Codava Council pays homage to 1785 genocide victims

Madikeri: Members of the Codava National Council (CNC), led by President N U Nachappa, gathered at the Devaattparamb Codava Genocide Memorial in Kodagu to honour the victims of the brutal 1785 massacre perpetrated by Tipu Sultan’s Mysore Sultanate forces, in collusion with the French East India Company.

The solemn Kail Poud Namme ceremony included offering Thok Poov (floral homages) and Meedhi (ritual oblations) at the sacred cenotaph, a site revered as the ancestral land of the Codava tribe, to pay respects to the thousands massacred on December 12, 1785.

The CNC condemned the treachery of the Keladhi/Paaleri dynasty, whose covert alliances with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan facilitated the genocide. Despite the Codavas’ heroic resistance in over 32 battles to protect the Keladhi rulers, Tipu orchestrated a deceptive truce at Devaattparamb, leading to the slaughter of unarmed Codavas. The council also denounced the political assassinations at Naalnaad Palace and Madikeri Fort, attributing them to the betrayal by foreign rulers.

During the event, the CNC adopted resolutions calling for the establishment of an International Codava Genocide Monument at Devaattparamb under Article 7 of the 1964 Venice Charter and Article 49 of the Indian Constitution. They demanded that the Devaattparamb massacre and related assassinations be included in the United Nations’ International Holocaust Remembrance List.

Additionally, the CNC sought recognition of Codava Thakk in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Codava community, constitutional safeguards for their “Sacrament Gun” tradition under Articles 25 and 26, and acknowledgment of the Codavas as an ancient indigenous tribe by the UN under international conventions.

The ceremony, attended by members Kaliyanda Meena, Kaliyanda Prakash, Alamanda Jai, Mandapanda Manoj, Mandapanda Suraj, Cheeyabera Sathish, Mangerira Jagdish, and Mandapanda Nanaiah, reaffirmed the CNC’s resolve to pursue geo-political autonomy for Codavaland and uphold the cultural identity of the indigenous Codava community, emphasising their ongoing fight against historical injustices.