Daijiworld Media Network-Bengaluru (RJP)

Bengaluru, Jan 13: A person, who wants to pursue civil services, has been waiting patiently for his caste certificate. Presently he does not know which caste he belongs to. He has been running from pillar to post to get legal sanction to establish his caste.

Raghu (24) was born to a sexually abused woman from Mandya. She is also mentally challenged and speech impaired. Raghu was brought up under the governments’ care till he was 14 in Ballari. He completed his 10th standard through the National Institute of open schooling in April 2015. Now he cannot go for further education and cannot even get a good job as he does not have a caste certificate.

Raghu, who did not know his mother, first established her identity. Then he approached Mandya district administration and asked them to include his name under the scheduled castes. The district administration held a meeting in the presence of deputy commissioner, tahasildar and others. They failed to come to a conclusion as they could not ascertain the caste of Raghu or his mother. They decided to write to the state government seeking its opinion.

On Tuesday, Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya held a meeting and constituted a committee, which has been directed to submit a report on the caste issue of Raghu. Anjaneya said Raghu could not be given a caste certificate due to legal hurdles.

Anjaneya also said that any violation of guidelines will land the government in trouble. But he promised that until Raghu gets the caste certificate, he will be accommodated in the government hostel. The minister said within a month the matter will be resolved.

Raghu's mother who is speech impaired and mentally challenged lived in shanty place in Mandya. When she was 18, she was raped by an unknown person in 1990. Raghu was born on February 1991. The mother with the son was taken to a women child care centre and looked after for some years. Then Raghu was separated from mother and taken to a children centre. Nowhere his caste was mentioned in any records.

When Raghu found about his mother he had another shock. She was begging in a colony when the district administration located her. But they could not get any details from her due to her mental state.

Raghu says he wants to be a civil servant and desperately needs a caste certificate.