Respected Hon’ble President of India,
Respected Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,
Respected Hon’ble Union Minister for Tribal Affairs,
Respected Hon’ble Members of Parliament,
Subject: Urgent appeal for inclusion of Valmiki/Boya community in the Central Scheduled Tribes List in the Winter Session 2025
This is an earnest, long‑pending and rightful appeal from the Valmiki/Boya community of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, placed before you in the name of journalist Sri Venkateswarlu Boya, seeking immediate inclusion of Valmiki/Boya as a Scheduled Tribe in the Central List, without any area restrictions, during the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament 2025.
Historical and anthropological basis Over a century ago, eminent ethnographer Edgar Thurston documented the Boya as an ancient Telugu hunting tribe, with primitive tribal characteristics and close association with forests and subsistence hunting, in his work on the “Castes and Tribes of Southern India”.
The community has for generations identified itself as descendants of Maharshi Valmiki, the revered author of the Ramayana, and has preserved distinct cultural traits, customs and social identity aligned with tribal communities rather than with advanced agrarian or urban castes.
Multiple historical records and gazetteers from the Nizam Dominions, Mysore, Madras and Andhra regions describe the Boya/Bedar/Valmiki as a traditional hunting, forest‑dependent community, with endogamous sections such as Pedda Boyas, Chinna Boyas, Sadaru Boyas and Myasa Boyas.
These official descriptions emphasized their primitive living conditions, dependence on jungle produce, marginal cultivation and roles as village watchmen or “talaris”, clearly distinguishing them from mainstream caste groups.
Constitutional and legal trajectory Before the mid‑1950s, Boya/Valmiki sections in the Telugu region enjoyed recognition either as Scheduled Castes or as a primitive tribal group, depending on local administrative practice and the evolving classification framework of the time.
Subsequent Constitutional Orders and State Government decisions moved the community between SC, primitive tribe and ST categories, before large segments were shifted into the Backward Classes “A” list, often without proper, transparent, evidence‑based procedure and without meaningful consultation with the community itself.
Crucially, Government Orders such as G.O. Ms No. 230 (1974) explicitly clarified that Boya and Valmiki are one and the same community, whether they live in agency (scheduled) areas or plains (non‑agency) areas, yet later classification artificially split the same community into ST in agency tracts and BC(A) in plains.
This artificial division within the same caste, in the same linguistic and cultural region, has led to deep injustice: members of one community are subjected to two different reservation regimes solely based on geography, not on social or economic reality.
Denotified tribes and continued stigmaLike many communities branded as “criminal tribes” under colonial laws, a section of Boya/Valmiki people were pushed into the category of Denotified Tribes after repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in March 2007, urged India to repeal the Habitual Offenders Act and to effectively rehabilitate denotified and nomadic tribes, acknowledging the deep structural discrimination they face.
Further, the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi‑Nomadic Tribes (NCDNSNT), in 2008, recommended reservation benefits on par with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for around 110 million people belonging to denotified and nomadic communities, which includes groups like Boya/Valmiki who were wrongfully criminalised historically.
Despite these strong national and international recommendations, the community continues to bear social stigma, economic marginalisation and legal invisibility, while their historic tribal status remains unresolved.Socio‑economic backwardness and present realityAt present, in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, large sections of the Valmiki/Boya community are trapped in chronic poverty, landlessness and under‑employment, with very low levels of education and access to public services.
Many families lack secure housing, regular livelihoods or food security, and the community does not have a distinct, stable traditional occupation that can sustain them in the modern economy, especially after hunting and forest‑based livelihoods were legally restricted under wildlife and forest laws.
The community population in the two Telugu states is estimated in tens of lakhs, concentrated in districts like Mahabubnagar, Gadwal, Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy in Telangana, and Kurnool, Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Ongole and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh.
Yet, despite this significant presence and their clear tribal characteristics and historical status, their current BC(A) classification in plains areas deprives the poorest and most vulnerable among them of the stronger protective measures, scholarships, hostels, educational reservations and employment avenues available to STs.
State‑level commissions, studies and resolutionsOver the last decades, multiple expert bodies and official commissions have examined the status of Boya/Valmiki and recommended their inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list without area restriction.
These include census‑linked ethnographic studies from 1961–62, the Satya Pal Committee (2016), state‑level commissions for SCs and STs, and the Chellappa Commission(2015) in Telangana, all of which highlighted the tribal nature and acute backwardness of the community and supported ST inclusion.
In Andhra Pradesh, the State Assembly in March 2023 unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union Government to include Boya/Valmiki communities (and certain related sub‑groups) in the ST list, following the recommendations of a one‑man commission that studied their social and economic conditions.
The Chief Minister assured the House that the inclusion of Boya/Valmiki would not dilute or reduce the rights and reservations of existing Scheduled Tribes in the agency areas, as the zonal system and specific local quotas would continue to protect their interests.
In Telangana, the State Government has also constituted commissions of inquiry and passed cabinet resolutions recommending ST status for Valmiki/Boya, and both Telugu‑speaking states have already forwarded proposals to the Union Government seeking inclusion of Valmiki/Boya in the Central ST list.
