India is a country with a diversified cultural heritage with a population of 1.3 billion, living in 29 states and 7 union territories. India consists of many creeds, castes, languages and religions. There are many communities living in the isolated regions of the vast and interior forests. Bedakampana Lingayat community, the followers of Lord Shiva is located in the remote Thalakkarai village in Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, but is equally vibrant as the communities in any suburban villages of India. Despite being less explored by social scientists, they translate traditions as their vehicle to modernity. It is very fascinating to know that being exclusive in the modern governance, they strive hard to be inclusive in social and political development and do contribute to the rich diversity in culture and religion of India. Hence, this paper studies the social lives and veracity of Bedakampana Lingayats of Thalakkarai exploring their livelihood pattern, accessibility to health and nutrition, availability of education, transport and communication facilities. This paper aims at how effectively the Government Welfare Programmes such as Sarva Sihksha Abhiyan reach them, and focuses on their awareness on such schemes and the rate of utilization of the above said schemes.
Keywords
Communities, Forest, Livelihood, Rites, Rituals.
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