Representatives of the Kadugollar community held a press conference where they highlighted their financial instability and the government’s inadequate action in this regard.
The confederation of Kadugolla organizations has put forward a demand to include the Kadugolla community in the Scheduled Tribe list. A local leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP) has supported their cause.
The speakers have accused the central as well as the state government of neglect. Dr. Doddamalaiya president of Tribal Mahasabha said that the confederation reached out to leaders from previous state governments like B.S. Yadeyurappa, party leader B. Y. Vijayendra, Mysore MP Pratap Sinha, etc. But they were just given promises and nothing concrete has been done since then.
The speakers at the conference said that the Kadugollar tribe have been studied by many scholars from home and abroad for the last 200 years and said that they are tribal people, but are not legally designated as belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category.
In this regard, a report came in 2013 as a recommendation for genealogical study,and in December 2014, it was recommended to the center by the state government of Siddaramaiahh.
N. Sampath Kumar of the Samajwadi Party said “For nine years the central government has taken no action, it’s a sad fact that even though many leaders of the state have promised so far our demand has been ignored.”
He said that the confederation of Kadugolla organizations established to revive Kadugolla culture hereby requests that Kadugollars berecognized as an aboriginal tribal community of central Karnataka, culturally rooted in Dravidian heritage. And nature worshipers in culture. They live separately in 1264 huts in a total of eleven districts and 38 taluks of Central Karnataka. And in some urban towns of the state they come for work and business and seldom settle there.
Kadugollas are mainly small farmers and herdsmen, sheep herding is the main profession in animal husbandry. They still follow their tribal way of life. Their population is around six to seven lakhs in number .
High Court Advocate B.D. Basavaraj said that although Kadugollars have been studied by many scholars, no work has been done for them to make them more socially and financially stable.
