Agamudayar

Agamudayar
The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu)
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesTamil
RegionTamil Nadu
EthnicityTamils
Population1981-1982: 5 per cent of the Backward Class population of Tamil Nadu[1]

Agamudayar (otherwise Agamudaiyar, Akamudayar, Agamudayan) are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[2] In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the Thevar or Mukkulathor community. According to the anthropologist Zoe E Headley, the three communities (Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar) are the "numerically dominant rural backward castes of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu", while in northern Tamil Nadu they go by the name Agamudaiya Mudaliar and many of them adopted the Vellalar identity and came to be known as Thuluva Vellalas in 17th century. Agamudayars are listed in the national commission of backward caste lists for Tamil Nadu as "Agamudayar”. Mukkulathor is Denotified community and Backward Class community.[3][4][5]

Etymology

The term Agamudayar is a Tamil word of "Agam" which means Palace or Land and "Udayar"means Lord or Holder "Palace Chief " or "Land holder".[6]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ Radhakrishnan, P. (10 June 1989). "Ambasankar Commission and Backward Classes". Economic and Political Weekly. 24 (23): 1265–1268. JSTOR 4394921.
  2. ^ Das, Biswajit; Majhi, Debendra Prasad (2021). Caste, Communication and Power. SAGE Publishing India. p. 157. ISBN 978-93-91370-90-9.
  3. ^ "List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu".
  4. ^ "National Commission for Backward Classes". www.ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ^ Caste as Social Capital The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society. R Vaidyanathan. 24 July 2023. ISBN 978-93-5708-186-3.
  6. ^ Madras (India : State); B. S. Baliga (1967). Madras District Gazetteers: Salem. by Ramaswami, A. Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. p. 124.