Inclusion of Kodava language in the Eighth Schedule will provide legal, cultural, and educational benefits to the Kodava community.
CNC members stage a protest in front of the deputy commissioner’s office in Madikeri on Saturday. / Credit: DH Photo
Madikeri:
Marking International Mother Language Day, leaders of the Codava National Council (CNC) staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Saturday, demanding that Kodava language be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
CNC President N U Nachappa placed several demands, including the inclusion of Kodava Thakk in the Eighth Schedule as recommended in the report of the Commission headed by noted linguist Pandit Dr Sitakant Mahapatra.
He urged that on the lines of Konkani language model and similar to the proposal for Tulu, Kodava be declared an official language of the state under Articles 345 and 347 of the Constitution, and implemented in administration and education under Article 350.
Inclusion of Kodava language in the Eighth Schedule will provide legal, cultural, and educational benefits to the Kodava community. Official recognition by the Central government will enhance the language’s prestige and prevent it from being treated merely as a dialect. It would also facilitate the introduction of Kodava as a medium of instruction in school curricula.
He also alleged that the names of local Kodava folk villages, hamlets, and even festivals have been altered into Kannada, distorting them. This, he said, reflects disregard for Kodava heritage and uniqueness and amounts to a violation of human rights.
A memorandum was submitted to the government through DC S J Somashekar on the occasion.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> India> Karnataka / by DHNS / February 22nd, 2026
The Codava National Council (CNC) held its 16th human chain awareness campaign in Ammathi of Virajpet taluk on Tuesday, October 21, rallying for the indigenous Codava community’s constitutional recognition and territorial sovereignty.
Under the leadership of Chairman N.U. Nachappa Codava, an advocate, the event spotlighted demands for Codavaland’s political autonomy, Scheduled Tribe (ST) designation, reserved seats in Parliament and State Assembly similar to Sikkim’s “Sangha” model, and enduring rights to ancestral properties and the Animistic “thok-gun” firearm tradition integral to Codava ceremonies.
Nachappa stressed that Codava survival hinges on securing a distinct ethnic identity in the 2026-27 national census through a dedicated column and code, enabling constitutional protections for their mono-ethnic, Animistic faith, which venerates the Cauvery River, forest deities, and ancestral graves without mainstream religious or caste affiliations.
Unlike conventional practices, Codava weddings feature a sacred “patthak” tied by the bride’s mother and obligatory offerings of alcohol and pork, aligning with global indigenous groups like Jharkhand’s Santal (proclaimed Sarna by CM Hemant Soren) or the Kalash, protected by UNESCO’s heritage framework.
From 1871 to 1931, colonial censuses acknowledged Codavas as a unique non-religious, non-caste entity, a status lost post-1947 as they were merged into dominant categories, obliterating their distinctiveness. Nachappa warned that without census reinstatement, their political and cultural voice risks permanent suppression, undermining self-determination.
The CNC voiced concerns over alleged plots to integrate Bangladeshi Rohingyas into Kodagu’s voter rolls, inflating demographics for political gain, and criticised unauthorised land conversions for resorts, such as a 16-acre township within a 2,400-acre estate, enabled by lax governance.
To address labour needs without compromising local rights, Nachappa suggested a guest worker permit system, modelled on the 2015 Modi-Sheikh Hasina Dhaka agreement, mandating seasonal migrants’ return to their regions.
The peaceful chain, joined by Codava leaders like Udianda Chondamma, Badumanda Sanvi Dechamma, and Inanda Prakash Ganapathy, vowed to continue the struggle in the name of sacred Codava symbols and the Constitution, closing with the National Anthem.
The 17th chain is scheduled for Monday, October 27, 2025, in Srimangala, building on events in places like Madapur and Chettalli to amplify Codava advocacy for justice and recognition.
source: http://www.hansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> News> State> Karnataka / by The Hans India / October 21st, 2025
The Codava National Council (CNC) has urged the Union Government to ensure a separate “code and column” for the Codava community in the upcoming General Census and caste-based enumeration scheduled for 2025.
Madikeri:
The Codava National Council (CNC) has urged the Union Government to ensure a separate “code and column” for the Codava community in the upcoming General Census and caste-based enumeration scheduled for 2025. The demand, presented in a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Registrar General of India, seeks formal recognition of the Codavas as a distinct, mono-ethnic indigenous warrior clan native to Kodagu in southwest Karnataka.
