Mangalore: The ‘Report of Socio-economic survey of Kudubis of Karnataka’ by sociologist Y. Ravindranath Rao catalogues the socio-economic indicators of the largely rural dwelling community. “The survey have shown that Kudubis are socially, educationally and economically the most backward community in Karnataka,” said Mr. Rao in the report that enumerates 5,372 Kudubi families in 66 villages across Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.

The report concludes that the Konkani Kudubi Community should be included under Scheduled Tribes in the State to alleviate its economic backwardness, concludes a survey on the community conducted recently.

The report says that 96 per cent of the community surveyed live in rural areas or in forests.

The report explains that living in rural areas means that they do not have access to “education and medical facilities, and exposure to modernization.”

Education remains a concern with high illiteracy and few graduates. Educational backwardness limits employment opportunities. Nearly three-fourths of the community work as daily-wage workers and the average income of a Kudubi per day is calculated to be around Rs. 30. That is Rs. 2 lesser than the poverty line fixed by the Rangarajan panel.

The report reveals a partial success of government intervention schemes. More than 90 per cent of the youth are literate (even though the percentage of children in higher education is still negligible) and houses without electricity (12.2 per cent) and lavatories (28.7 per cent) are below the district and the national averages.