Plea to include Noorbasha Dudekulas in SC category

Warangal: The leaders of Telangana State Muslim Noorbasha Dudekula Welfare Association demanded the state government to include their community in the list of scheduled castes.

There were about 25 lakh members belonging to Muslim Noorbasha Dudekula community but they were living in deplorable conditions in view of their poor financial conditions, said the Association district president Mohammed Khader Pasha.

Based on the recommendations of Subrmanyam Commission, the government should initiate measures to recognise the community as a scheduled caste and thus extend the benefit of 12 per cent reservation, he said. Speaking to press persons here on Tuesday along with the Association general secretary Md Razak, Md Riyaz and honorary adviser Md Abdul Khader, he wanted the state government constitute a separate commission to look into the welfare activities of the community.

Khader Pasha informed that their community constitutes about 40 per cent of total Muslim population in the state and they are still backward financially and socially. The government should strive to protect the culture of the community and extend all welfare benefits which were provided to SCs.

He said that the state government had issued a GO 125 for setting up a federation for the community welfare but so far it has not taken shape. The Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should take initiative and constitute a body for the federation and allocate Rs 200 crore to it.

“State government should provide financial support to Noorbasha Dudekula community on the lines of SC/STs. Since Dudekula profession was not being practiced now the government should allocate agriculture land to the community members,” he stated.

The community members were working as labourers and they should be given bank loans to start their own enterprises. The aged in the community should be given Rs 1,500 pension per month, the Association leaders said.