Since our community was granted ST status, I was able to get a seat in medical collegeS Kokila, MBBS student
He wrote the civil services examination, became a forester and has helped more than 250 people from his community get housing and access to education. Education, greater awareness of their rights and recognition as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in 2023 have opened up new opportunities. In 1965, the Lokur committee, chaired by B N Lokur to review criteria for identifying scheduled castes (SCs) and STs, had recommended that narikuravars be identified as STs. Until then, they were classified as denotified tribes (communities in India that the British govt labelled as ‘born criminals’ under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871). After protests by community leaders and tribal rights activists, they finally got their due recognition 58 years later in 2023. Among those at the forefront of the struggle was Karai R Subramanian, president of Tamil Nadu Narikuravar Federation, who has fought for the community’s rights for more than 35 years. “In 1992, I learned that tribal leaders were organising a demonstration for ST status. He was arrested and detained for five days, and again for 25 days during another protest at the Secretariat. In 1996, Subramanian set up a residential school for narikuruvar children and has since helped educate more than 1,000 students. My father did everything he could to send me for NEET coaching in 2023. Through the organisation, she helps students access financial assistance for education and supports livelihood initiatives for community members across villages since 2016.
I wanted to do more for them,” says Sakthivel, who belongs to the narikuravar community in Uthiramerur, Kancheepuram. “I used to travel across districts selling hair clips and mirrors,” says Subramanian. I joined them,” he says. “After we were arrested, we found it difficult to mobilise people,” says Subramanian. But at the time, we were in the most backward classes (MBC) category, and I couldn’t meet the cut-off,” she says.
‘Pasiththavanuku meen pudika kaththukodu’ (Teach a hungry person how to fish). For years, Sakthivel A would read the proverb painted on a wall in his boarding school but never understood what it meant. Years later, after getting a college degree and landing a job at an MNC, the words began to make sense to him. “I had a job and financial security but what about the rest of my community? He also gives TNPSC guidance to civil service aspirants from the community. Like Sakthivel, several members of the narikuravar community are breaking free from generations of marginalisation and stigma attached to their traditional hunting-based livelihoods. But even as a new generation seeks to redefine the community’s identity, old prejudices remain. For decades, the community fought for ST status. Subramanian joined protesters who walked 900km from Kanyakumari to Chennai demanding ST status for narikuravars. “I realised that protests alone would not bring change. The community needed educated people who can speak up and fight for our rights. For S Kokila, a third-year MBBS student from Perambalur, the community’s ST recognition made the difference between giving up her dream of becoming a doctor and pursuing it.“I never imagined I would ever be able to do medicine. But while narikuravars are breaking barriers, stereotypes continue to follow them. Suvetha Mahendran, Tamil Nadu’s first engineering graduate from the community, is working to expand educational and livelihood opportunities through the Narikuravar Education and Welfare Society (NEWS).
Today, people from the community are working as doctors, engineers, IT professionals, social activists and teachers.