FURTHER READINGS ABOUT PANIYAS

Aiyappan, A. 1992 (posthumous).
The Paniyas – an ex-slave Tribe of South India. Institute of Social Research and Anthropology, Calcutta.
192 pages.

This book is by a renowned anthropologist, who tried to "study" the Paniyas in 1934, but they ran away: thus he had very limited, mainly third party information on them. He tried again in 1972-73, and this time was successful in obtaining Paniya informants for much of the information provided in the book. During the summer of 2007, I was  able to read this book, borrowing it through interlibrary loan. The book deals with Paniyas in Kerala, adjoining the Nilgiri Hills Paniyas of present-day Tamil Nadu. The time is within the decade following my stay at the Paniya Colony.
 
Thurston, Edgar. 1909. (reprinted 1975 by Cosmo Publications, Delhi).
"Paniyan" in Castes and Tribes of Southern India, edited by Edgar Thurston and Kadamki Rangachari. Madras Government Press. Vol. 6, 57-71.

This was the main reference material I had access to dealing with Paniyas at all, during my preparation to go to the Nilgiri Hills and assume the duties of Farm Manager of the Paniya Colony Karikkamunda, described in this book. That was in the summer of 1966, at the University of British Columbia, where our CUSO  Orientation took place during July and August.
 
Adivasi Munnetra Sangam (AMS) Advocacy Group

Clicking on the link to the web site above will bring you to the history of the Adivasi Munnetra Sangam Gudalur, an activist group which started ACCORD, an NGO to assist the landless, dispossessed tribal peoples of the Gudalur valley in organizing themselves in their struggles. The group covers such topics as: land struggles, development programs, health, education, economic development and marketing, common community assets, managing institutions. Donations can be made to assist them and the tribal peoples of the Gudalur region, including Paniyas.