Latest news with #CodavaNationalCouncil
Hans India
a day ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Codava National Council to Host Seminar on Geo-Political Autonomy and Tribal Rights in Kodagu
Madikeri: In a significant push for regional autonomy and constitutional recognition, the Codava National Council (CNC) is set to organise a seminar this week highlighting its 35-year-long peaceful movement for the political, cultural, and territorial rights of the Codava people. Speaking to Hand India President of the CNC NU Nachappa, the seminar will address CNC's core demands, including the creation of a Codava Autonomous Region (CAR) under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution — akin to the autonomous councils in the Northeast and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The organisation is also seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Codavas, whom it identifies as a distinct animistic, mono-ethnic indigenous community. The keynote speaker for the event is Vikram Hegde, a constitutional lawyer practising in the Supreme Court, who has previously represented the CNC in the landmark Codava Gun Rights case. His lecture will delve into constitutional provisions for regional autonomy, linguistic rights, and the protection of customary practices — subjects he also teaches as a visiting faculty at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. Among the other issues to be discussed at the seminar are: Restoration of hereditary land rights lost during the rule of the Keladhi dynasty and British colonial administration. Inclusion of Codava Thakk in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to preserve the community's language. Continuation of exemptions under the Indian Arms Act, which currently allow Codavas to carry traditional firearms as part of their religious and cultural identity — similar to the Kirpan exemption for Sikhs. Protection of Codava cultural and historical sites, customary laws, and their ecological lifelines, particularly the Cauvery river basin. Political representation, including demands for reserved seats in legislative bodies, modelled after the unique 'Sangha' constituency for Buddhist monks in Sikkim. 'The CNC's movement has always been peaceful, rooted in constitutional advocacy,' said CNC founder and president N.U. Nachappa Codava. 'Our goal is to secure the rightful identity, autonomy, and dignity of the Codava people — not only within India's democratic framework but also under international conventions on indigenous rights.' The CNC is currently pursuing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that seeks legal recognition of Codavaland's claim for geo-political autonomy, arguing that their demands are both constitutionally viable and historically justified. Joining Hegde at the seminar will be his wife, Hima Lawrance also a Supreme Court lawyer, qualified to practice in both India and New York. The event is expected to draw academics, legal experts, regional leaders, and community stakeholders from across Karnataka, as discussions around regional autonomy and tribal classification continue to gain traction in India's federal structure
Hans India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Codava Council Demands Separate Column in 2025 Census to Safeguard Indigenous Identity
Madikeri: The Codava National Council (CNC) has urged the Union Government to ensure a separate 'code and column' for the Codava community in the upcoming General Census and caste-based enumeration scheduled for 2025. The demand, presented in a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Registrar General of India, seeks formal recognition of the Codavas as a distinct, mono-ethnic indigenous warrior clan native to Kodagu in southwest Karnataka. In a detailed representation given to the central government on Friday and subsequently shared with The Hans India, CNC president N.U. Nachappa Codava welcomed the Centre's April 30 decision to conduct caste-wise enumeration along with the delayed decennial census, calling it a long-overdue step toward social justice. He stressed that this offers a crucial opportunity for micro and minuscule communities like the Codavas to be accurately documented and constitutionally acknowledged. 'Codavas are a unique mono-ethnological community with no class or sub-caste divisions. Our identity, tied intrinsically to our ancestral homeland of Codavaland, has been historically undermined by administrative mergers in post-Independence censuses,' said Nachappa Codava. He argued that the Codava community's omission from independent classification between 1941 and 2011 had severely affected its socio-political representation and cultural survival. From being enumerated distinctly in colonial censuses between 1871 and 1931, the community was, he alleged, subsumed into broader categories under post-1956 frameworks, stripping it of its ethnic and territorial recognition. The CNC's memorandum calls for a 'social engineering' process that includes: A distinct column and code for Codavas in the Census 2025, Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the community, Restitution of hereditary land rights lost due to state reforms, Recognition of the Codava language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Autonomous geo-political status for Codavaland, Special political representation in Parliament and state legislatures, And recognition under international indigenous frameworks, including those of the United Nations. Codavas, traditionally known for their martial legacy, were one of the few communities permitted to retain arms under British rule—a right they view as emblematic of their warrior identity. 'India's diversity should not be measured merely in numbers. Communities like the Codavas may be small in size, but our cultural and historical distinctiveness deserves statutory recognition and protection,' the CNC noted. The memorandum has also been copied to the United Nations, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and the Karnataka Department of Social Welfare, underlining CNC's efforts to raise the issue at both national and international levels. This fresh call for constitutional safeguards comes amid growing discourse around caste enumeration, identity preservation, and indigenous rights in India's evolving demographic policy landscape Nachappa told Hans India
