The Andhra Pradesh government has issued orders prohibiting the use of certain derogatory and abusive words towards persons of the Nayee Brahmin community. The Nayee Brahmin community is one of the Backward Classes (BC) in Andhra Pradesh, and the words that have been banned are caste slurs used towards members of the community while referring to the occupation of barbers. The Government Order (GO) issued by the Backward Classes Welfare Department prohibits the use of words like ‘mangali’, ‘mangaloda’, ‘bochchu gorigevada’, ‘mangalidhi’, ‘kondamangali’ etc. Legal action will be taken against those who use such slurs under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, it said.
The order, issued by Backward Classes Welfare Department Principal Secretary G Jayalakshmi on August 7, said that the use of derogatory and abusive words against persons belonging to the Nayee Brahmin community is being prohibited, in the interest of welfare and safety of Nayee Brahmin community in Andhra Pradesh. The Managing Director of AP Nayee Brahmins Cooperative Finance Corporation Ltd and Person-in-Charge of AP Nayee Brahmin Welfare and Development Corporation had stated that the caste name of Nayee Brahmin “is pronounced by majority of sections of people as ‘Mangali’, ‘Mangaloda’, ‘Bochchu gorigevada’, ‘Mangalidhi’, ‘Kondamangali’ etc. and as such people are using abusive words against Nayee Brahmin community people in public places hurting their feelings and sentiments.”
In the order, Jayalakshmi also mentions that the district Collectors of East Godavari and West Godavari had also forwarded representations from Nava Samaj in Delhi seeking a ban on such words, as they dishonoured the self-respect of the people of the community. Reports said that leaders of the Nayee Brahmin community in Andhra Pradesh welcomed the decision and thanked the government for prohibiting the words. According to Sakshi, Maddikunta Lingam Nayee, the state president of Telangana Nayee Brahmin Aikya Vedika, appreciated the orders and appealed to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to implement a similar order in Telangana as well.