Former Bhavanisagar MLA P.L. Sundaram has urged the State government to take steps to include Malayali tribal community people, who are currently categorised under Other Caste list, in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) of Tamil Nadu.
In a letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Mr. Sundaram welcomed the State government’s efforts in including the Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran communities in the list of STs. He said over 30,000 Malayali tribal community people lived in Kadambur Hills in Sathyamangalam Taluk and Bargur Hills in Anthiyur Taluk in the district. While their counterparts in other districts were categorised under STs, people in these two hill areas were not notified as STs.
The letter said the State government had in 2016 submitted a recommendation to the Centre for including these people in the list of STs. The Minister of Tribal Affairs in Lok Sabha introduced a Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes), Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that amended the Malayali community as Malayali Gounder community as ST in Tamil Nadu.
Since the bill lapsed, the Centre again asked the State to submit a recommendation. The letter said the issue was taken up with the Chief Minister many times, but the problem remained. Hence, the letter urged the Chief Miniter to take up the issue with the Centre and include them in the list of STs.
