Tribal woman in Tamil Nadu becomes civil judge; 1st from her community

Chennai: Sripathi, a 23-year-old woman from the Malayali tribe in the Yelagiri Hills in Tamil Nadu's Tirupattur district, is the first civil judge from her community. Many people, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, congratulated her on the accomplishment. “I am happy to see that a tribal woman from an underprivileged hill village has achieved this at such a young age,” Stalin said.

“I am proud to know that Sripathi has been selected as a judge through the order of our #DravidianModel government giving priority to those educated in Tamil in government jobs,” he added. Stalin further said, “Success of people like Sripathi is the answer to those who are in Tamil Nadu without the heart to even utter the word social justice.”

In 2021, the Tamil Nadu government published a government order (GO) saying that people who received education in Tamil medium, first-generation graduates, and those who lost both of their parents to COVID-19 would be given precedence in government posts, the News Minute reported.

According to sources, Sripathi had to travel approximately 200 kilometres from the Jawadhu Hills to Chennai to write her exams in November 2023. The Hindu quoted her saying, “The idea to do a law course was to provide legal aid for the people of my community as they are not aware of their legal rights.”

Sripathi, the eldest daughter of farmer S Kaliappan and domestic worker K Malliga, completed her education at the St Charles Higher Secondary School in Athanavoor village. She studied law at the Dr Ambedkar Government Law College and later married S Venkatesan, an ambulance driver. She gave birth to her first child right before the TNPSC exams.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, expressed his congratulations to Sripathi and said, “We are happy that Sripathy has been selected as a civil judge through our Dravidian Model GO of giving priority to government jobs for those who have studied in the Tamil medium.” He also lauded her for attending the examinations despite giving birth to a child days before. “Let the dreams of Sripathi come true, who is an example to others that education is the only indestructible asset!”, he added.

“Congratulations to #Sripathy, for making history as Tamil Nadu’s first Civil Judge from the Tribal community. Her achievement at the age of 23 is truly remarkable. I commend her exceptional dedication, taking her exam just days after giving birth to a child. She is an inspiration not only to the Tribal community in Javvathu Hills, Tiruvannamalai Dist but also to all women striving to prove themselves in society. Let's work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society,” MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian said.