NewsKarnataka – Mangalore

By Sandhya S

Mangalore: The Dalits Sangarsha Samiti (DSS) organized a press meet on Thursday January 16, opposing the persistent demand of the Sri Lankan Tamilians  settled in various places of Puttur and Sullia districts to issue Scheduled Caste Certificates to them.

While the government has been continuously urged to provide  SC certificates to the Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka, the Dalita Sangharsha Samithi has argued that  it will be rather unfair to the SC, ST and other Dalit communities already present in Dakshina Kannada.

The CH Bhaskar Rao said, “The Tamil-speaking workers, were brought here from plantations in Sri Lanka after the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of 1964. They were earlier refused caste certificates  by the Apex Court in 1994 on the grounds of being “from out of the country.”

“There are more than 926 families which had migrated to the region in the 70s and many of them come under Scheduled Castes of Chakkiliyan, Pallan, Paraiyan and Adi Dravida. But they cannot be given an SC certificate without a proper ethnography,” he said.

Bhasker also said that the Government of India must pass an ordinance under the Article (3)1 and notify them subsequent to which the SC and ST committee need to scrutinize  it before being approved by the parliament  “But if we do so it may be an injustice to SC and ST citizens,” he further added.

It is also learnt that the Dalita Sangarsha Samiti (DSS) will organize a protest over the issue in the days to come.

Nirmal Kumar, the district Convenor of DSS, P Keshava state committee member and others members of DSS were present  at the press meet.