the tribal cause. Every interaction with him revealed not only his deep knowledge but also his rare compassion. He never treated tribal issues as academic subjects; he treated them as living realities, and the people as partners in progress. His books, field reports, and training modules will continue to inspire and guide all who work in the field of tribal rights.

Even after retirement, he remained a dedicated mentor and a pillar of support for institutions, governments, and legal bodies working to secure justice for Adivasis. His contributions to NALSAR’s Tribal Rights training, World Bank projects, environmental committees, and community forest management will stand as enduring monuments to his vision.

Dr. Sastry’s life is a testament to what one committed individual can do for society. His passing is a personal loss to me, and an immeasurable loss to the tribal people he served with integrity and affection.

I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues, students, and the many tribal communities whose lives he enriched. May his noble soul rest in peace.

Dr. Madabhushi Sridhar

Law professor and eminent columnist

Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu, author of 63 books (in Telugu and English), Formerly Central Information Commissioner, Professor of NALSAR University, Bennett University (near Delhi), presently Professor and Advisor, Mahindra University, Hyderabad. Studied in Masoom Ali High School, AVV Junior College, CKM College, and Kakatiya University in Warangal. Madabhushi did LL.M., MCJ., and the highest law degree, LL.D. He won 4 Gold Medals at Kakatiya University and Osmania University.