Nowadays, community members prefer to refer to themselves as Devendra Kula Velalar (DKV), a name connoting that they were created by the god Devendra.[4] In support of a name change to DKV, Pallars have undertaken hunger strikes and rallies.[2] The Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) claims to have campaigned for the appellation of DKV to be applied to the Pallar, Kudumbar, Kaladi, Mooppan, Devendra Kulathan and Pannadi communities since the 1990s and between 2006-2011 a one-man commission looked into it on behalf of the state government, then controlled by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Nothing came of the commission because the DMK lost power in 2011. The PT then allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the hope that this would lead to the renaming but by 2015 had become frustrated with the inaction and was organising protests.[11]
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Pallar
1. Pallar
Religions Hinduism
Languages Tamil
Related groups Tamils, Sri
Lankan Pallar
Pallar
The Pallar, who prefer to be called Mallar, is a Tamil sub-caste of
Peasant found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pallars own
small bits of dry lands and do cultivation but to supplement their
income they work as tenant agriculturists.[1] The Pallars traditionally
inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the
literary devices of the Sangam landscape.
Etymology
History
Modern social standing
See also
References
The Pallar name may be derived from pallam, which means a pit or low-lying area. This aligns with their
traditional occupation of cultivators of the low wetlands. There is literary evidence that suggests that Pallars
were traditional farmers who produced large quantities of food grains, and that some were probably rulers in
the Tamil region.[2] The name of the caste has previously been spelled as Pallan; however, some caste
members replaced the Tamil non-honorific terminal-"n" with an honorific "r", resulting in the name Pallar; a
similar process was seen in other Tamil communities.[3] The change of name from Mallar to Pallar is thought
to have been imposed upon them after the decline of their rule, when the leaders (Nayaks) of competing tribes
wanted to suggest a degradation in status. Some Pallars today prefer the Mallar name due to their belief that
Pallar is a derogatory term.[2][4]
The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the literary devices of the
Sangam landscape.[5] Vendan, also known as Devendra and identified with Indra, is the god of the Marutham
landscape and also one of the chief deities of the Pallars.[6][7][8] According to some historians, the Pallars are
descendants of the Pallavas who ruled the Andhra and Tamil countries between the 6th and 9th centuries;
Pallars themselves may have ruled in the 14th-15th centuries.[2][4] The socio-economic position of the Pallar as
bonded servants working on farms is a central theme of Pallu poetry.[9]
Together with the Udayar and Kallar, they form the Marava castes, who are quite dominant in the region
variously known as Ramnad and the Maravar country.[10]
Contents
Etymology
History
Modern social standing
2. Nowadays, community members prefer to refer to themselves as Devendra Kula Velalar (DKV), a name
connoting that they were created by the god Devendra.[4] In support of a name change to DKV, Pallars have
undertaken hunger strikes and rallies.[2] The Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) claims to have campaigned for the
appellation of DKV to be applied to the Pallar, Kudumbar, Kaladi, Mooppan, Devendra Kulathan and
Pannadi communities since the 1990s and between 2006-2011 a one-man commission looked into it on behalf
of the state government, then controlled by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Nothing came of the
commission because the DMK lost power in 2011. The PT then allied with the All India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam in the hope that this would lead to the renaming but by 2015 had become frustrated with
the inaction and was organising protests.[11]
In 2016, the national government, run by the Bharatiya Janata Party, announced it would appoint
anthropologists to investigate the DKV claim in relation to the Pallar, Kudumbar, Pannadi, Kaladi, Kadayan,
Devendra Kulathan and Vadhiriyar communities. It said that the decision was not motivated by a desire for
political support from the affected communities but rather a reaction to a petition organised by the Thevendrar
Thannarva Arakattalai (TTA) that had attracted over 500,000 signatories.[12] Whilst the TTA said at the time
that the change of name would have no effect on the Scheduled Caste status enjoyed by the communities
under India's system of positive discrimination, by 2018 the PT leader, K. Krishnasamy, was demanding that
they be removed from that classification. This announcement met with criticism, in part because it was claimed
that Krishnasamy had only in the previous year become an advocate for the putative DVK communities and
that previously he had been concerned more generally with Dalit politics. Doubts were expressed by Dalit
intellectuals regarding whether Krishnasamy actually had the support of the majority of people from the
affected communities for an idea which had originated with the Sangh Parivar and which, it was claimed,
Krishnasamy was "latching on to" because he was "losing his political relevance". It was argued that the
Vellalar term implied that the communities were adopting the sanskritisation process and that this would further
emphasis caste divisions in a society that should be lessening them.[13]
Devendrar Jayanti
Immanuvel Devendrar
Paramakudi Riots
1957 Ramnad riots
Veeran Sundaralingam
1. Tyagi, D.; Bhattacharya, K. K.; Chaudhuri, S. S. Datta; Xaviour, D. (2012). Nutritional Status of
Indian Population: Southern region (https://books.google.com/?id=KpYaIMA7Q_UC&dq=pallan
+tamil+agriculture&q=pallan+of+tamil+nadu). Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of
Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India. p. 293.
