Yerukala or Erukala or Erukula is a tribal community primarily found in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 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 Yerukala, but most have shifted to Telugu. They were vilified 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
- Chaudhuri, Sarit Kumar; Chaudhuri, Sucheta Sen, eds. (2005). Primitive tribes in contemporary India: concept, ethnography and demography. Vol. 2. Mittal Publications. p. 263. ISBN 81-8324-026-7.
- Thurston, Edgar. Castes and Tribes of Southern India.
- P, Samuel Jonathan (25 November 2017). "The agony of Stuartpuram". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 October 2020.