Kodava forum demands Ain Mane tax exemption

Madikeri: The United Kodava Organization (UKO) has urged the govt to exempt tax on the Kodava traditional houses known as Ain Mane. The organisation has alleged that the gram panchayats are imposing arbitrary tax on Kodava Ain Mane and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

In a press statement, UKO president Manju Chinappa said complaints have been received about the gram panchayats imposing exorbitant tax on Ain Manes in the district. He demanded that this be revised immediately and complete exemption be given to Ain Manes in Kodagu. He said that the Ain Manes of Kodavas are sacrosanct places and the divine abode of the ancestors and other deities of the clan.

“The elders of the Kodavas, who followed the joint family system, built large-sized Ain Manes centuries ago. Through this, family worship and rituals have been carried out in Ain Manes for generations,” he said. He added that although joint families have faded out, the Ain Manes are still being maintained amidst the various challenges and a family is assigned to maintain these traditional houses. “These Ain Manes are the divine abodes of the entire clan. Maintaining the Ain Manes is a big challenge today, and it is condemnable that the local bodies are imposing such high tax,” he said.

He said, “When the clans are struggling to protect their culture and heritage, imposing double-fold tax is further hurting the sentiments of the Kodava clans.”

Chinappa added that the issue will be brought to the notice of MLAs, and he appealed to the residents not to pay tax for the Ain Manes. He also warned that if the tax is collected by force, a fierce fight will have to be launched.