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Showing contexts for: urali in M.Varadhan vs The District Collector on 25 March, 2011Matching Fragments
(Order of the Court was made by D.MURUGESAN, J.) The petitioner is an unfortunate to approach this Court for settling the dispute as to his community certificate right from the year 1984. As we are convinced with the petition and to issue a positive direction, we refer the following facts in detail.
2.The request of the petitioner for issuance of a community certificate, viz., Urali scheduled tribe community certificate, was rejected by the Tahsildar, Kulithalai Taluk, in his order dated 17.04.1984 on the ground that Urali community was not included in the presidential notification as one of the scheduled tribe communities in the State of Tamil Nadu. That application was made as early as in the year 1984. Thereafter, a representation was made by the petitioner to the District Collector, Trichy, questioning the order of the Tahsildar. Though an enquiry was conducted, no orders were passed. Therefore, the petitioner was compelled to file W.P.No.4070 of 1986 for a direction to the respondents to issue a community certificate to the petitioner on the basis of the presidential order. That writ petition was allowed by order dated 08.08.1996. For better appreciation of the grievance, the relevant portion of the order reads as under:-
6.At this stage, we may refer to the discussions contained in Castes and Tribes of Southern India by Edgar Thurston, C.I.E., Superintendent, Madras Government Museum, Correspondent Stranger, Societe d' Anthropoligie de Paries, Socio correspondante, Societe Romana di Anthropologie Volume VII T to Z published in 1975 by Goomo Publication, Delhi about Urali's. At page 242 it has been discussed as follows:-
"Urali. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Uralis are described as "a caste of agricultural labourers found chiefly in the districts of Madura and Trichinopoly. The word Urali means a ruler of a Village. Like the Ambalakkarans, they trace their descent from and Mutturaja, and the only sub-division returned by any number is Mutracha. They also asset that they were formerly employed as soldiers. In the Wyned there is a section of Kurumbas called Urali Kurumbas, and it is not improbable that these Uralis of the Tamil country are an offshoot of the great Kurumba race". The Uralis are further summed up in the same report, as "agricultural labourers in Coimbatore. Trichinopoly and Madurai. There seems to be some connection between the Uralis and the Ambalakkarans or Muttiriyans. Muttiriyan is a sub-division of both Urali and Ambalakkaran, and both of these are found in the same districts. Perhaps the Uralis are an offshoot of the Tamil Valaiyans, which by change of occupation has transformed itself into a district caste (seem Ambalakkaran). The caste is split up into a number of sub-division, called after the name of the tract or nadu in Trichinopoly which each inhabits. To get back into the caste, an excommunicated can has to kill a sheep or goat before the elders, and mark his forehead with the blood. He then gives a feast to the assembly, and puts part of the food on the roof of his house. If the crows eat this, he is received back into the caste. (Brahmins always put out portions of the araddha offerings in the same way, and judge whether they are acceptable or not by anything if the crows eat them or not). Marriage is infant or adult. A man detected in an intrigue with an unmarried woman is final, and has to marry her, and at the wedding his waist string is tied round her neck instead of tali. The well-to-do people or the caste employ Brahmans as priests, but others content themselves with their own elders. Widows and divorced women may marry again. The dead are either burned or buried. The richer members of the caste perform araddha (memorial service for the dead). They drink alcohol, and eat fowls, mutton, pork, fish rats, etc. In social position they come below the Idaiyans, Tottiyans and Kallans. Their title is Kavandan".
We do not consider it necessary to refer to the entire discussion contained in the said book, as it is open to the petitioners to produce the above discussions only because the Sub-Collector did not go into the matter deeply and he appear to have made a report without realising the importance of it and the effect it would have on the persons who claimed to be Uralis.
7.Thus, it is clear that there is no determination at any point of time as to whether the petitioners are Uralis and if so they are entitled to the certificates, as sought as pointed out already, he has been wrongly denied the certificate.
"It is made clear that the committee shall give an independent decision regarding the Urali Community without being influenced by the terms subsects like Urali or Urali Gounder as decided by the respondent in the present case, based on the records submitted by the petitioner and in the light of the decision given by the Division Bench in W.P.No.4070 of 1986 dated 08.08.1996 and submit a report to this Court within twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order".
4.Admittedly, the above direction has not been complied with. Thereafter, the matter was again heard by this Court and by order dated 01.11.2007, having noticed that no report was filed, a further three months time was granted for the Committee to pass orders. In spite of the above, not only no orders have been passed in terms of the order in W.P.No.4070 of 1986, but the respondent has also not filed either counter-affidavit or produced the records as directed by this Court at least on three occasions. In these circumstances, we have no other option to consider the case on merits.