A demand that became significant with Shah’s visit

The long-pending demand that seven Scheduled Caste communities be grouped into one, as Devendrakula Velalar, gained significance in August 2015 when the then BJP president, Amit Shah, attended a meeting organised by the Devendrar Thannarva Arakkatalai (a trust) in Madurai and formally passed a resolution supporting it. A month later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met around 100 Devendrakula Velalar delegates from the trust that supports the demand and promised to look into the demand.