Kulala/Moolya/Handa caste in the undivided Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka State, Kasaragod District of Kerala State, and the neighboring areas is the synonym of Kumbara Caste. The basic occupation of the people belonging to this primitive caste is pottery. Since time immemorial, in pursuit of their age-old profession, they generally lived in remote areas of the villages where the raw materials were easily available for preparing clay pots. Due to very meagre earnings from their profession, many people could not continue their profession. Many became landless labourers and continued to live in acute poverty for generations due to various reasons. Due to ignorance, the members of this community were deprived of various opportunities and they could not educate their children and remained socially, economically and educationally very backward in the society. They had neither any political background nor political support and hence continued to remain as BPL families in the remote rural areas.
When the demand for clay pots started receding due to modernization and invent of steel, aluminum and plastic utensils, they could not earn even a meager income for their livelihood. In view of this, they started switching over to other occupations. Many people of this caste started migrating from villages to various places in search jobs or to start small businesses for their livelihood. Such of those people, who had migrated to Bengaluru, founded Dakshina Kannada Kulala Sangha (R) in Bengaluru City more than half a century ago, with the objectives of social and educational upliftment of their fellow brethren by granting scholarships to the students of poor families as encouragement and assistance to pursue education, extending helping hand to the people who are in distress, nurturing the age-old culture and traditions of the caste in its younger generation and welfare of its members living in Bengaluru. A similar organization was founded in 1993 in Bengaluru City under the name and style Kulala Samaja Bengaluru (R). Both these organizations were voluntary and non-profit organizations and were rendering yeomen service to the community.
Since the objectives and activities of both these organizations are similar and the beneficiaries of their programmes are also almost the same people, it was felt that these two organizations are to be merged with each other to work unitedly and to serve their people in a better way. Accordingly, with the intervention of elders and well-wishers and after discussing this issue with the legal experts and also in the joint meetings of the Executive Committees of both the organizations as well as in the Coordination Committee constituted for the purpose, both these organizations were merged with each other after following due legal procedures on 24.11.2019 and the organization is named as Kulala Sangha Bengaluru (R). This Sangha is a non-profit organization functioning on the principles of “Saralathe”, “Samanathe”, “Sanghatane”, “Samajaseve”. Presently, Kulala Sangha Bengaluru (R) has more than 2000 members living in Bengaluru City. They include entrepreneurs, businessmen, Government employees, private company employees etc.
The functioning of the Sangha is guided by Bye-laws approved by the General Body of the Sangha. Sangha is registered under the Karnataka Registration of Associations Act and annual financial accounts have been audited regularly, every year by the Chartered Accountant. The day-to-day affairs of the Sangha is managed by the President, Office Bearers and the Executive Committee elected by the members of the Sangha in the Annual General Body meeting. Various Sub-groups like Women’s Wing, Youth Wing, Cultural Committee, Sports Committee, Matrimonial Advisory Committee, Education Committee, Website Committee etc., are also formed involving the experts in the specific fields from among the members for reaching all the members of the Sangha through active interactions. The said Sub groups are working under the banner of Sangha. Two funds called “Vidya Nidhi” and “Jeeva Nidhi” are created in the Sangha for extending financial assistance to encourage education and to render assistance the community people in distress.
Kulala Sangha Bengaluru, with the active support of its Sub groups, is organizing various programmes every year for the benefit of its members and fellow community people:
• An Annual Sports Meet for the children and youth from the families of members of Sangha is organized every year to encourage the young generation to actively involve various sports activities.
• It is hoped that social and economic development of the community is possible through education. In order to encourage more and more students from economically weaker Kulala families living in rural areas to pursue higher education, scholarships are distributed by Sangha to deserving students every year.
• Financial assistance is extended to the economically weaker families of the persons suffering from chronic diseases to meet medical treatment costs, compensations granted in the event of death of bread winner of the family due to accidents, natural calamities etc, and also to the families facing distress, whenever requests/ applications for such helps are received..
• Cultural programmes are organized periodically to encourage various cultural activities in the young generation and also to provide platform to showcase their talents
• Blood donations are arranged by the team of our blood donors whenever there is need for blood by our members or their families due to chronic illness, accidents etc.
• Cultural and religious tours are organized every year for the benefit of the members of the Sangha.
• The President, Office Bearers and Members of the Executive Committee are proactively responding to the problems/distress calls of the members of the Sangha.
