Kuravar and Nari Koravar are not synonymous

SALEM MAY 10
Members of the Kurinji     (Kuravar) community conducted a state-wide petition-giving-protest on Monday appealing to the government to resolve their grievance that their community name Kuravar was being wrongly used synonymously with Nari Koravas.

According to the petition, the Nari Koravar community (a gypsy community) was included in the Most Backward list in 1957 when the committee was formed to create the list from the Backward list. The Vagiri language people who hail from North India and were called Nakkala were on the Backward list then. They were included in the Most Backward list and the community name was wrongly translated as Nari Kauravas.

Since then the names Nari Kuravar has become synonymous with Narikoravar among the public and among the administrators. Media and cinema also contributed to the fault getting established by repeatedly identifying the gypsy community as Nari koravas. Thus the name Kuravar which belongs to the traditional indigenous community of Kurunijiyar people is being identified with a people originating from North India and speaking the Vagiri language.This has affected the Kurinjiyar community of 30 lakh people in Tamilnadu in many ways. They are unable to get government benefits.

Particularly the community people are finding it difficult to get community certificates as confusion prevails among officials. To highlight the issue the members of Kurinjiyar Makkal Kootamaippu, Tamilnadu,   Kurinji Youth Seva Samiti, Kurinjiyar Tamilnadu Malai Kuravan Maha Sabhai submitted a petition to the Salem District Collector on Monday morning.Kurinji P Chandrasekaran, State President, Advocate Pugazhendhi, State Secretary, and Senthil Kumar, District Secretary respectively of the above organizations led the protest. Karupusamy, District Organisor, Kurinjiyar Makkal Kootamaippu,Tamilnadu presided.