TUMAKURU: It was the same hamlet that had denied entry to Union Minister of State for Social Justice A Narayanaswamy two years ago just because he was from a lower caste. The issue had then been resolved within days with the intervention of prominent seers and he was allowed to enter Pemmanahalli hamlet of Pavagada taluk, where members of Kadugolla community live.
The fracas is almost forgotten now and the community hopes that the newly-minted Union minister would help them get the Scheduled Tribe tag, for which the Karnataka government has already sent a proposal to the Central Government.
“It was just a section of people who had opposed his entry into the hamlet because of our customs. But now things have changed as the educated lot among us will not repeat it,” said Mylara Reddy, a taluk panchayat representative and a member of the community.
From young Yashvanth, an associate professor of English with a private university, to BJP worker Naveen, they all want Narayanaswamy to help the community get the ST tag. “An anthropological study has proved the tribal lineage of the community. We have no political representatives to pursue the cause and if Narayanaswamy helps us, our community too will have bureaucrats and legislators at least in the next generation,” said Yashvanth. But residents of the hamlet are upset with Narayanaswamy for not taking up any development works, except for a white-topped road, that he promised two years ago.
“He had assured us that he would adopt the village and get grants released to the hamlet, which has 80-odd houses – all with thatched-roofs,” said district president of the community Chandrashekara Gowda.
It was on September 16, 2019 that Narayanaswamy was not allowed inside the hamlet, which is on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border.
The ostracism had grabbed headlines and on September 23, 2019, religious heads had accompanied the MP into the village and he was received well then. Narayanaswamy had promised development works, but faced hurdles as it is not a revenue village. Now, community members demand that the Union minister get the village that status too.