The Codava National Council (CNC), led by its President N.U. Nachappa, conducted its yearly tribute programme at DevaatParambj, where floral tributes were paid in memory of the Kodava ancestors and elders.
On the occasion, Nachappa demanded that the DevaatParambh tragedy be included in the United Nations Holocaust Memorial List.
During the programme, members offered prayers and paid floral tributes, seeking the blessings of their ancestors and elders who, according to the organisation, sacrificed their lives for Kodavaland and the indigenous Kodava tribal community.
Reiterating the organisation’s long-standing demands, Nachappa stated that the political killings of Kodava people at Nalnad Palace and Madikeri Fort, which the organisation attributes to palace conspiracies, should receive official recognition.
He further demanded that these incidents be commemorated by including them in the United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance List, and that the Kodava war memorials at Uluguli, Mullusoge, and Lakdikote be recognised as international war memorials in accordance with Article 49 of the Constitution of India and the 1964 UNESCO Venice Charter.
Nachappa also urged the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka to enact legal measures to safeguard the Kodava people, their land, language, cultural heritage, and their economic and political rights.
He further reiterated the CNC’s demand that Codavaland be granted the status of a self-governing geopolitical autonomous region under Articles 244 and 371, read with the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution of India, on the lines of administrative arrangements in parts of North-East India, Leh, Ladakh, and Gorkhaland.
He also demanded that the Kodava tribal community be recognised as a primitive mono-tribal, nature-worshipping (animistic) indigenous community under the relevant provisions of the Constitution of India and in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP.
Among those present at the tribute programme were Mandapanda Manoj Mandanna of Areyada Girish Thimmaiah Mandapanda Suraj, Mangerira Jagdish, and Kottukathira Bobby Palangappa of, who also paid floral tributes.
