CPI urges ST status for Malayali community in Erode, seeks urgent legislation in Parliament
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has urged the Union Government to expedite the process of introducing the necessary legislation in the upcoming session of Parliament to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Malayali community in the district.
The CPI's seventh conference for the Kadambur hill region was recently held, where various resolutions were passed. One such resolution noted that approximately 25,000 people of Malayali ethnicity resided in areas such as the Kadambur Hills in Sathyamangalam taluk and the Bargur Hills in Anthiyur taluk. Their customs, traditions, culture, and matrimonial practices are identical to those of the Malayali Scheduled Tribes living in the Kalvarayan Hills, Kolli Hills, and other parts of the State.
Both the Department of Anthropology at the University of Madras and the Tribal Research Centre in Udagamandalam have repeatedly recommended that the government recognise this community as a Scheduled Tribe. The State Government has also made several representations to the Union Government on this matter. However, the Union Government has consistently delayed the process by failing to enact the necessary constitutional amendment.
The resolution highlighted that on September 8, 2023, the State Government once again submitted its recommendation to the Union Government, along with various supporting documents.
Due to the lack of tribal recognition—and being classified as 'Others' in their caste certificates—the Malayali people of the district have endured long-standing hardships. They have been deprived of educational and employment opportunities, denied forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, and excluded from government schemes intended for the economic upliftment of tribal communities.
The resolution warned that further delay in granting ST status to this community would amount to social injustice.
Tiruppur MP K. Subbarayan and Nilgiris MP A. Raja have been persistently urging the Union Government to act on the matter. The conference strongly called upon the Union Government to put an end to further delays and introduce the required legislation in the upcoming session of Parliament.
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