PUDUKKOTTAI: Claiming that revenue officials maintain that there are no Hindu-Adhiyan members in the district, members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and activists say this has deprived about 75 families hailing from the tribal community in Kamarajar Nagar on the city outskirts from enjoying reservation benefits.
The non-issuance of community certificates recognising them as Scheduled Tribe (ST) members has led to high dropout rate among the youth, forcing them to join their parents in eking out a living as ragpickers and playing in funerals, they added.
TR Pachammal, who works for NGO AID India, said the members of the community at the settlement have been “mindlessly” categorised, making the youngsters lose motivation to pursue studies. Tamilselvan, a resident of the settlement who completed MA from Bharathidasan University in 2023, said he has been misidentified under the OC category.
“My parents sell dhristi bommai for survival and had made me pursue college. I have not till date received any scholarships from the government due to the lack of community certificate," he said.
To control the dropout rate among the community’s children, C Raja, another member with AID India, said evening tuitions are being conducted for them. Petitions also have been submitted with the revenue authorities to verify the community's lineage, he added.
Raja blamed the district revenue officials for not having a framework to recognise the community who claim themselves as Hindu-Adhiyan tribals. We have urged the district collector to conduct a field visit to Kamaraj Nagar to ascertain their ST status, he said.
Supporting the claims, K Yogarajan, an activist, points out the reply from the local tahsildar in 2014 to an RTI he filed that stated that a majority of the that residents of Kamarajar Nagar are Hindu-Adhiyans. K Kolaniappan of Nagamangalam in Tiruchy, said, "It's up to the revenue department officials to take the initiative of declaring them (residents of Kamarajar Nagar) as Hindu-Adhiyans.
We were issued with the ST certificate only after revenue officials conducted an hour-long verification. We also vouched for establishing the identity of our relatives in Salem who did not have the ST certificate. Now they too have got the community certificate. It’s down to our relatives in Kamarajar Nagar now."
Meanwhile, revenue officials in Pudukkottai, who acknowledged receipt of representations over time seeking to establish the residents of Kamarajar Nagar as Hindu-Adhiyan members, assured to undertake a field visit to the locality and take necessary steps.