Codavas Mark World Minorities Rights Day with Gun Carnival, Demand Geo-Political Autonomy and Tribal Status

Madikeri: On the United Nations-recognised World Minorities Rights Day, the Codava National Council (CNC) organised its 16th Annual Public Gun Carnival "Thok Namme" with traditional fervour at Coffee Castle Coorg Resort in Ballamberi near Murnad. Led by CNC president N.U. Nachappa Codava, the event showcased the community's unique animistic heritage while renewing long-standing demands for constitutional protection of Codava identity, gun rights, and geo-political autonomy.

Hundreds of Codavas participated, adorning guns with flowers and worshipping them as a religio-folkloric sacrament central to their mono-ethnic traditions. Shooting competitions saw enthusiastic involvement from children, women, and men, with notable winners including Nellamakkada Vivek (first place and Man of the Event), Puggera Rajesh, Machchanda Neel Belyappa, and several women like Jammad Preet Ayyanna and Mandapanda Rachana Manoj.

Nachappa Codava paid tributes to scholars who documented Codava heritage, including Panjemangeshara Rao, G. Yadumani, the late D.N. Krishnaiah, Dr. Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, and Dr. I.M. Muthanna, while condemning "anti-Codava" works from certain academic circles. He stressed the gun's sacred role in Codava life, rooted in ancestor worship, nature reverence, and oral folk-legal systems.

The event highlighted historical exemptions from gun licensing under the Indian Arms Act, continued post-Independence but threatened after Coorg's 1956 merger with Karnataka. Nachappa accused state agencies of systematic marginalisation, including restrictions on sacred sites, land rights, and cultural practices, obstructing Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Key resolutions passed included demands for Codavaland as an autonomous region with self-rule, permanent protection of gun rights under Articles 25-26 of the Constitution (comparable to Sikh Kirpan rights), special gun training for women, streamlined exemption certificates, and mandatory inclusion of guns in marriage rituals.

Ten achievers received the "Codava Vibhushan" award for contributions in social work, culture, and community service. Speakers praised CNC's relentless advocacy for autonomy and ST status.

The carnival underscored Codavas' fears of cultural assimilation, urging recognition as 'Codavas' in the 2026-27 Census to safeguard rights. As a distinct indigenous group, the community views "Thok Namme" as a powerful assertion of minority rights and self-determination.