Yerukala people
Ethnic group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yerukala or Erukala or Erukula is a Dravidian tribal community primarily found in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India.[1] The population of Yerukala tribes according to 2011 census is 519,337.[citation needed] 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 Yerukala, but most have shifted to Telugu. They were vilified in British sources for being habitual criminals,[2] 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.[3] Subgroups of Yerukala include Dachi, Gadi, Gara, Ita, Karavala, Karivapaku, Prasi, Thudu, and Viti.[4]
