Tamil Nadu - Dharmapuri   

Kuruman tribe demands community certificates

Staff Reporter

`Do not insist on documentary evidence'

Dharmapuri: The Dharmapuri District Kuruman Tribal Welfare Association has appealed to the district administration to issue community certificates for their wards based on their tradition and culture and not to insist on documentary evidence.

Talking to presspersons, the Joint Secretary , T. Raju, said the authorities should not insist on documentary evidence, as a majority of the community members were illiterates and landless labourers and were not in a position to produce such documents. Based on the Supreme Court guidelines, community certificates should be issued based on cultural life.

Future at stake

He said that community certificates were not issued to the tribals for the past 10 years due to which the future of their wards was at stake. The district vigilance committee reportedly harassed us to provide documentary evidence to prove that the tribals belonged to the ST community. The authorities also rejected community certificates, which were sent for verification. As a result the career of our wards was now under threat. "Due to an inordinate delay in provision of certificates, our wards could not gain entry into good courses as well as employment."

Govt's failure

Mr. Raju said successive State Governments in 1976, 1988, 1989 and 1996 had sent proposals to the Centre to include the tribes of Kurumans, Kurumbars, Kurumbas and Kurumba Gounder in the ST community. But the proposal was sent back in 1999 demanding documentary evidence against the same. On the instructions of the State Government, the Department of Anthropology in Madras University and Tribal Research Centre in Ooty also conducted a field study.

Assembly boycott

The reports had strengthened our claims and confirmed that the tribes belonged to the ST community. The State Government must immediately send the report to the Centre for inclusion under the ST community, he said. The members threatened that they would boycott the coming Assembly elections if nothing concrete emerged in this regard.

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