Mangaluru: The Tulunad Mansa Samaja Seva Sangha has urged the state govt to include the Mansa community in the scheduled castes (SC) list ahead of the state cabinet meeting scheduled to be held in Mangaluru on Sept 18.
Exclusion from the official SC list had forced several members to obtain caste certificates under alternative identities, including ‘Adi Dravida’ in coastal areas and ‘Adi Karnataka’ in the Malnad region. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the sangha’s honorary president M Shantaram and president Venkanna Koyyuru said the community, with a population of more than five lakh, is spread across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu, Shivamogga and Kasaragod districts.
It alleged that the delay was due to pressure from influential groups and anti-social elements.
The lack of official recognition had affected the community’s access to educational and economic opportunities, social welfare benefits and political representation, according to the sangha. The sangha said a file seeking approval for an ethnographic study of the Mansa community was pending the signature of the concerned minister. The organisation appealed to chief minister DK Shivakumar and social welfare minister KH Muniyappa to approve the ethnographic study and initiate the process for the community’s inclusion in the SC list.