NAPM urges Congress leadership to secure 1% quota for Karnataka’s nomadic communities

By A Representative 

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi urging them to intervene in what it described as the “historical injustice” faced by 59 nomadic and semi-nomadic communities and small Scheduled Castes in Karnataka. In its appeal, NAPM highlighted that thousands from these marginalized groups would march to Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, and meet the Congress leadership to press for their demand of a 1% internal reservation within the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, in line with the recommendations of the Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission.

The NAPM letter noted that despite more than three decades of struggle at the state level, successive governments had failed to address the concerns of these communities, forcing them to bring their agitation to the national stage. The Nagamohan Das Commission, set up in November 2023 after the Supreme Court’s August 2024 ruling in the Davinder Singh case, had conducted an extensive socio-economic survey and categorized Karnataka’s 101 SC communities into five groups according to the degree of marginalization. Its report, submitted in March 2025, recommended a dedicated 1% quota within the SC category for the most backward nomadic groups.

While the Karnataka Cabinet in August 2025 announced a new internal reservation policy based on the Commission’s findings, the NAPM alleged that the policy diluted the interests of the most marginalized communities. According to the alliance, the policy merged nomadic and semi-nomadic groups with so-called “touchable” SCs under Category C, denying them priority access to education, jobs, and welfare schemes. The groups have since organized protests, including the “Bengaluru Chalo” demonstration on September 3, demanding that the state government correct the policy and implement the Commission’s recommendation for a separate 1% quota.

The letter emphasized that literacy among these communities remains extremely low, with traditional occupations ranging from performing arts, ritual begging, and leatherwork to agricultural labor. Their fragile socio-economic status, it argued, requires special protections to prevent further marginalization. The Confederation of Untouchable Nomadic Communities of Karnataka, representing the 59 groups, has consistently sought recognition of their distinct backwardness and demanded fair internal reservation.

The NAPM urged Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to ensure that the Congress government in Karnataka implements the recommendations in full by providing the 1% quota under Category A for the most backward nomadic communities and by announcing a comprehensive development policy with specific budgetary allocations for livelihood security, education, healthcare, land allotment, and housing. The alliance recalled that social justice had been a central plank of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and argued that this was the moment for the Congress to demonstrate its commitment to constitutional values and social equity in Karnataka.

The letter, signed by Arundhati Dhuru, Ashish Ranjan, Khalil-ur-Rehman, Madhuresh Kumar, Meera Sanghamitra, Sheikh Salauddin, Rosemary Dzuvichu, and Suneetha Achyuta on behalf of NAPM, was also copied to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. It urged the Congress leadership to take immediate steps to prevent what it warned would otherwise be a deepening injustice against some of the most vulnerable citizens of the state.