A delegation of Kuruba religious and political leaders on Friday met Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and urged him to declare Kurubas as Scheduled Tribe throughout the State on a par with ‘Kurumans’.
In a memorandum, they drew the attention to their petition submitted to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in 2000 and 2002 seeking ST status for Kurubas, and it recommended to Parliament that Kurubas be considered as ST throughout the State without geographical barrier. The file concerned is pending before the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment since January 2004 for the purpose of drafting a Bill that could be introduced in Parliament, Kuruba ST Horata Samiti, Karnataka, said.
The Kuruba and Kurumans are synonym, but differ in spelling, the memorandum contended, adding that in Kerala Kurumba and Kurumans have been declared as synonymous. In Karnataka while ST tag for Kuruman is extended across the State, the ST status for Kurubas is restricted to Kodagu district.
