Union government approved Tamil Nadu’s proposal to include Narikuravas in ST category

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to include Narikuravas and Kuruvikaran communities in Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

The inclusion was made through the introduction of a bill in the parliament to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.Earlier this year, the Chief Minister MK Stalin had written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention to expedite the inclusion of these two communities in ST list.

Pointing out that these communities are the most deprived and vulnerable communities in the state, Stalin said that these communities deserve all the constitutional protection and welfare measures that have been offered under the category.

Despite several representations, the proposal has been pending before the union cabinet for several years now. While they continue to be in Most Backward Classes (MBC) list, they had already been included in the ST list in other states including Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.