For many years now, 52-year-old Ujwal Singh has been fighting to get a caste certificate for members of his community who have been living in the city for over seven decades.
Without a caste certificate, they cannot avail any government benefits.
Now, after meeting only dead ends, Mr. Singh is losing patience. He, along with around 100 people of his community, lives in the shabby locality of Guru Nanank Nagar on the outskirts of the city.
Mr. Singh belongs to a Sikh community subsect called Sikhlikar. The primary occupation of members of this community is making objects and vessels of tin.
“Our ancestors were into manufacturing swords and knifes in pre-independence India. In later years, when the occupation began losing importance, they switched to manufacturing tin objects,” he said.
Mr. Singh said their forefathers had left Punjab decades ago and migrated to Vijayapura in search of better livelihood. “We have been living here for generations, but even today we don’t have a caste certificate issued to us. We met several officials here, but none of them cooperated with us. We are poor people and so, no one cares,” he said.
He said when they meet local officials, they are told to bring documents from Punjab to confirm their caste.
“We have no one in Punjab. We have gurudwara in Nanded, but even they did not help us get some documentary proof of our caste,” he said.
‘Tahsildar can do it’
When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner Budeppa said caste certificates can be issued only if the State government has issued a notification listing out particular castes.
He, however, said it was still possible for the tahsildar to conduct a survey and issue a caste certificate based on the occupation of the community.
Baljeet Singh, a member of the Karnataka State Minorities’ Commission, told The Hindu that the authorities could surely issue a ‘Sikh’ caste certificate for them. He also furnished a copy of one such caste certificate issued by officials in Hubballi. “Since Sikhlikar comes under the Scheduled Caste category, they can also seek caste certificate under this category. Under the Sikh caste, they get all the benefits given to religion minorities. But under SC, they will get more benefits,” he said.
Mr. Singh believes that the revenue officials of Vijayapura might not have information about the caste and this is why they have not issued a caste certificate to the community.
Meanwhile, tahsildar Muzafar Baligar said to get a caste certificate, one needs to apply online along with documents such as election ID card. These documents will be processed and the caste certificate will be issued if the caste in question is listed in the gazette.
