The Haalumatha Mahasabha will organise a State-level conference of the Kuruba community here next month to pressure the State government to concede its long-pending demand for bringing all the Kuruba communities under the Scheduled Tribes category.
At least 30,000 community members will converge at the C.P.Ed. ground on Club Road on November 6 for the purpose.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Tuesday, Mahasabha President Rudranna Gulguli, district president D.D. Topoji and spokesman T.H. Avin said 52 memoranda had been submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah so far. Though these memoranda were referred to the departments concerned, the government did not respond to a face-to-face discussion on the issue.
They said the population of Kuruba community, including those known by different names such as Kadu Kuruba, Jen Kuruba, Gonda, etc. in different regions within the State was around 50 lakh. Already the communities in Kodagu district had been brought under the ST category. The government also recommended to the Centre to include Gondas living in Bidar, Kalaburagi and Yadgir in the ST category.
Mr. Avin, who is a retired District Sessions Court Judge, allied apprehensions of existing ST sections that bringing Kurubas into the category would affect reservation benefits. He said the Constitution provided for proportionate increase of reservation based on the population of a given community. Therefore, the existing ST sections need not be apprehensive. Already, the Centre had enhanced the reservation from 3% to 7.5℅ and advised the State government to follow the suit.
