A team of literary personalities, including noted writer Allam Rajaiah, visited the memorial museum of Austrian anthropologist Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf and his wife, Elizabeth, at Marlavai, an Adivasi village in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, on Sunday.

Mr. Rajaiah and other members of the team garlanded the statues of the Austrian couple, who lived in Marlavai during the 1940s as part of their field studies and research, according to a press release.

Speakers said Prof. Haimendorf’s research and reports had contributed to an understanding of the Raj Gond and other Adivasi communities and had influenced discussions on policies relating to Adivasi rights, education and development. They said the fighting spirit and sacrifice of Kumram Bheem in the struggle for Adivasi rights over Jal, Jangal and Zameen remained an enduring part of the history of tribal rights movements.

Mr. Rajaiah presented a copy of the novel on Kumram Bheem, written by him, to Marlavai sarpanch Kanaka Pratibha on the occasion, the press release added.

The villagers briefed the team on the history of Marlavai, the cultural heritage of Adivasi communities and the legacy of Prof. Haimendorf and his wife, Elizabeth.