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".[3] Agamudayars are listed in the national commission of backward caste lists for Tamil Nadu as "Agamudayar including Thozhu or Thuluva Vellala".[4][5] Agamudayar consider themselves to be descendants of the Chera dynasty.[6]
| Agamudayar | |
|---|---|
 The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) | |
| Religions | Hinduism |
| Languages | Tamil |
| Region | Tamil Nadu |
| Ethnicity | Tamils |
| Population | 1981-1982: 5 per cent of the Backward Class population of Tamil Nadu[1] |
Etymology
editThe term Agamudayar is a Tamil word of "Agam" which means Palace or Land and "Udayar"means Lord or Holder "Palace Chief " or "Land holder".[7]
Notable people
edit- T. R. Baalu
- P. U. Chinnappa
- Dhivyadharshini
- S. P. Jananathan
- Karunas
- Manivannan
- Maruthu Pandiyar
- Sangili Murugan
- S. S. Rajendran
- V. Ravichandran
- K. Samarasam (Politician)
- Soori (actor)
- Thengai Srinivasan
- Kalaipuli S. Thanu
- Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar
- V. Thiruselvam
- Vasanthabalan
- A. Veerappan
- Vivek (actor)
References
edit- ^ Radhakrishnan, P. (10 June 1989). "Ambasankar Commission and Backward Classes". Economic and Political Weekly. 24 (23): 1265–1268. JSTOR 4394921.
- ^ Das, Biswajit; Majhi, Debendra Prasad (2021). Caste, Communication and Power. SAGE Publishing India. p. 157. ISBN 978-93-91370-90-9.
- ^ Headley, Zoe E. (2011). "Caste and Collective Memory in South Asia". In Clark-Decès, Isabelle (ed.). A Companion to the Anthropology of India. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1982, 1985. ISBN 978-1-44439-058-2.
- ^ "List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu".
- ^ "National Commission for Backward Classes". www.ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Caste as Social Capital The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society. R Vaidyanathan. 24 July 2023. ISBN 978-93-5708-186-3.
- ^ Madras (India : State); B. S. Baliga (1967). Madras District Gazetteers: Salem. by Ramaswami, A. Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. p. 124.