This new Karnataka MLC from BJP is India’s first politician from tribal Siddi community

Shantaram Budna Siddi was the first graduate in his community, the Siddis, a small ethnic tribe that traces its origins to the Bantu tribes in east Africa.

A file photo of BJP MLC and Siddi community leader Shantaram Budna Siddi. | Photo: Special arrangement

Bengaluru: Shantaram Budna Siddi was busy typing out a letter at the local post office in his village Hitlalli in the Uttara Kannada district when he received a call from the Vidhana Soudha. The person on the other end called to inform him that he has been nominated to the Karnataka legislative council. Shantaram couldn’t believe it.

On Wednesday, he became the first tribal leader from the Siddi community in India to be nominated to a state legislature. The B.S. Yediyurappa government nominated him and four others to the Karnataka legislative council from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“I did not believe what I heard. I assumed it was a prank call. Later my wife started getting congratulatory messages and calls. I switched on the TV set and heard the news. Then it finally sank in. I had indeed been nominated to the Karnataka legislative council,” he told ThePrint over the phone from his home on the outskirts of the forest area of Hitlalli.

The 54-year-old social worker belongs to a small ethnic tribe called Siddi, which traces its origins to the Bantu tribes in east Africa. There are around 60,000 Siddis in India. They were brought here by the Portuguese rulers to work in the farmlands, according to a local community leader.

Since independence, the Siddis have spread across the country in search of livelihood, but nearly a third of them are concentrated in Karnataka’s northern region, living in extremely backward conditions. This close-knit community excels in sports and plays in several football teams in India, including in the Indian Super League. The new BJP MLC is a sports fan himself.

‘Ready for this challenge’

Shantaram Budna Siddi was the first graduate in his community — he did a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Karnataka University in 1988. He wanted to settle down in a government job, but then decided to take up farming in his village.

His wife Susheela runs a small shop in Hitlalli while his daughter has completed her graduation. His young son is attending school.

Inspired by social workers Prakash Kamath and Nirmala Gaonkar, Shantaram has been working towards the welfare of tribal communities over the last three decades, including seeking better hostel facilities, and access to higher education and job opportunities for tribal students.

In fact, when he received the call Wednesday, he was typing a memorandum on behalf of tribal students seeking a grant from the government to build a hostel in his area.

He has been associated with the Vanavasi Kalyan Prakalpa (VKP), the tribal welfare initiative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, for three decades now. He joined the VKP first as a volunteer and was later elected as the state unit secretary.

Shantaram said he has never worked as a politician and this nomination has presented him a whole new opportunity.

“I have spent a large part of my life doing social service. I am ready to take up this new challenge and role — that of a politician,” he said.

But more than the leader himself, it’s the members of his Siddi community who are bursting with pride.

“We are thrilled that after so many years of being part of India, having given our sweat and blood to the country, our community has finally been recognised,” said Saver Louis Birji Siddi, the state president of Akhila Karnataka Siddhi Vikas Sangh, a unit representing the interests of the community.

“The voice of the tribal community will be heard all across the country and we would like everybody to know that as proud Indians, we would like to take our country to new heights,” Birji said.