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– Swamy said that it was about a year ago that he had the discussion
with BJP leaders to set up a development council for the ethnic
group in Karnataka

– The ethnic race can be found at Kodagu, a a rich coffee- and
pepper-growing district of the southern state
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Bengaluru:

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday wrote to the Karnataka government requesting it to grant an autonomous development council for the Kodavas, a small race native to Kodagu, a rich coffee- and pepper-growing district in the southern part of the state.

Swamy said that it was about a year ago that he had the discussion to set up a development council for the ethnic group in Karnataka with BJP leaders like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and the late Anant Kumar.

“Shri Anant Kumar then said that if the council is not being separated from Karnataka, he would welcome the Codava Development Council with certain financial autonomy,” Swamy said in his letter. Using the colonial spelling, Coorg and Codava, to refer to the ethnic group, Swamy’s request reflects the sentiments of a section of Kodava’s, who have long since demanded a special status and a separate state.

The district that measures over 4,100 square kilometers and known for its coffee and spices growing regions spread across hilly terrains, has a population of over 5.54 lakhs and according to the 2011 census. The people of this race have excelled in the armed forces and in the field of sports, especially hockey among other areas.

“I think it will be good if you now take up this matter with the centre and see that this idea of Development Council as asked for by the Codavas is implemented at the earliest,” Swamy said.

Though there have been earlier proposals to include Kodava’s into the list of Scheduled Tribes and other categories of special status, this has not yet been implemented. Swamy mentioned the contribution of Kodavas in the Indian armed forces. The first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army was Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and was conferred the rank of Field Marshal on 28 April 1986. General K.S. Thimayya was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1954 and took over as Chief of the Indian Army on 07 May 1957. There have been several people from this district who have joined the army. Swamy goes on to say that the race has been exploited by politicians with black money purchasing their coffee estates.

Currently, the Kalyana-Karnataka (formerly known as Hyderabad-Karnataka) region has been accorded special status to help overcome the regional disparity as these parts are home to some of the most backward regions in the country.

source: http://www.livemint.com / LiveMint / Home> Explore / by Sharan Poovanna / October 29th, 2019