Twenty-three-year-old Sripathi, belonging to the Malayali tribe in Yelagiri Hills of Tamil Nadu’s Tirupattur district, has become the first civil judge from her community. Several people, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, praised her for achieving the feat. “I am happy to see that a tribal woman from an underprivileged hill village has achieved this at such a young age,” Stalin said.
“I am proud to know that Sripathi has been selected as a judge through the order of our #DravidianModel government giving priority to those educated in Tamil in government jobs,” he added. Stalin further said, “Success of people like Sripathi is the answer to those who are in Tamil Nadu without the heart to even utter the word social justice.”
The Tamil Nadu government in 2021, issued a government order (GO) stating that priority in government jobs will be given to those who obtained education in Tamil medium, first generation graduates and for those who lost both their parents to COVID-19.
According to reports, Sripathi had to travel nearly 200 kms from Jawadhu hills to Chennai for writing her exams in November 2023. The Hindu quoted her saying, “The idea to do a law course was to provide legal aid for the people of my community as they are not aware of their legal rights.”
Sripathi, the eldest daughter of S Kaliappan, who is a farmer and K Malliga, who is a domestic worker, finished her schooling at the St Charles Higher Secondary School in Athanavoor village. She pursued law at the Dr Ambedkar Government Law College and later got married to S Venkatesan, an ambulance driver. Just before the TNPSC examination, she gave birth to her first child.
Congratulating Sripathi, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “We are happy that Sripathy has been selected as a civil judge through our Dravidian Model GO of giving priority to government jobs for those who have studied in the Tamil medium.” He also lauded her for attending the examinations despite giving birth to a child days before. “Let the dreams of Sripathi come true, who is an example to others that education is the only indestructible asset!”, he added.
“Congratulations to #Sripathy, for making history as Tamil Nadu’s first Civil Judge from the Tribal community. Her achievement at the age of 23 is truly remarkable. I commend her exceptional dedication, taking her exam just days after giving birth to a child. She is an inspiration not only to the Tribal community in Javvathu Hills, Tiruvannamalai Dist, but also to all women striving to prove themselves in the society. Let's work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society,” MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian said.