In a detailed representation given to the central government on Friday and subsequently shared with The Hans India, CNC president N.U. Nachappa Codava welcomed the Centre’s April 30 decision to conduct caste-wise enumeration along with the delayed decennial census, calling it a long-overdue step toward social justice. He stressed that this offers a crucial opportunity for micro and minuscule communities like the Codavas to be accurately documented and constitutionally acknowledged.
“Codavas are a unique mono-ethnological community with no class or sub-caste divisions. Our identity, tied intrinsically to our ancestral homeland of Codavaland, has been historically undermined by administrative mergers in post-Independence censuses,” said Nachappa Codava.
He argued that the Codava community’s omission from independent classification between 1941 and 2011 had severely affected its socio-political representation and cultural survival. From being enumerated distinctly in colonial censuses between 1871 and 1931, the community was, he alleged, subsumed into broader categories under post-1956 frameworks, stripping it of its ethnic and territorial recognition.
The CNC’s memorandum calls for a “social engineering” process that includes:
A distinct column and code for Codavas in the Census 2025, Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the community, Restitution of hereditary land rights lost due to state reforms, Recognition of the Codava language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Autonomous geo-political status for Codavaland,
Special political representation in Parliament and state legislatures, And recognition under international indigenous frameworks, including those of the United Nations. Codavas, traditionally known for their martial legacy, were one of the few communities permitted to retain arms under British rule—a right they view as emblematic of their warrior identity. “India’s diversity should not be measured merely in numbers. Communities like the Codavas may be small in size, but our cultural and historical distinctiveness deserves statutory recognition and protection,” the CNC noted.
The memorandum has also been copied to the United Nations, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and the Karnataka Department of Social Welfare, underlining CNC’s efforts to raise the issue at both national and international levels.
This fresh call for constitutional safeguards comes amid growing discourse around caste enumeration, identity preservation, and indigenous rights in India’s evolving demographic policy landscape Nachappa told Hans India
source: http://www.thehansindia.com / Hans India / Home> News> State> Karnataka> Bengaluru / by Hans News Service, Hans India / May 02nd, 2025
Women from the Kodava community showcase their shooting skills at ‘Thok Namme’. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
On Monday, December 18, hundreds of Kodavas in the Kodagu district came together for a unique get together called “Thok Namme” (Gun Carnival), emphasising the cultural significance of the gun in their tradition.
On the occasion of the United Nations World Minorities Rights Day, the Codava National Council (CNC) organised the 14th Annual Public Gun Carnival in the district. Kodavas, during their festivals, engage in the worship of firearms.
Speaking to The Hindu, CNC president Nandineravanda U. Nachappa said, “This is the only such gun carnival in the country, observed annually by members of the Kodava community. It aims to raise awareness about the legislative rights of Kodavas to possess a gun.” The gun carnival event included a collective gun worship ceremony during which guns were adorned with flowers and worshiped. Subsequently, shooting competitions were organized for children, women, and men.
Women from the community enthusiastically took part in the event, showcasing their shooting skills by hitting a coconut hung several yards away. Speaking to The Hindu, Kaliyanda Meena Prakash said, “Equality between men and women is a cherished aspect of our community. Kodava women actively participate in various shooting competitions held throughout the district. Our goal is to train and pass on shooting skills to the younger generation.”
“The guns have a prominent position in the lives of Kodava Kshatra tribals and are being worshiped at the Nellakkiyadi, which is an important place for the tribals,” Mr. Nachappa explained. Senior Congress leader and MLC B.K. Hariprasad, and Virajpet MLA and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s legal advisor A.S. Ponnanna participated at the event.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by Darshan Devaiah B.P. / December 19th, 2023
TheCodava National Council (CNC) that has relentlessly fought for over 14 years for the inclusion of ‘Kodava/ Kodavaru’ in the Caste Certificate, instead of ‘Kodagaru,’ has urged the State Government to make the relevant changes in the software to fully implement the Government decision.
