How can SC families trace migration and community history?
I’ve been struggling with a question for a long time: who are we, and where did we come from?
I’m from Hyderabad, from the Arwamala community. I know a little about my father’s life and my grandfather’s life, but beyond that, everything becomes silence. I don’t know why our family moved to Hyderabad, where we originally came from, or what happened before that.
Like many SC families, survival came before preserving history. I’m the first graduate in my family — probably even from my area — and while education helped me move forward, it also made me realize how disconnected we are from our own roots.
We know how to survive, but we don’t know our story.
I want to understand:
- How do families trace their migration history?
- Where can I look for records, oral histories, caste/community archives, or old settlement patterns?
- Are there government archives, libraries, elders’ groups, researchers, or historians who work on Telangana/Dalit community histories?
- Has anyone else here gone through the feeling of not knowing where they truly belong?
I’m not looking for “royal ancestry” or anything glorified. I just want to know the path my people walked before I was born.
Any guidance would mean a lot.
P.S Though I structured the post using AI, but the emotions are genuine.
Edit- Arwa Mala community are Tamil SC community who migrated from Tamil Nadu but dont know from where or which part in TN.