Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Irulas leave hills in quest of education

By K. Jeshi

A section of Palamalai tribals with their family members all set to relocate to the plains for educational pursuits of their children.

COIMBATORE, JUNE 11. Eighteen-year-old V. Ramasamy of Kunjurpathy has come out with flying colours in this year's higher secondary examinations. He has applied for a degree course in a city college and enrolled for evening computer classes at Naickenpalayam here.

This boy, first in his family to have studied up to this level, epitomises a silent revolution among the 300-odd Irula tribals of Palamalai hills, 30 km from here.

The tribals of Perukapathy, Perumpathy, Kunjurpathy, Manguli, Pasumani Pudur and Pasumani in Palamalai are gearing themselves for a life away from the hills — to provide quality education to their children.

"For generations, agriculture and cattle rearing have been the only source of income for our family. I want to become a teacher and educate our tribal communities," says a confident Ramasamy, who studied in a government school at Chinna Thadagam.

Echoing his views is Suganthi of Perumpathy, whose parents gave her the go-ahead to pursue higher studies after they shifted to Naickenpalayam.

Says the standard X girl: "Most tribal students here study only up to standard VIII in the Government Tribal Residential Middle School at Kunjurpathy and later join their parents in agriculture.

Now more than 50 students from our settlement are pursuing higher studies in the plains." Twenty of them are in English medium schools.

R. Lakshmanan, a tribal from Perumpathy, who is working as a head clerk in the Post and Telegraphs office here, says, "I shifted to Jothipuram to provide proper education for my children. We want them to have an improved lifestyle and live on a par with city-bred students."

His daughter Karthikeyini is studying in standard VIII in a matriculation school.

"The change has been gradual over the last two years. The tribals realised that basic education offered at the residential school was not good enough. There are just three teachers for 150 students. For lack of transport, they cannot commute to good schools in the city. So they relocated," says M. Ranganathan of Perumpathy, a record clerk in the State Bank of Hyderabad in the city.

Though a section of the tribals toils in the hills owing to poor economic resources, lack of permanent jobs and a sense of insecurity about city life, others have allow their children to relocate.

More than 30 families from Palamalai have shifted to Naickenpalayam, Tiruchi, Dharapuram and Mettupalayam.

"Though basic facilities such as drinking water and a ration shop have been provided, the tribal settlements have been cut off from the city in the absence of motorable roads," says U. Jagadeesan, hereditary trustee of the Ranganathan temple at Palamalai.

Once a slushy stretch of the 5.5-km road is improved, many problems will be solved.

Taking their cue from well-settled counterparts in the Anaikatti, Karamadai and Kotagiri hills, the Palamalai tribals are striving to improve their lot though education.

The signs of change are obvious even in their names. Conventional family names such as Kadai, Kadalan, Rangi, Vanji, Karathi and Thoddi have given place to Soumya, Ranjini, Raj and Suganthi.

The tribals' anxiety to see a better morrow becomes evident from what Eswaran of Perukapathy said: "How long can we suffer in the hills? We want the children to bring light in our lives."

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