Lack of identity deprives development for residents of Mottamalai

Isolated community in Madurai lacks basic infrastructure and identification, hindering access to essential services and development opportunities.

A group of 30 families residing on a rocky outcrop, Mottamalai, in Vilachery panchayat near Tirupparankundram in Madurai, remains isolated without basic civic infrastructure. Though it is very near the city, it looks forlorn.  Strangely, lack of identity has come in the way of development.

These people have found refuge in Mottamalai after having migrated from Kannarapatti near Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram district where they were framed repeatedly by the police for crimes ranging from theft to murder.  They come under the classification of Denotified Communities.

A. Madurai Veeran, one of the residents, said that their forebears could tolerate the police excesses in case of petty cases but not murder and other serious cases. So they decided to leave the Kamuthi region for good to ensure a decent life, without the constant fear of police, for their children.

“The turn of this century saw groups of our people fleeing in many directions of the State in search of a new identity and livelihood. A handful landed in Mottamalai,“ said Mr. Veeran, 

But, even recently, he and some of his neighbours were taken to the police station to be framed in a case. But due to timely intervention of local activists, they were freed, he said.   “Currently we have been classified under Scheduled Castes (Kuravar) as our ancestors moved from one place to other,” he said.  

R. Murugeshwari, 40, the village head, said that one of her children could not get a community certificate despite both the parents having one. “When we appealed to the Village Administrative Officer, he raised questions about our origin and refused to issue the certificate as he was not satisfied with our identity,” she said.

In the absence of proper identity proof, she and many others have not received their voter ID or Aadhaar card. “Moreover, we cannot afford the huge bribe to get the Aadhaar card,” she said.