Include tribal group Narikoravan in ST list: Stalin to PM Modi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include Narikoravan, a nomadic tribal group of the state, in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) and fulfil the “long-standing” demand of the people belonging to the community.

Stalin’s letter to Modi comes days after members of the Narikoravan community made an appeal to the Chief Minister through a video call to add them to the list of ST for better reservation benefits, including education. The community, whose traditional occupation is hunting, is currently on the list of Most Backward Classes (MBC).

In the letter, Stalin said that based on the recommendations of the Tamil Nadu Government, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India had informed on April 30, 2013, that the Registrar General of India has also agreed to the proposal for inclusion of “Narikoravan grouped with Kuruvikkaran community” in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu.

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He also recalled that expert bodies like the Lokur Committee and the Joint Committee of Parliament have also recommended the inclusion of this community in the years 1965 and 1967 respectively.

“The Narikoravars constitute one of the most deprived and vulnerable communities in Tamil Nadu and therefore deserve all constitutional protection and welfare measures envisaged by the inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Though this has been the case and several representations have been made in this regard the inclusion of this community in the list is pending for a very long time,” Stalin rued.

He sought Modi’s intervention in this matter to expeditiously include Narikoravan/Kuruvikkaran communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu. The community has been placing several demands before Stalin for the past few months after the Chief Minister visited a colony of Narikoravars on Deepavali day in November 2021. Stalin had visited the colony after one of the residents was denied dignity after she was disallowed to have food along with others at a temple in Mamallapuram.

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“The role of the Dravidian Movement is to protect every single person from the downtrodden with self-respect and social justice. What was denied for Ashwini is dignity and respect not food. Being in power is a great chance for me to give back her dignity,” Stalin had said.

Earlier this week, he met three school children who narrated their ordeal of “being born in the community” in an interview and encouraged them to continue with their studies. A day later, he spoke to members of the community through a video call and promised to dine with them in their house.

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