Who is Shantaram Siddi? Know All About India's First MLC From African-Origin Siddi Community
Shantharam Budna Siddi was among five people nominated this week as Members of Legislative Council (MLC) by the BJP-ruled Karnataka government.
Bengaluru, July 24: Shantharam Budna Siddi was among five people nominated this week as Members of Legislative Council (MLC) by the BJP-ruled Karnataka government. Shantharam Siddi, 55-year-old man of African-origin, has become India's first MLC from the Siddi community. Siddis are a small group of an ethnic community in India believed to be descendants of the Bantu people from East Africa.
Siddi, who hails from Hitalahalli village situated between Sirsi town and Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district, is the first graduate from the community. The newly-appointed MLC believes his community's roots go back to Africa, somewhere in Mozambique and Kenya. Siddi joined Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram in 1989 as a karyakarta and served as hostel warden. Now, he serves as secretary and pranta hitraksha pramukh for the outfit, a tribal welfare initiative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
"I didn't expect to be chosen. We are working for people and I'll do the same in future. There are many backward communities in coastal Karnataka and other places which need to be recognised. I will work for them and also educate them," Siddi told news agency ANI. It is believed that Siddis were brought to India by Portuguese merchants about four centuries ago. They are included in the list of the Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.
Presently, nearly 50,000 people belonging to the Siddi community live in India. Of the 50,000, more than a third live in northern Karnataka. Apart from Shantaram Siddi, CP Yogeshwar, AH Vishwanth, Bharathi Shetty and Dr Talwar Sabanna were also nominated to the Legislative Council.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2020 05:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).