Tamil Nadu: Ramanathapuram Gypsies seek community certificate for better education, jobs

Ramanathapuram: A group of “Narikuravas”, also called as Gypsies, on Monday (August 19), thronged to the district collectorate in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram with live snakes and hunting tools, and asked collector K Veera Raghava Rao to provide them community certificates for their tribal community.

Speaking to reporters, R Maheshwari, the secretary of Tamil Nadu Tribal Nomads Federation, who also led the march, said that Gypsies were issued community certificate as Scheduled Tribes in almost all southern districts apart from Ramanathapuram.

Maheshwari further said that the Gypsies were interested in pursuing education. She also pointed out stating that "Narikuravas" dropped out after Class 8 or Plus Two as they require community certificate.

She further said that the Gypsies could pursue higher education and seek government jobs only if they had the certificate.