Recently, Members of Parliament from the region have again raised this demand in the Lok Sabha, specifically urging the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to act on the pending proposals and recognise the long‑standing claim of the Boya Valmiki community.
Central Government status and urgencyThe Ministry of Tribal Affairs has officially acknowledged receiving proposals from the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for inclusion of Valmiki/Boya in the Scheduled Tribes list, and has indicated that these proposals are under examination through the prescribed modal criteria and inter‑ministerial consultations.
However, for the community, this process has now stretched across decades, spanning multiple commissions, census notes, court petitions, and repeated state resolutions, while their socio‑economic condition has further deteriorated in the absence of ST‑level support.
There is now a rare convergence of factors:Historical ethnographic evidence firmly describing Boya/Valmiki as a primitive tribal hunting community.National and international human rights recommendations in favour of denotified and nomadic tribes.Explicit state cabinet decisions and Assembly resolutions from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recommending ST status to Valmiki/Boya without area restriction.Ongoing social unrest and agitation in the Telugu states, as the community continues its peaceful struggle for recognition and equality.
This convergence makes the Winter Session of Parliament 2025 the most appropriate and morally compelling moment to introduce and pass the necessary amendment to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order to include Valmiki/Boya in the Central ST List for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, without confining the benefit only to agency tracts.
Addressing concerns of existing ST communities Some Adivasi groups have expressed apprehension that inclusion of Boya/Valmiki in the ST list may affect their existing reservation share or access to resources.
State leadership in Andhra Pradesh has already clarified on the floor of the Assembly that the zoning system and local reservation structure will be designed so that existing ST communities in agency areas do not lose their rightful share in jobs, education or welfare schemes.
The Union Government can, in consultation with the states, frame clear guidelines and safeguards ensuring that:District‑wise and zone‑wise reservation quotas for long‑recognised STs in agency regions remain intact.Any additional burden on ST quotas due to inclusion of Valmiki/Boya is addressed through rational expansion and fine‑tuning of reservations, not through redistribution that harms the poorest tribes.
A rights‑based approach that protects the interests of both existing STs and the historically excluded Boya/Valmiki community is entirely feasible within the constitutional framework.Moral, constitutional and developmental rationale Article 46 of the Constitution mandates the State to promote the educational and economic interests of weaker sections and particularly of Scheduled Tribes, and to protect them from social injustice and exploitation.
Leaving a historically tribal, denotified and forest‑dependent community like Valmiki/Boya trapped in a lower‑priority backward class category, despite clear evidence of their tribal character and repeated expert recommendations, is inconsistent with this constitutional directive.
Granting ST status to Valmiki/Boya in both Telugu states will:Enable lakhs of Below Poverty Line children from the community to access residential schools, hostels, higher education reservations and scholarships reserved for STs.Open pathways to government employment, political representation and targeted welfare schemes, which are currently out of reach for most of the community under BC(A) status.Facilitate focused development programmes in their habitations, ensuring housing, livelihood support, land rights and social security, aligning with national and state‑level tribal development policies.
Specific prayer to the Winter Session 2025In light of the above, the undersigned, on behalf of journalist Sri Venkateswarlu Boya and the Valmiki/Boya community organisations of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, humbly but firmly request the Hon’ble Government of India and Members of Parliament to:Introduce and pass, in the Winter Session of Parliament 2025, an amendment to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order including “Valmiki/Boya (including Boya, Bedar, Kirataka, Nishadi, Yellapi/Yellapu, Peddaboya and synonymous sub‑groups)” in the Scheduled Tribes list of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, without agency/plains distinction.
Recognise in the Statement of Objects and Reasons that this inclusion restores the community’s historical tribal status, corrects the injustice caused by earlier misclassification and responds to the recommendations of state commissions, national bodies and UN anti‑discrimination mechanisms.
Direct the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to complete any remaining procedural steps, including consultations with the Registrar General of India and other ministries, on a priority basis so that the amendment may take effect at the earliest.
Ensure that inclusion of Valmiki/Boya is accompanied by clear safeguards that protect the existing rights and reservation shares of other ST communities, particularly in agency areas, through appropriate zonal and district‑level mechanisms.
For more than sixty years, elders, activists, students and poor labourers of the Valmiki/Boya community have appealed peacefully for restoration of their rightful tribal status.
Many from this community shed blood in the freedom struggle and later suffered wrongful branding under colonial and post‑colonial laws; yet they continue to believe in the Constitution and democratic institutions and now look to the Winter Session of 2025 as a turning point in their quest for dignity, justice and social empowerment.
On behalf of this long‑suffering but hopeful community, this appeal is placed with utmost respect and trust that the Hon’ble Parliament and the Government of India will act decisively and compassionately to grant Valmiki/Boya community its long‑overdue recognition as a Scheduled Tribe.With respectful regards,
Venkateswarlu Boya
Journalist, Telangana
(On behalf of Valmiki/Boya Community Associations of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh)