Nilgiris’ Badagas reiterate ST status demand

COIMBATORE: D Ramakrishnan worked as a tea and vegetable farmer in Coimbatore’s Kotagiri suburb almost a decade ago. Once the tea prices fell and he slipped into debt, he sold a portion of his ancestral land and shifted to the plains. He is a member of the 2.5 lakh-strong Badaga community, which is indigenous to the Nilgiris — primarily Ooty, Coonoor and Kotagiri.He works as a security guard in a restaurant in Thudiyalur now.
It is for Badagas like Ramakrishnan that the community, considered one of the more socially advanced in the Nilgiris, has been demanding scheduled tribe status since the 1970s. Recommending their inclusion in the list of STs was one of CM J Jayalalithaa’s promises during her 2011 election campaign. Although their demand is far from getting fulfi lled, community leaders have given an all-clear to the state government.
“The state has kept its promise and written to the Centre, but the Registrar General rejected it,” says professor T M Kullan, president, Nilgiri Tribal Solidarity (NTS). “Now it is in the Centre’s court.” Kullan has also fi led a petition in the Madras High Court in this regard.
Despite there being no offi cial proof that the community was one of the seven tribal community who inhabited the hills centuries ago, the community was classifi ed as “primitive” in the census in 1921 and 1931. But the survey in 1941, when World War II was on, wasn’t a very exhaustive one and missed including the community under the same bracket. “Somehow this omission was never followed up on,” says Kullan.
The community feels its population is dwindling rapidly — from 2.85 lakh to 2.5 lakh in the last 25 years. “This is leading to our land and settlements, known as Hattis, being sold off gradually,” says social activist and community member Ramesh Raman, who moved back to Nilgiris after 20 years in Australia.
That the community is socially and economically advanced “is a misconception”, Kullan says. “Badagas walk around in coats and sweatshirts because of the British infl uence on us and because it is cold here,” he adds. ST status will also lead to proper documentation of the Badaga culture, says Ooty-based architect K Balachander.
But the demand is being opposed by the other six Nilgiri tribes — especially the Todas and Kothas. “Currently we are six tribal groups in Nilgiris, and our population is not more than 30,000. Now, if Badagas, who are not in the tribal sub-group list, get ST status, other communities like Bedars will also demand it,” says B Pushpakumar of Primitive Tribals Council.
“They do this only for the reservations and benefits. As it is we have one seat in the government hostel and get a few houses every year, now even that will become more rare if more communities’ stake claim to our benefi ts,” he said.