Udupi: Koraga Community Celebrates 'Bhoomi Festival' with Vigour


Udupi: Koraga Community Celebrates 'Bhoomi Festival' with Vigour
 
By Suvarna Brahmavar
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RD/CN)
 
Udupi, Aug 18:
The Koraga community gathered at Mundkinajaddu, near Petri, on Thursday August 18 to celebrate the Bhoomi festival with a splendid display of colour and tradition.

The programme was held under the aegis of Federation of Karnataka - Kerala Koraga Development Associations.

The Koraga community annually celebrates the Bhoomi festival on this day as it’s a milestone in their struggle for land and social benefits staged on Light House Hill, Mangalore, on August 18, 1993 by the community. Thousands of men and women participated in the protest rally on that day despite incessant rains. The state government, in response, set up the Mohammed Peer Commission that presented a report, based on which the Koragas were allocated lands.
 
Taradevi, principal, Brahmavar Government Pre-University College, inaugurated the colourful procession at Brahmavar Board High School on Thursday morning.
 
Taradevi urged the community to surge in progress by empowering themselves educationally. Community member Somu inaugurated the programme.
 
Bantwal Kayarpalke student representative Shobha distributed the sweets.
 
Federation honorary president P Gokuldas, president Susheel Nada, secretary Sanjeev Kodical and Nitte College lecturer Dr B M Rohini also spoke on the occasion.
 
Veteran achievers of the community were honoured during the programme. Various entertainment programmes were also conducted.

  

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Comment on this article

  • Dinesha, kenjoor,udupi

    Sat, Aug 20 2011

    I belongs to koraga community, me also participated in the Bhoomi Habba,it was nice experience for us.It gives lot of motivation,inspiration to go head.It is a great day for all koragas because most of protest and we got lands on August 18th only.So we are celabrating every year BHOOMI HABBA (Festival) on August 18 only. But onething is very sad for us so called educated , upper class people are treated KORAGAS as a untouchables and also supporting to AJAL PARCIICE.In the Ajal practice the bad things, evils,
    shani, grahacharas, diseases of the upper caste people and the naadu (village)
    is symbolically transferred to the koraga community members. The tip of the nail
    and hair of the upper caste person is mixed in to the rice and that will be
    provided to the koraga
    community members through this practice. Hundreds of such practices are in the
    ajal, still it is practising in Dakshina kannada and Udupi district of karnataka state. So we need to think about protect their rigths. what u say...?

    DisAgree [1] Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • ashenoy , mangloor

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    These are GODs people suppressed and discriminated by the so called humans.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Jaimini P.B., Manipal

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    There is a Phd.Degree holder in Koraga community who is working in MGM College.There was article about him in Daiji.Writer could have added that message in article.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • STANY MATHIAS, KINNIGOLY

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    Nice to see this community and their togetherness. During our festival time - i remembers their dance. very hard working people.Good luck.

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  • vishwa, mangalore\usa

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    Nice to see the photo's. they are the original inhabitents of Tulunadu. Other people all have come later and taken away their rights and made them workers. Now the time has come to give equal rights to them

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  • Fredrick Correa, Nairobi, Kenya

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    This is unbelievable, but I am extremely happy. I know what was their condition and our attitude towards them, in the 50s and 60s. The less said the better. May God bless this community.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • prasad, mangalore

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    really its a beginning of new era... i personally feel that the all backward people in our society has to improve themselves only..Education is key for development which will give the confidence,pride more than self respect. my demand is to all the sidelined people should be unite together.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Amin Bhoja, Patte- Riyadh

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    We,after 65 years of independence,I still see these community lacking the courage,to compete with real world,like education,employment and self respect.Proper guidence for this community will uplift thier future for betterment. Proper education to thier children, only the tool to compete with real world.

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  • Dev Sagar, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 19 2011

    Good to see the Koraga community in action. People have written nice things about them. In the mean time just for clarification: Do Koragas have complete access to Udupi Mutts just like their Brahmin brethren or are they still treated as second or third class hindus? I can recall long back they were discriminated and were not allowed inside. Can someone please clarify the same?

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • M.P. Rodrigues, Mangalore

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    While reading this write up my memory raced back to fifty years when two Koraga family members used to work for us and we children learnt a lot of good things from them. They have a lot of hidden talents. Irrespective of what has happened in the past, may the present day society help in their upliftment.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Maurice, Toronto

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    They used to travel all the way from Karkala to Kaup to offer sacrifice at the marigudi in olden days. Their costumes were totally different then and they used lots of necklaces, metal bangles and large ear rings. Their women mainly indulged in procuring forest resources to produce household kitchen items, rope, basket (kurve) from coconut palm and were very shy and humble people, who did not give much importance to land and some communities used to exploit them. I wonder how many of them speak their own dialect at present. I wish them success.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Tony, Mangalore/Sydney

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    It is good to see the Koragas have come up a long way from what they used to be about 60 years ago. I still remember clearly, I was about 8 years old then, whenever we used to experience shortage of labour to work on our farm, and also when there were some tasks or cultivation work to be completed on a particular day, my parents used to send me to the homes and dwellings of Koragas about 1 kilometres away, right in the morning, to go and personally bring them along. Sometimes, they were not willing to come, for various reasons, but I had to virtually implore and/or beg them, and they would finally relent and come along. They were either too lazy or simply did not want to work. Of course, the work involved was hard physical labour. This community belonged to the Schedule Caste, and during those years, the Government was doing little to bring them up, but as the years passed by, progressively, the Government started offering them various social benefits and incentives to send their children to school, initially like free education, books, clothing and meals, and later on reserving the jobs quota for them. Those years, the Koragas and other scheduled caste people faced a lot of discrimination and ill treatment from other sections of the society, who belonged to the upper class. However, over the years, the Government introduced anti-discrimination laws and regulations, and has done well to bring up these backward communities, and treat them on equal footing, if not better.

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Wilfred J. Lewis, Manhattan-New York/ Matpady-Brahmavar

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    The welfare of Koraga population has been ignored for too long. This community deserves the able suppport and HIGHEST CONSIDERATION of government as well as other developed communities of Coastal Karnataka...

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • ISMAIL.K.PERINJE, PERINJE-YANBU/KSA

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    Good showing by our own brothers.Colorful ceremony which shows time has changed for most backward community of coastal Karnataka.Education is key for development and in the right directions things are going.But however the so called our people reps were missing.Because they need only votes of the most backward community of Coastal Karnataka!

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  • Ranjith shetty- lONDON, udupi/london

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    Very nice to see the community...this is what we expect in the long run

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Solomon Sequeira, Matpady/Dubai

    Thu, Aug 18 2011

    Good.......don't wait for anything from the government....what you are getting in the name of reservations is purely political... just to get hold of your votes....so PLEASE GET EDUCATED....and demand for your costitutional rights...jai ho koragas....be united.......

    DisAgree Agree Reply Report Abuse


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