Former Chief Minister and Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee V.S. Achuthanandan on Friday batted in favour of reservation for Scheduled Caste communities in private aided schools and entrusting the Kerala Public Service Commission the task of conducting recruitment to these institutions.
Inaugurating the State conference of the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha, led by Mr. Mundakottackal Surendran here, Mr. Achuthanandan welcomed the government’s initiative in inducting Dailts as priests in the Devaswom Boards. But at the same time he wanted the government to take steps to ensure that the Scheduled Caste and Tribe communities were adequately represented in the Devaswom Boards considering the fact that these communities did not have any representation.
He said the very fact that the government was giving grants and paying the salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff in aided schools warranted recruitment through the Public Service Commission. However, there were several legal obstacles that required strong government intervention.
Mr. Achuthanandan called for steps to preserve Pulayanarkotta as historical monument. The Travancore State Manual had elaborate references to the historical importance of Pulayanarkotta and the struggle of the Pulaya community against encroachment and settlement.
“The history, tradition and culture of the Pulaya community was entwined with the Pulayanarkotta. Its conservation was imperative for upholding the State’s heritage,” he said.
New problems
The former Chief Minister exhorted the Pulaya community to undertake struggles to find solutions to new problems thrown up by the changing times and changing life styles. Despite the strong intervention of social reformers such as Ayyankali and the left-Communist movements, thousands of people belonging to most downtrodden sections of the society continued to be landless and face unemployment.
He also cautioned the community members against the attempts of certain communal and reactionary forces to gain roots by touting misleading slogans. These sections could be identified by the thread they sport on their arms. The community should be capable of seeing through their devious agenda.
The community should focus on finding solutions to modern day issues related to health, education, food and land by drawing their inspiration from the reformers, he said.
