Malayali Gounder community seeks Scheduled Tribe status in Erode

A. Raja, the MP from Nilgiris, has requested the Central government to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Malayali Gounder community in Erode district. He submitted a petition to Jual Oram, the Minister for Tribal Affairs, on March 19 in New Delhi. The Malayali Gounders live in the Kadambur and Bargur Hills but are currently classified as Other Caste (OC). An official order from 1984 includes several districts for ST status but does not mention Erode. This exclusion prevents community members from obtaining ST certificates, limiting their access to reservations in education and government jobs. Mr. Raja emphasized that the State government has recommended including Erode district for ST status. He urged the Minister to speed up the process for an amendment in Parliament. Over 30,000 members of the Malayali Gounder community have been fighting for ST status and have staged protests for years. The Director of the Tribal Welfare Department and local representatives supported the MP in this matter.