The Indian public believes corruption among public officials to be endemic and an indictment of the state’s failures of transparency. Against this backdrop, there is nothing exceptional about the recurrent accusations of corruption against the Tobacco Board, the state regulatory authority that mediates auctions for cigarette tobacco in India. During my fieldwork on Board-regulated auction floors in Andhra Pradesh in 2016, such accusations were frequently used by both private-sector tobacco traders and tobacco farmers to question state actions in the markets.

In early December 2022, the Lok Sabha and RS voted to grant the Narikuravar (with a proposed name change to Narikoravan) and Kuruvikkaran communities Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The bill, which received the assent of the President on January 2, 2023, has been declared a victory by the Narikuravar community, who stated that “this is the first time our request has been officially approved by the Indian government and passed both houses of Parliament. We are thankful to the politicians who engaged in this matter.