Current condition

The status of the Pulayar as a group is the barometer of the success or failure of the caste reformation process that is going on in pre-independence India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world.... in general and Kerala in particular.In the 19th century,Ayyankali
Ayyankali was a leader of the Indian lower caste Dalit s known as the Untouchables. He pioneered many reforms to improve the lifes of the Dalits.... was influential in the upliftment of this downtrodden group. The followers of Ayyankali have an organization called Kerala Pulaya Maha Sabha (KPMS).In general the Pulayar still suffer discrimination and their life expectancy, nutrition levels, education levels and child mortality rates are below the average Kerala standards. However, some Pulayars like the current Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan
Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan known as K. G. Balakrishnan, is the thirty-seventh Chief Justice of India. He is the only Dalit and the only Malayali to become the Chief Justice of India.... have been able to progress economically.In neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, the word Pulayar was replaced by Paraiyar
Paraiyar, Parayar or Sambavar also called Adi-Dravida are a social group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and in Sri Lanka .... and Pallar
Pallar are a caste of upwardly mobile Tamil people agriculturalists and agricultural caste of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and amongst the Tamil diaspora.....In Karnataka the etymologically related Holeya caste's social status is still at the bottom with little or merely marginal improvements since Indian independence.Due to affirmative action
The term affirmative action refers to policies that take gender, race, or ethnicity into account in an attempt to promote equal opportunity. The focus of such policies ranges from employment and public contracting to educational outreach and health programs ....s including Land Reforms and better educational avenues in Kerala, Pulayas are making some progress. Although one can find members of this caste in many walks of life today, the majority of them are still engaged in menial jobs such as day laborers.