Yerukala or Erukala or Erukula is a Tamil tribal community primarily found in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...

. The population of Yerukala tribes according to 2011 census is 519,337. The total literacy rate among Yerukula is 48.12%. Most live in southern coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, with a smaller minority in districts of Telangana. Their native language is Tamil based Yerukala but most have shifted to Telugu. They were vilifed in British sources for being habitual criminals, and so were placed under Criminal Tribes Act, although they were underrepresented in the population of criminals and were most likely targeted for their nomadic lifestyle.

References and notes

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External links

Yerukalas Home PageEkalavya Tribal Development and Educational Society page on Yerukula
Indian castes Dravidian peoples Telugu society Scheduled Tribes of India Ethnic groups in India Social groups of Andhra Pradesh Social groups of Telangana Tribal communities of Andhra Pradesh Denotified tribes of India