IDUKKI: Neha J completed her Plus-II education with the hopes of studying B Pharm and building a future beyond subsistence farming.
However, lack of access to scholarships offered by the Union government has stalled her dreams – a reality faced by many students from the Anchunadu Vellalars community in Idukki’s hill villages.
The community, spread across Marayoor, Kanthalloor, Keezhanthoor and Karayoor villages of Devikulam taluk, is largely dependent on agriculture in the high ranges.
Farming here is increasingly risky, with wild animal intrusions destroying crops overnight and vegetable prices fluctuating daily, leaving families with little financial stability.
In such conditions, higher education has become unaffordable without institutional support.
Though the Anchunadu Vellalars were recognised as an Other Backward Class (OBC) by the state government in 2010, they remain excluded from the Central OBC list, denying students access to Central government scholarships and fee assistance.
The 2010 government order, issued following the advice of the Kerala State Commission for Backward Classes, assigned the caste name ‘Anchunadu Vellalars’ to groups earlier identified as Malayan, Malaivedan and Malaipandaram, and included them in the State OBC list under item number 2A.
While this recognition ensures reservation in state government employment, the absence of Central OBC status has left students with little access to educational benefits that often determine whether they can continue studies beyond school.
“Most families here survive on small-scale farming with no fixed income. When crops are destroyed by wild animals or prices crash, there is no money left for education,” said M R Shivakumar, secretary of the Anchunadu Vellalar Samudaya Sangham. “Without Central scholarships, our children simply cannot pursue higher studies. State recognition alone does not address educational backwardness.”
The situation is reflected in personal stories like that of Ramesh, a community member from Kanthalloor.
“For farming families like ours, education is the only way out,” he said. “But without scholarships, many students stop their education after Plus-II and return to daily wage work or farming.”
In December 2025, the Kerala State Commission for Backward Classes acknowledged that communities included in the state OBC list but excluded from the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) list are being denied educational benefits.
The commission has advised the government to prepare a unified SEBC list to correct this anomaly.
In a key development, the state government in February 2024 formally recommended the inclusion of Anchunadu Vellalars and Kunnuvar Mannadi communities in the Central OBC list, forwarding the proposal to the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Wings to fly...
M R Shivakumar, secretary of the Anchunadu Vellalar Samudaya Sangham, said “This is not just about one community, but about correcting a long-standing administrative gap.” “The state has done its part. What our children need now is a timely decision from the Centre, before another generation is forced to give up on higher education,” said Ramesh, a community member
