Aruna first advocate from Channa Dasa community

Mysuru: Aruna V, a resident of Ekalavya Nagar and daughter of an autorickshaw driver, has emerged as the first advocate from the Channa Dasa community, a semi-nomadic group in Karnataka.The community, which migrated from Andhra Pradesh, has had low literacy levels due to various factors, including its nomadic lifestyle. Aruna completed her BA LLB from Vidyavardhaka Law College, overcoming social and academic barriers. Members from the community said, so far, it had not produced an engineer or a doctor, making Aruna's feat all the more notable. Her success is expected to encourage more youths from the community to pursue higher education and professional careers, they noted. When Aruna was just six months old, her family moved from Madabadakoppalu in Channarayapatna in Hassan district to Mysuru. While her father, Venkatesh, drives an autorickshaw for a living, her mother, Mangala, is a homemaker. Aruna pursued her primary and secondary education at Metagalli govt school and did her PU and graduation at Maharani's Colleges. "When I was doing my SSLC, a relative was arrested under false charges. Once I met him at the court, I decided to pursue law to ensure justice for the weaker communities," Aruna said, who had initially aspired to join the Army. According to Kuppe Nagaraj, a retired bureaucrat and community leader, the Channa Dasa community falls under the Scheduled Caste category, with its roots in Andhra Pradesh. "In the SC internal reservations, these microscopic communities must be categorised separately to allow them enough opportunities," Nagaraj added.