Abstract
India is a county of immense diversities. It is a land of wide-spread multiplicities of religion, races, classes, languages, sub-cultures, tribes, etc. There are about 400 languages are spoken in allover India. Some of the prominent languages documented by the constitution of India, in its 8th schedule include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri and Malaylam, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Telegu and Urdu. The constitution of India declares it as sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republic. Notwithstanding its differentiated nature, India remains united. It is having a unique feature of ‘Unity in Diversity’. With a plurality of culture, the society of India is conceptually identified with the concept of ‘to maintain the unity and integrity of India with a composite culture’. Recently, we come across a community whose native language is Telugu and their primitive occupations are telling genealogical histories for other communities. These people have close relations with those of schedule tribes and nomadic communities in Karnataka. They have scattered all over the southern parts in India with meager populations. These people are referred as Pichiguntalas in Telugu speaking areas, and are also called as Vamsharaju, Helava, Helavaru, Helvi, Helawi, etc., based on their locations and local populations. These Pichiguntalas who were immigrated and settled in Kannada speaking areas in Karnataka as Helavaru or Helava. The Report of the Second Backward Classes Commission, Volume III, by the Government of Karnataka, 1986, in its findings, through the State level listing of castes and communities in Karnataka along with synonyms, sub-castes and related groups as reflected in the Socio-economic-cum educational survey 1984, as listed Helava Community against Serial No.24, a Hindu Group, with sub-castes and synonyms as Helava, Helavaru, Pichigunta and Anadi. The study states that the Hindu Helava population as on 1984 is 24441 in Karnataka forming 0.07% of the total population in the State. The Report, defines Helava as one without a limb or a disabled person. Helava or helavaru is applied traditionally to the class of beggars who were supposed to beg only from Vokkaligas / Agriculturists. Here, an attempt is made to study the Socio-Economic-Educational status of Helavas in Karnataka and their problems, who were immigrated to Kannada speaking areas from Telugu speaking areas of southern India during the periods of Basavanna of Bijjala Rulers during 12th Century, as nomadic genealogists.