MADURAI: Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P Moorthy on Wednesday met the residents of Sathyamoorthy Nagar near Paravai, who have been staging a protest seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates for them. They claim to belong to the Kattunaicker community. The document was earlier denied to them based on a report from an anthropologist.
Following a discussion with the minister, the residents decided to call off their protest till Saturday. Moorthy suggested that a new committee be constituted to inquire into the authenticity of their community claim.
Speaking to TNIE, one of the protesters, P Perumal, said that they were not inclined to form a new inquiry committee. "We urged the minister to provide us with ST certificates based on the G.O. that stated that if the parent has an ST certificate, the children are eligible for it. Our community people residing in Thoothukudi and Dindigul districts are able to secure this certificate easily. Only in our place, the official is creating a hurdle," he said.
TNIE spoke with Amuthavalluvan, the anthropologist who had earlier submitted a report to the district administration about Kattunaicker communities residing in the Madurai district. "The people who are seeking ST certificate (Kattunayakan) in Madurai District belong to the castes of Tottiyan/Kambalathar/Kudukuduppai Nayakkar which are classified under the Most Backward Class (MBC). This could be confirmed by the documented literature that has exemplified their 'intiperu', which is still in practice among the community people. Therefore, their claim of belonging to Kattunaicker community should not be encouraged," he said.
In a recent letter sent by Nilgiri Kattunaicker Samuthya Sangam to District Collector MS Sangeetha, which has been accessed by TNIE, the association secretary K Chandran said, "A few people in Madurai district who are claiming themselves as Kattunaickers, have no connection with us. Previously, their claims were entertained and ST certificates were provided. The authorities must recover these certificates."
Speaking to TNIE, Chandran said that his group belongs to the 'Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)' Kattunaickers, still residing in the dense forests of Gudalur and Pandalur areas in Nilgiris district. He also added that they don't have any relatives in any other district in the state.
"For the past five years, our children have not been able to receive PVTG Kattunaicker ST certificates. We are thus denied welfare measures and reservation in all aspects. However, some groups with no connection to us are falsely claiming that they belong to our community. Many of them were also issued ST certificates. I had sent letters to the Collectors of districts concerned, including Kanniyakumari and Thiruvannamalai, urging them not to issue ST certificates (Kattunaicker) to those falsely claiming it. I had also written a letter to Chief Minister MK Stalin, and the Minister and Secretary for the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department seeking action in this regard," Chandran further said.