2. Ramaiah, A. (2004). "Untouchability and Inter-Caste Relations in Rural India: The Case of
Southern Tamil Villages" (http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/irenik/relkultur70.pdf) (PDF). Journal of
Religious Culture (70).
3. Dana, Leo Paul (2007). Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship: A Co-
Evolutionary View on Resource Management (https://books.google.com/books?id=DtjSpIRhN
NMC&pg=PA602). Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 602. ISBN 978-1-84542-733-7. Retrieved
16 April 2012.
4. Political Change and Agrarian Tradition in South India (https://books.google.com/books?id=i8d
p_b7GBrEC&pg=PA51). Mittal Publications. 1986. p. 51.
See also
References
3. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pallar&oldid=996941271"
This page was last edited on 29 December 2020, at 07:49 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
5. General, India Office of the Registrar (1964). Census of India, 1961 (https://books.google.com/?
id=6eccAQAAMAAJ&dq=pallar+marutham&q=marutham). Manager of Publications. p. 11.
6. Subrahmanian, N. (1996). Śaṅgam polity: the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam
Tamils (https://books.google.com/books?id=YMJGAAAAMAAJ). Ennes.
7. Viswanathan, S. (2005). Dalits in Dravidian land: Frontline reports on Anti-Dalit violence in
Tamil Nadu, 1995-2004 (https://books.google.com/books?id=8IO3AAAAIAAJ). Navayana.
ISBN 978-81-89059-05-7.
8. Sinha, Sachchidanand (1982). Caste system: myths, reality, challenge (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=Us08AAAAMAAJ+). Intellectual Pub. House.
9. Flores, Jorge Manuel (2007). Re-exploring the Links: History and Constructed Histories
Between Portugal and Sri Lanka (https://books.google.com/books?id=LspBFqePhpwC&pg=PA
44). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 44. ISBN 9783447054904.
10. Raj, Selva J. (2002). "Transgressing Boundaries, Transcending Turner: The Pilgrimage
Tradition at the Shrine of St. John de Britto". In Raj, Selva J.; Dempsey, Corinne G. (eds.).
Popular Christianity in India: Riting Between the Lines (https://books.google.com/books?id=zv4
2cV5dQmYC). SUNY Press. p. 86. ISBN 9780791455197. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
11. "Agitation to bring many SC sects under one common name" (https://economictimes.indiatimes.
com/news/politics-and-nation/agitation-to-bring-many-sc-sects-under-one-common-name/articl
eshow/48251455.cms). The Economic Times. PTI. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
12. "Centre to depute anthropologists to Tamil Nadu" (https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madur
ai/centre-to-depute-anthropologists-to-tamil-nadu/article8217043.ece/amp/). The Hindu. 10
February 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
13. "Not a valid demand, say Dalit intellectuals" (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-na
du/not-a-valid-demand-say-dalit-intellectuals/article23788597.ece). The Hindu. 6 May 2018.
Retrieved 20 July 2020.
![Pallar
Religions Hinduism
Languages Tamil
Related groups Tamils, Sri
Lankan Pallar
Pallar
The Pallar, who prefer to be called Mallar, is a Tamil sub-caste of
Peasant found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pallars own
small bits of dry lands and do cultivation but to supplement their
income they work as tenant agriculturists.[1] The Pallars traditionally
inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the
literary devices of the Sangam landscape.
