Irula youth wins 2-year battle for higher education

CUDDALORE: While several Irula youngsters have been raising complaints about denial of community certificates, 21-year-old C Jayaraj has shown that with a lot of grit and patience, nothing is impossible. After struggling for almost two years, he has managed to secure an ST certificate, which will be crucial for him to pursue Masters degree.   

Jayaraj is the son of a daily-wage labourer, hailing from a Irula village called Samy Nagar in the outskirts of Cuddalore. He is the only person in his village to have completed graduation, and aspires to study further. However, a major hurdle came in the way — he holds both an SC and an ST certificate.   

Jayaraj obtained the SC certificate while applying to the Periyar Arts College in 2016. Much later, in December 2018, the Cuddalore sub-collector conducted investigations, after which it was decided that Jayaraj was eligible for an ST certificate. While the ST certificate was granted by the officials, they did not bother to cancel his SC certificate.

His ordeal began then. He visited multiple government offices, but in vain. “They kept sending me back, asking me to return on another day. Some officials said they had no idea how to sort out my issue,” says Jayaraj. In February 2019, he approached his college to get his community details changed in the transfer certificate (TC), but, it was not granted. 

On October 12, the RDO’s office came to his rescue and got his SC certificate cancelled. Soon after, he got his TC, denoting his community as ST. “Finally, there is some hope. I hope to clear the UPSC exams some day,” he said.