CNC President Nandineravanda U. Nachappa said that though the Cabinet has accepted the recommendations from the Karnataka State Backward Commission and ordered the change from ‘Kodava’ and ‘Kodavaru’ instead of ‘Kodagaru’, the order has not been fed to the computer systems. Still, the Caste Certificates are being issued as ‘Kodagaru’ instead of ‘Kodava’, impacting the cultural and social values of the Kodava community.
In a memorandum submitted to Kodagu Deputy Commissioner yesterday, Nachappa urged the State Government to ask the Revenue Department to make changes in the software for the change to be physically reflected on the Caste Certificates.
Mentioning the legal battle fought by the CNC in the Karnataka High Court, Nachappa said that despite the Court order in December 2021, the Government has not taken the genuine demand of the Kodava community for consideration and implementation. “This is an administrative and Constitutional breach where the aspirations of a small community have been ignored,” he said.
Nachappa has urged the Government to clear the software hurdle to fully implement the order so that the mention of ‘Kodava’ in Caste Certificates becomes a reality.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / December 07th, 2023
The Codava National Council (CNC) delegation met Chief Minister Siddharamaiah yesterday at the CM’s Home Office ‘Krishna’ and the meeting was facilitated by Virajpet MLA A.S. Ponnana.
The Chief Minister assured the CNC delegation that he would address the two major ethnic issues raised by the CNC. Firstly, he pledged to change the official nomenclature of the Codava community from ‘Kodagaru’ to ‘Kodava’ in accordance with the recommendations of the Dr. Dwarakanath Commission.
This change would be implemented soon after the Cabinet meeting and the updated name would be included in Government records and published in the State Gazette, the CM assured.
Secondly, the Chief Minister assured the delegation that a comprehensive ethnographic study would be conducted to determine the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Kodava community. The study will be initiated shortly.
The delegation was led by CNC President Nandineravanda U. Nachappa and comprised over 30 members from the community.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home > News / July 16th, 2023
The State Government’s move to release funds for the genealogical study of 18 communities of Kodagu has irked the Codava National Council (CNC) as it has alleged that in the name of studying the genealogy of Kodavas, the Government is cheating the Kodava community by including other non-native communities in the study.
Addressing a press conference at Pathrakartara Bhavan yesterday, CNC Chairman Nandineravanda U. Nachappa said that the State Government must conduct a fair ethnographic study to facilitate the inclusion of the Kodava race under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list as per the directions of the Karnataka High Court.
Opposing the genealogy study of other communities of Kodagu by suppressing the genuine genealogical study of the Kodava community, Nachappa said that the Kodava race has nothing to do with other communities in Kodagu.
He released a memorandum submitted in this regard to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Minister for Social Welfare Kota Srinivas Poojari and Chairman of Karnataka Backward Class Commission Jayaprakash Hegde.
Indigenous community
“We don’t have any half-shoots. Kodavas are a single race and a race cannot be multiple communities. How Kashmiri Pundits are indigenous to Kashmir, likewise Kodavas are indigenous to Kodagu. The Kodava race does not come under a quadrilateral caste system and there is no sect, or sub-sect within the Kodava race and do not have multiple communities under its fold,” Nachappa noted.
Those who migrated and settled in Kodagu have copied Kodava culture and are now claiming themselves as Kodavas, the original inhabitants. “They are attempting to delegitimise and uproot the native Kodava race from his soil which is a dangerous act. Under the conspiracies unleashed by them and supported by some elected representatives who have vested interests, the Kodava community is on the verge of losing their unique identity, art and culture,” he said.
Highlighting various documents, gazetteers, census records, Coorg manuals, anthropological surveys and reports, history books, journals and literature from the British era to the Commissions appointed by Governments of independent India like the Havanur Commission Report, Venkatswamy Commission Report and Justice O. Chinnapa Reddy Commission Report, Nachappa said that there is ample proof to establish Kodavas as a unique and exclusive race that has no relation with other communities of Kodagu who are basically migrants.
Why study the migrant population?
“Instead of conducting a study on original Kodava tribalism, the State Government is planning to conduct a study of migrated population and portray it as the study of Kodavas which is an unjust move aimed at destroying the Kodava community. It is an attempt at Kodava race extermination. Everyone wants to use the ‘Kodava brand’ for their ulterior motives and not for protecting or respecting it,” Nachappa added.
The Kodava race has genetically imbibed unique folkloric culture and formulated its own folk legal systems ages ago. Those who infiltrated into Kodagu and have, over the years, copied and aped Kodava culture cannot be called Kodavas,” he noted.
“Instead of destroying the Kodava race by mixing other non-native cultures, the Government must protect their unique identity without any dilution by including Kodavas in the ST list which will be a befitting tribute to the nationalistic and patriotic Kodava race, thereby abiding by true social engineering to save them from extinction,” he urged.
CNC Members Bepadiyanda Biddappa, Kaliyanda Prakash, Chambanda Janathkumar, Apparanda Poovanna and Areyada Girish were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News> Top Stories / March 18th, 2023
Codava National Council (CNC), which is aspiring for Codavaland Geo-Political Autonomy and ST tag for Kodava tribalism, celebrated its 26th AnnualCodava (Kodava) New Year Day Edmyar-1 as per Kodava tribal almanac by ritualistic ploughing of paddy fields.
CNC President N. U. Nachappa offered prayers to Guru-Karonas at Koopadira clan and reverential prayers to Mother Earth, Sun, Moon before two bullocks named Karianna – Kulla, ploughed a few rounds in the wetlands of Koopadira clan.
To herald the unbreakable bondage of Kodava tribal world with mother soil to entire universe, CNC is determined to showcase and display the age-old folkloric cultural traits and genus of Kodava tribal ancestry. In other words, all these ancient festivities enriched the civilisation of Kodava martial tribe.
CNC also prayed for the well-being of all the people of this world that is reeling under the pandemic COVID-19. Koopadira Sabu, Koopadira Mohan Muthanna, Lt. Col. Parvathi, Kompulira Myna Purandara and Koopadira Pranam participated in the celebrations.
Due to Corona pandemic, CNC’s Annual Edmyar-1 evening’s torchlight (pombolak) procession at Gonikoppal, is not being celebrated today. Speaking on the occasion, Nachappa said, “All Codava folkloric festivities and rituals mirror the agro-pastoral commitment, hunting skills and warrior hood of Codava tribal folk from time immemorial which depicts that we are above the tenets of caste and religion who are living in the rustic hills, mountainous terrain in the midst of rivers and rivulets.”
“We are happy that the Founding Father of the Constitution of India, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s birthday coincides with Codava New Year. We are ever grateful to Dr. Ambedkar for his yeomen contribution of accommodating space for expressing grievances of micro-minority tribes like Codava tribe,” he observed.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Covid-19> News / April 14th, 2020
“Utharkand, Telangana, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh have become separate states after a long fight. Why should Kodagu not get an autonomous council?,” he questioned.
Madikeri :
“I will fight for your (Kodagu) separate existence within Karnataka state but with an autonomous council,” declared former minister and economist Subramanian Swamy in Kodagu. He was addressing the gathering at the 32nd Codava National Day celebration in Madikeri on Saturday. The event was hosted by Codava National Council (CNC).
Subramanian Swamy in his speech assured CNC about the organization’s goal of achieving geo-political autonomy through a legal battle. “Great injustice has been done to you (Kodagu/Kodavas). But keep fighting,” he added. He assured to file a petition in the Supreme Court shortly to get Geo political autonomy status to Kodagu. He stated that he will seek support from his legal advisor Satya Sabarwal. “Utharkand, Telangana, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh have become separate states after a long fight. Why should Kodagu not get an autonomous council?,” he questioned. He assured that Kodagu will be an independent council by November next year.
Meanwhile, speaking with the media Swamy said, “The former minister Chidambaram has faced serious charges in many cases followed by Rahul Gandhi in the young India case. Prisons wait for them.”
He commented on the Modi regime and spoke, “I am not opposing Modi. But his policy of appeasing China is opposed by me. He should not allow the Chinese to occupy our territory. India should fight back. I also oppose some of the wrong economic policies of the present government. No one in BJP has the guts to question the wrong policies except me. Even the PM has failed to declare Ram Setu as a heritage spot despite several appeals by me.”
Virat Hindusthan Sangam national secretary Jagadish Shetty, Supreme Court advocate Satya Agarwal and CNC president NU Nachappa also spoke. Several resolutions including the demand for ST tag for the Kodavas were passed during the session.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / November 26th, 2022
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