Category Archives: Bellie Jayaprakash

The ‘Mistaken Migration from Mysore’ theory

Posted on 21/08/2023 | 4 comments

The ‘Mistaken Migration from Mysore’ theory that Badagas have migrated from Mysore plains.

I attended the “In Conversation with Paul Hockings ” meeting, courtesy Ganesh Ramalingam, who is spear heading the movement to restore ST status for Badagas on 19 Aug 2023. Prof. Paul Hockings is on a visit to the Nilgiris.

While giving full credit to Prof. Paul Hockings for writing so much about Badagas and exposing us to the world, I am totally opposed to his view that we are migrants from Mysore.

I had told Prof.Paul Hockings many times earlier through emails and in person in the meeting at Ooty.

(Wg Cdr Bellie Jayaprakash with Prof.Paul Hockings, in turban)

His argument is “please show some evidence that Badagas were in the Nilgiris for a longer period than a few hundred years, (thousand of years), I will definitely change my view.”

I see a subtle change in his perception now. For a specific question ‘why did you write, in the first place, that Badagas migrated from Mysore, his answer was ‘Badagas, themselves told me and pointed to a village near Nanjangud as their ancestral village ‘.

In 1962, when Paul Hockings first started his research on Badagas, he was about 28 and staying in Ketti village. Prof. Paul Hockings, says that he had visited about 80 Badaga villages.

Prof. Paul Hockings accepts and stated on record that Badagas are as indigenous to Nilgiris as British to Britain to a question by Ganesh Ramalingam. This I consider to be a subtle change in the view of Prof. Paul Hockings though he still seems more inclined towards the migration from Mysore theory.

The argument that Badagas have migrated from Mysore area, in the northern side of the Nilgiris MAINLY based on the meaning of BADAGA and/or some Badagas with whom Paul Hockings interacted, informants as he calls them, told them so, is not convincing. In 1960s, the awareness of Badaga Origin, was not well known to the Badagas. Some Lingayats, among the Badagas he gathered the migration information from, could have been falsely influenced, because of their ties with some villages near Nanjangud.

Now that Badagas, some of them highly educated and well informed, have started questioning this mistaken migration theory, we can feel that there is unease in the minds of many scholars and followers who tend to quote Westerners about migration and calling them wrongly as Hindu Refugees escaping the forced religious conversion by Muslim invaders.

The only way to establish our origin and ancestry, once and for all, is to do carbon dating. Paul Hockings, agrees to this and says he is willing to change his perception about the so called Badaga Migration, as that would be scientific.

Apart from this important issue of migration, where Prof. Paul Hockings, in my opinion, could have been misinformed, the other research Paul Hockings has done on Badagas, is exemplary. His books on ‘Badaga English Dictionary and Badaga Proverbs‘ along with Christiane Pilot Raichur, are great source of information and should find a place in every Badaga home. 

(Prof. Paul Hockings with Wg Cdr Bellie Jayaprakash at the later’s house in Coonoor. Aug, 2023)

On a personal note, I am willing to sponsor anyone from our community, who can do this carbon dating and also request young Badaga leaders like Ganesh Ramalingam and other friends to initiate a serious attempt on this issue.

Let us prove that we are as old as any other tribe in the Nilgiris and this Migration from Mysore is a big mistake.

Wing Commander Bellie Jayaprakash (Air Veteran, Indian Air Force)

Please also see the page on Badaga Origin


Jakkadha SV Ramachandran comments

Kay Mugadane JP sir

This message should be made loud and clear among every Badaga brothers and sisters. We should get convinced ourselves first.

In my opinion, DNA profiling and DNA mapping would be a better way to scientifically understand the origin of our community.

Regards.

Thank you very much, Ramachandra, I fully agree with you that we, Badagas, should get convinced ourselves first. DNA profiling/mapping could/should also be done. Why not? – Wg Cdr JP

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Posted in badaga, badagas, baduga, Bellie Jayaprakash, nilgiris, ooty

900,000+hits, How do I thank you ?

Posted on 11/07/2023 | Leave a comment

900,000+hits, How do I thank you ?

Our website https://badaga.co has crossed the 900,000 visits this month, June 2023.

Targeted at a tribal community of about 300,000 Badagas, this website, an one man’s effort, gets about 200 hits a day.

How can I thank you, with mere words!

Wing Commander Bellie Jayaprakash (Coonoor)

bjaypee@gmail.com

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Posted in badaga, badagas, baduga, Bellie Jayaprakash, nilgiris, ooty

Aside

Badaga Villages (Hattis) [All photos are by Bellie Jayaprakash and copyrighted] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Map Courtesy – Nellikolu Charitable Trust ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Badagas, generally, refer to their village or hamlet as ‘ HATTI ‘ spread around ‘Nakku Betta’ (the Nigiris). Nakku Betta literally … Continue reading →

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Posted on 26/10/2022

BADAGAS OF NILGIRIS INCLUDED IN UN WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DATA BASE

Posted on 16/10/2020 | Leave a comment

Extremely happy and proud that Badagas have been recognised as Indigenous people of the Nilgiris, (People of the Mountains by the UNO affiliate based at Rome) by the great efforts of Venugopal Dharmalingam, the Director of the Nilgiri Documentation Centre. Hearty congratulations to him.

This website has been consistently claiming that Badagas are one of the indigenous tribes of the Blue Mountains and we are happy and privileged that in the application submitted to UNO, Venugopal has quoted our website also.

