Chennai. Nowadays politics is hot on the issue of reservation. Apart from this, many people are also demanding improvement in the reservation system. Many people are alleging that the SC/ST Act is being misused. To stop this, it is necessary to change the law. Amidst all this, the Devendrakula Vellalar caste (DVK) of Tamil Nadu is trying to get itself out of the Scheduled Caste. People belonging to the Devendrakula Vellalar caste say that they will not even use the SC/ST law.
In a special report of India Today, it has been told that after the suicide of student Sahil Wakode in IIT Bombay, the case registered against Professor Satyanarayana Dulla under the SC/ST Act has been strongly opposed by Devendrakula Vellalar caste and BJP district president from Tenkasi, Anantan Ayyasamy. He wrote on X that the DVK community has adopted the principle that they will not file a case against anyone under SC/ST Act, because the people of the community believe that misuse of this law increases bitterness and enmity in the society. The Devendrakula Vellalar caste constitutes a major share among the Scheduled Castes of Tamil Nadu. The number of DVK community in the total population of Tamil Nadu is between 5 to 9 percent. People of the DVK community live in Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi in southern Tamil Nadu and the Cauvery delta areas. Devendrakula means descendants of Indra and Vellalar means farming.
People of Devendrakula Vellalar caste do farming and cow rearing. Parliament passed a bill in March 2021 to merge seven sub-castes under the name Devendrakula Vellalar. Amit Shah, who was the then President of BJP, had also praised the upliftment initiated by the DVK community itself. Leaders of this community say that they want to come out of Scheduled Caste because it is a matter of social prestige and self-respect. Being a Scheduled Caste hinders the overall development and business of the community. This community believes that being a Scheduled Caste does not provide much benefit. On the contrary, one has to endure social discrimination. The DVK community wants that they should be considered as Other Backward Class i.e. OBC instead of SC. Then after 10-15 years it should be converted into unreserved category.