Codava National Council urges community to record identity as ‘Codava’ in upcoming caste census

In a press release, CNC chairman N.U. Nachappa Codava said this step was vital to secure the “holistic empowerment” of the micro, mono-ethnic indigenous Codavas.

Madikeri: The Codava National Council (CNC) has appealed to the Codava community to identify themselves exclusively as “Codava” in the caste, language, and religion columns during the upcoming caste-wise census conducted by the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission from September 22 to October 7, 2025.

In a press release, CNC chairman N.U. Nachappa Codava said this step was vital to secure the “holistic empowerment” of the micro, mono-ethnic indigenous Codavas. “Every Codava must enter their identity as Codava during the census enumeration to ensure politico-economic empowerment, folkloric recognition, and to authenticate our meagre numerical strength,” the release stated.

The CNC argued that accurate enumeration is necessary for claiming constitutional guarantees and for recognition in the forthcoming national population census in 2026–27. The council pointed to past instances where the Codava identity had been “misrepresented” in official records. In 2010, the then Karnataka Backward Classes Commission recommended replacing the term “Kodagaru” with “Codava,” a move later upheld by the Karnataka High Court in 2021. In 2023, the government issued a Gazette Notification officially recognising “Codava” as the community’s nomenclature.

Tracing history, the CNC highlighted that British-era caste censuses from 1871 to 1931 recorded Codavas as a distinct race. However, after the 1941 census, Codavas were merged with other groups, which the organisation described as a “monumental historical injustice.”

The release also underscored the community’s indigenous animistic traditions centred on the worship of nature and ancestral practices. “Unless Codavas are properly recorded in the State’s constitutional framework, we cannot hope for our holistic empowerment,” the CNC emphasised.

The organisation has urged all members of the community to uniformly declare “Codava” across caste, language, and religion categories in the census.

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