Codavas Celebrate Minority Rights with Gun Carnival

The Codava National Council (CNC) held their 16th Annual Public Gun Carnival called 'Thok Namme' to celebrate World Minorities Rights Day.

This event took place at Coffee Castle Coorg Resort in Ballamberi, near Murnad.

The Codavas are a community that has unique traditions, including the use of guns in their cultural and religious practices.

During the carnival, they adorned guns with flowers and worshipped them as part of their heritage.

They also had shooting competitions where children, women, and men participated.

The CNC used this event to demand constitutional protection for their identity, gun rights, and geo-political autonomy.

They want to be recognized as a distinct indigenous group and have their own autonomous region called Codavaland.

The community fears that their culture is being threatened and wants to ensure their rights are protected in the future.