In a function at Ooty, Venugopal Dharmalingam and other Badaga leaders (including Prof. Iyyaro, a Nakkubetta Seemay Gowder, Dr.Mani ex-Director of Central Research Institute, Kasauli and President of Coonoor Badaga Association, Mr.Sivalinga, auditor, Gokul Gowder, a well known Artist and Wg.Cdr.Bellie Jayaprakash), a blown up copy of the recognition approval was presented to the Collector Ms.Innocent Divya today, 16 Oct 2020.

BADAGAS OF NILGIRIS INCLUDED IN UN WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DATA BASE

The Badagas, the largest indigenous social group in the Nilgiris, have been included in the Data Base of World’s Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations Mountain Partnership.

The Inscription on the Badagas says, “ Traditionally Buffalo herders, recently there is a strong trend back to farming with particular attention to organic farming”. On the Badaga language, the Inscription says, “Badaga language (Badaga) is part of the Dravidian language family. One of world’s primary language families spoken by over 200 million people in south, central and north India”.

The Mountain Partnership is a United Nations alliance of partners dedicated to improving the lives of mountain peoples and protecting mountain environments around the world.

Founded in 2002, it has more than 400 members including International Organizations, major private sector organizations and NGOs and 60 governments including India.

MP is currently preparing an international Data Base of Indigenous Peoples and a detailed global map to identify 1. Who are the indigenous and local mountain communities and 2. Where do such communities live?

Indigenous Mountain Peoples are defined by the UN on the following criteria.

1) How long they have been living in a specific territory

2) Their cultural distinctiveness, including exclusive language, social organization, religion and spiritual values, modes of production, laws and institutions;

3) Self-identification, as well as recognition by other groups, or by State authorities, as a distinct community and

4) an history of struggle and exploitation

5) Their continued inhabitation, at least part of the year, on a mountain

6) Their continued use of traditional food systems around mountain ecosystems and

7) Their clear connection to a particular mountain or range.

Based on these criteria, the Nilgiri Documentation Centre, a local research body with nearly four decades of work, submitted the case of the Badagas of Nilgiris for inclusion in the World’s Indigenous Peoples Data Base with all necessary supporting evidence and documents.

The UN Mountain Partnerhiup has accepted the application of the NDC and included the Badaga community in their Data Base of World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Badaga language endangered

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) has already included the Badaga language as ‘Definitely Endangered’ in the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.

World’s Indigenous People

Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live. There are approximately 476 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide, in over 90 countries. They make up 6 % of the global population but account for 15 percent of the global poverty. They occupy 25% of the world’s area but safeguard 80% of the global biodiversity.

The UN and Indigenous Peoples

The UN General Assembly proclaimed 1993 as the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People to seek international cooperation for solving problems faced by indigenous people in terms of human rights, environment, development, education and health. August 9 is observed worldwide as International Day of the Indigenous Peoples. India is one of the 144 states which adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) by the General Assembly on in 2007. The government is yet to prepare a list of indigenous communities in the country.

Mountains and Indigenous Peoples

Majority of the indigenous peoples live in mountains. The United Nations has recognized that the involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities is essential for sustainable mountain development.

Issued by Indigenous Badagar Alliance

Later on in the evening, Ramakrishnan, owner of Nakkubetta TV anchored an excellent programme on this event. A must watch

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Proud of you, Malliga

Posted on 07/08/2020 | 1 comment

Malliga from Kagguulla, Kotagiri has become the First Badaga girl to have cleared the UPSC (IAS) exam.

(Info courtesy HN SIVAN)

—-+++++++++++——

D.Radhakrishnan in Covai Post
Kaggula, a village of about 150 houses near Kotagiri is in a celebratory mood. Why not!
A daughter of the village has done it proud and in the process brought laurels to the Nilgiris,the likes of which this district in general and the Badaga community,in particular, have been yearning for,for a long time.
Sheer perseverance of S.Malliga, daughter of a small tea grower Sundaran and Village nurse Chithradevi of Kaggula,has put her on the road to becoming the first woman IAS officer of the Badaga community.
A student of the Saint Joseph’s Convent in Coonoor,Malliga, the only child of the couple moved to Coimbatore to get a Bio tech degree from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University before seeking training in an IAS coaching academy at Chennai to crack the Union Public Service Examination.
Undaunted by the faltering in the initial stages,Malliga clung on to climb the peak.
With this her long standing dream of becoming an IAS officer, has come true .Echoing the sentiments of her village,her cousin Sathish told The Covai Post that going by her track record,”we were certain that she will make it”. She now carries the wishes of the people of the hills to excel in her career and inspire many more Malligas.

Malliga from Kotagiri has become the First Badaga girl to have cleared the UPSC (IAS) exam.

So far the only IAS officers from Badaga community have been M.Devaraj and N.Sundaradevan.

Malliga, we are proud of you.

Dr.Rajma Comments:

Congratulations dear Malliga. We are very proud of you my dear. You are crowned with a title “First Badaga Woman _ IAS” Indeed it is moment of glory. Get ready to serve the nation. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Take a step forward with confidence, determination and dedication. You have miles to go .” Strong women aren’t simply born. They are made by the storms they walk through”. Bring pride to womanhood. At any day Woman power is super power. All the best to you. Special thanks to JP for posting this.

Your words are always inspirational, Dr.Rajma. – JP

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Posted in badaga, badagas, baduga, Bellie Jayaprakash, nilgiris, ooty