Institute asked to take up study on Haran Shikari tribe

Children belonging to the tribe are forced to leave school after class 9 as they are denied caste certificates by the district administration.

The Mandya district administration has requested the Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute (KSTRI) in Mysuru to conduct a comprehensive study on the Haran Shikari tribe.

This follows a report in The Hindu on Friday about children belonging to the tribe being forced to leave school after class 9 as they were denied caste certificates by the district administration.

Around 350 Haran Shikari families, who originally migrated from Gujarat and other States, have been living in tents and huts near the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS).

Reacting to the article, B. Malathi, Mandya District Social Welfare Officer, told

The Hindu : “We have decided to solve the issue as soon as possible.” The Social Welfare Department has written to the KSTRI to conduct a comprehensive study to understand the tribe’s socio-economic and educational status.

The department would formulate an action plan for their empowerment, as soon as it received a response from the KSTRI, the officer said. Ms. Malathi also added that she had instructed Srirangapatna tahsildar Mallikarjun to visit the area and study their plight.

Apart from the KSTRI study, the department has also decided to ask the Civil Rights Enforcement (CRE) Cell to conduct another study on the plight of the Haran Shikari tribe.