A major academic work titled “Medaram Jatara: Asia’s Largest Tribal Festival – Culture, Faith, and Economy in the Sammakka–Sarakka Jatara” authored by Dr. Mallikarjuna Naik Vadithe, was formally released today at the Press Club, Somajiguda, Hyderabad on Tuesday. The book presents a comprehensive and evidence-based analysis of the Medaram Jatara, one of the world’s largest periodic human gatherings, attracting over 1–1.5 crore devotees every two years. Drawing on continuous fieldwork (2018–2024), administrative records, oral histories, and policy analysis, the study examines Medaram not merely as a religious event, but as a functioning ethical, economic, and governance system operating at scale.

The author, Dr. Mallikarjuna Naik Vadithe, noted that the book challenges the assumption that large-scale gatherings necessarily lead to commodification or institutional domination. “Medaram demonstrates that moral memory, collective responsibility, and indigenous ethics can organise society at scale, even in the modern governance context,” he said.

The programme was graced by eminent scholars and public intellectuals, including: Prof. V. Balakista Reddy, Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TGCHE), Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, IAS (Retd.), Founder, Lok Satta Moments & Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR), Prof. Y. L. Srinivas, Vice-Chancellor, Sammakka–Saralamma Central Tribal University (SSCTU), Senior Prof. B. Sudhakar Reddy, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Osmania University & Director, ICSSR–Southern Regional Centre, Hyderabad.