Yerukala people

Yerukala or Erukala or Erukula is a tribal community primarily found in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[1] The population of Yerukala tribes according to 2011 census is 519,337.[citation needed] The total literacy rate among Yerukula is 48.12%. Most live in southern Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, with a smaller minority in districts of Telangana. Their native language is Yerukala, but most have shifted to Telugu. They were vilified in British sources for being habitual criminals,[2] and so were placed under Criminal Tribes Act, although they were underrepresented in the population of criminals and were most likely targeted for their nomadic lifestyle.[3]

  1. ^ Chaudhuri, Sarit Kumar; Chaudhuri, Sucheta Sen, eds. (2005). Primitive tribes in contemporary India: concept, ethnography and demography. Vol. 2. Mittal Publications. p. 263. ISBN 81-8324-026-7.
  2. ^ Thurston, Edgar. Castes and Tribes of Southern India.
  3. ^ P, Samuel Jonathan (25 November 2017). "The agony of Stuartpuram". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 October 2020.