Etymology
History
Modern social standing
See also
References
The Pallar name may be derived from pallam, which means a pit or low-lying area. This aligns with their
traditional occupation of cultivators of the low wetlands. There is literary evidence that suggests that Pallars
were traditional farmers who produced large quantities of food grains, and that some were probably rulers in
the Tamil region.[2] The name of the caste has previously been spelled as Pallan; however, some caste
members replaced the Tamil non-honorific terminal-"n" with an honorific "r", resulting in the name Pallar; a
similar process was seen in other Tamil communities.[3] The change of name from Mallar to Pallar is thought
to have been imposed upon them after the decline of their rule, when the leaders (Nayaks) of competing tribes
wanted to suggest a degradation in status. Some Pallars today prefer the Mallar name due to their belief that
Pallar is a derogatory term.[2][4]
The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the literary devices of the
Sangam landscape.[5] Vendan, also known as Devendra and identified with Indra, is the god of the Marutham
landscape and also one of the chief deities of the Pallars.[6][7][8] According to some historians, the Pallars are
descendants of the Pallavas who ruled the Andhra and Tamil countries between the 6th and 9th centuries;
Pallars themselves may have ruled in the 14th-15th centuries.[2][4] The socio-economic position of the Pallar as
bonded servants working on farms is a central theme of Pallu poetry.[9]
Together with the Udayar and Kallar, they form the Marava castes, who are quite dominant in the region
variously known as Ramnad and the Maravar country.[10]
Contents
Etymology
History
Modern social standing](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/pallar-210214072843/85/Pallar-1-320.jpg)
![Nowadays, community members prefer to refer to themselves as Devendra Kula Velalar (DKV), a name
connoting that they were created by the god Devendra.[4] In support of a name change to DKV, Pallars have
undertaken hunger strikes and rallies.[2] The Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) claims to have campaigned for the
appellation of DKV to be applied to the Pallar, Kudumbar, Kaladi, Mooppan, Devendra Kulathan and
Pannadi communities since the 1990s and between 2006-2011 a one-man commission looked into it on behalf
of the state government, then controlled by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Nothing came of the
commission because the DMK lost power in 2011. The PT then allied with the All India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam in the hope that this would lead to the renaming but by 2015 had become frustrated with
the inaction and was organising protests.[11]
In 2016, the national government, run by the Bharatiya Janata Party, announced it would appoint
anthropologists to investigate the DKV claim in relation to the Pallar, Kudumbar, Pannadi, Kaladi, Kadayan,
Devendra Kulathan and Vadhiriyar communities. It said that the decision was not motivated by a desire for
political support from the affected communities but rather a reaction to a petition organised by the Thevendrar
Thannarva Arakattalai (TTA) that had attracted over 500,000 signatories.[12] Whilst the TTA said at the time
that the change of name would have no effect on the Scheduled Caste status enjoyed by the communities
under India's system of positive discrimination, by 2018 the PT leader, K. Krishnasamy, was demanding that
they be removed from that classification. This announcement met with criticism, in part because it was claimed
that Krishnasamy had only in the previous year become an advocate for the putative DVK communities and
that previously he had been concerned more generally with Dalit politics. Doubts were expressed by Dalit
intellectuals regarding whether Krishnasamy actually had the support of the majority of people from the
affected communities for an idea which had originated with the Sangh Parivar and which, it was claimed,
Krishnasamy was "latching on to" because he was "losing his political relevance". It was argued that the
Vellalar term implied that the communities were adopting the sanskritisation process and that this would further
emphasis caste divisions in a society that should be lessening them.[13]
Devendrar Jayanti
Immanuvel Devendrar
Paramakudi Riots
1957 Ramnad riots
Veeran Sundaralingam
1. Tyagi, D.; Bhattacharya, K. K.; Chaudhuri, S. S. Datta; Xaviour, D. (2012). Nutritional Status of
Indian Population: Southern region (https://books.google.com/?id=KpYaIMA7Q_UC&dq=pallan
+tamil+agriculture&q=pallan+of+tamil+nadu). Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of
Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India. p. 293.
2. Ramaiah, A. (2004). "Untouchability and Inter-Caste Relations in Rural India: The Case of
Southern Tamil Villages" (http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/irenik/relkultur70.pdf) (PDF). Journal of
Religious Culture (70).
3. Dana, Leo Paul (2007). Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship: A Co-
Evolutionary View on Resource Management (https://books.google.com/books?id=DtjSpIRhN
NMC&pg=PA602). Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 602. ISBN 978-1-84542-733-7. Retrieved
16 April 2012.
4. Political Change and Agrarian Tradition in South India (https://books.google.com/books?id=i8d
p_b7GBrEC&pg=PA51). Mittal Publications. 1986. p. 51.
See also
References](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)