10/06/2025
To
His Excellency the Hon’ble Governor of Andhra Pradesh
Raj Bhavan,
Governor’s Bungalow,
Vijayawada – 520002, Andhra Pradesh
Subject: Most Humble and Respectful Petition for the Comprehensive Inclusion of the Valmiki (Boya) Community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) Category Across All Districts of Andhra Pradesh — An Earnest Appeal for Abolition of Area-Based Restrictions and Invocation of Constitutional Safeguards Under Articles 14, 15, 16, 29(1), 342, and 371(D) – Reg.
Your Excellency,
With utmost reverence, deep humility, and abiding faith in the compassionate wisdom of your high constitutional office, we, the humble representatives of the Maharshi Valmiki Boya Sangham, Andhra Pradesh, respectfully submit this heartfelt petition seeking your gracious intervention in a matter of profound historical injustice and urgent social necessity.
The Valmiki (Boya) community, a forest-based, culturally rich, and historically marginalized tribal group, has been an integral part of the Southern Indian landscape since time immemorial. Our community’s traditional livelihood, spiritual identity, and cultural practices have all been inextricably linked with the forests and hills of this region. However, colonial-era forest laws and modern developmental displacements have pushed us into extreme socio-economic vulnerability and institutional neglect.
We draw inspiration and identity from noble tribal figures such as Maharshi Valmiki, Ekalavya, Bhakta Kannappa, Sabari, and Guhudu, whose lives embody spiritual purity, sacrifice, and unwavering devotion. Across the states of South India, we are referred to by various synonymous names—Valmiki, Boya, Kirata, Vedan, Bedar, Talyari, Nayaka, Nishada—all signifying our common ethnographic and cultural lineage.
Despite this widely recognized tribal heritage, we remain inexplicably recognized as Scheduled Tribes in only five northern districts of Andhra Pradesh—namely, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, and West Godavari. This geographical restriction not only fragments our community but also violates the spirit of constitutional equality enshrined in Articles 14, 15, 16, 29(1), 342, and 371(D) of the Constitution of India.
Over the decades, numerous learned bodies have recommended the inclusion of our community across the entire state:
1. The Andhra Pradesh Left-Out Tribes Commission (1956)
2. The B.K. Roy Burman Ethnographic Study (1961)
3. The Andhra Pradesh Tribes Enquiry Committee Report (1961–62)
4. The Justice Lokur Committee Report (1965)
5. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on SCs and STs (1967–69)
6. Reports by Dr. Satya Pal and Shri Karem Shivaji (2015)
We are profoundly grateful to Your Excellency and the esteemed Raj Bhavan for your earlier positive stance in 2016 and 2018, where the Governor’s office favourably endorsed the proposal to extend ST status to Valmiki (Boya) communities across all districts. Subsequently, the Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet, Legislative Assembly, and Legislative Council passed formal resolutions and submitted a unified proposal to the Union Government in 2017.
However, it is with deep sorrow we inform Your Excellency that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs returned the said proposal in 2018 and again in December 2021, citing reasons that appear inconsistent with both constitutional values and verified ethnographic evidence. These rejections have prolonged the suffering of our people, who continue to live without access to the rights, protections, and opportunities available to their tribal brethren in neighbouring districts.
Therefore, with folded hands and devoted hope, we humbly beseech Your Excellency to kindly:
1. Reassert the moral and constitutional urgency of the proposal previously endorsed by your good office, and recommend anew to the Government of India the immediate inclusion of the Valmiki (Boya) community as STs across all districts of Andhra Pradesh.
2. Constitute or advise the constitution of a high-level coordination mechanism involving the Registrar General of India (RGI), National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, to address and resolve all pending field-level clarifications.
3. Advocate for the abolition of area-based discrimination, upholding the principle of equal protection of the law and the dignity of tribal communities, irrespective of their geographical location within the same state.
Your Excellency, this appeal represents the voice of a voiceless community—patiently waiting for justice, struggling for recognition, and yearning for equal opportunity. We place our full faith in your kind heart, your constitutional authority, and your empathy for the marginalized. Your timely and favourable intervention will bring dignity, development, and long-awaited constitutional justice to lakhs of forgotten tribal families.
With deep respect and eternal gratitude, we remain,
Your humble and obedient petitioners,
Jakkula Srinivasarao, M.B.A
State General Secretary
Maharshi Valmiki Boya Sangham
Gadevaripalli Post, Karempudi Mandal
Palnadu District, Andhra Pradesh – 522614
Mobile: +91 95533 97384
“May it graciously please Your Excellency to accept the enclosed documents for your kind scrutiny and further benevolent recommendation.”