budga jangama

The Karnataka State Budga Jangam Employees' Association will organise its State-level convention at Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha here on Sunday. Speaking to presspersons on Friday, association State president V. Srinivas said the meet would discuss issues concerning the community, including that on reservation. He said the community had been deprived of the benefits of reservation. Moreover, certain upper caste communities, such as Jangamas, were misusing the reservation to grab the benefits meant for Budga Jangams. Officials had been issuing caste certificates to Jangamas though they were totally distinct from Budga Jangams as far as religious beliefs, culture, traditions etc. were concerned, he said. Budga Jangams were originally hunters. Later, members of the community started entertaining people, telling folk stories, known as Burra Katha, and presenting small plays, to earn their livelihood. However, with the advent of modernism, this system was on the decline. Apart from this, misuse of reservation policies left the community educationally backward, he said. Folk artiste Burrakatha Iramma would be honoured with ‘Budga Ratna' and poet S.G. Siddharamaiah with ‘Budga Sri' awards on the occasion. Karnatak University Vice-Chancellor H.B. Walikar would give away the awards. M.M. Kalburgi, the former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi, would inaugurate the convention. C.S. Dwarakanath, former chairman of the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, would preside over the inaugural function.