Mudaliar (alternatively spelled:Muthaliar,Mudali,Muthali) is aTamil title and surname.[1] As title, it was historically given to high-ranking officers, administrators and their descendants during the rule ofImperial Cholas.[2][3] The surname is most prevalent among Tamils fromTamil Nadu andSri Lanka. Descendants of Tamil migrants also bears variants of the name in countries such asSouth Africa,Sri Lanka,Malaysia,Singapore and elsewhere in theTamil diaspora.[4]
The title is derived from the Tamil wordmuthal or "muthar" meaningfirst with the suffixyaar denotingpeople.[6] The title Mudaliar means a person of first rank. The title is used in the same sense as simply meaningheadman orchieftain.[7]
History
The term "Mudali" (or "Mudaliar") is anhonorific historically associated with the Vellalars,forward caste[8] agrarian communities, particularly in the Tondaimandalam region.[9][10] Among theVellalars, subgroups like theKondaikatti andThuluva Vellalars used this title to emphasize their deep-rooted connection to agriculture and land. The name "Vellalar" itself is commonly believed to stem from "vel-anmai," meaning "command over agriculture," highlighting the community's role asprimary cultivators and signify their longstanding role inland ownership in Tamil Nadu.
This title is also used by theSengunthar community. Sengunthars, traditionally held a prominent place as skilledweavers and textile merchants in the Tamil region.[11]During the rule ofImperial Cholas, the Sengunthars were warriors and were given the title "Sengunda-Mudali", indicating an evolution in their social status withinTondaimandalam society.[12][8][13] Sengundhars are a relatively high ranking caste who rival in status the main agricultural caste, theVellalars.[14]
Senguntha Kaikolars and Thuluva Vellalars are currently classified asBackward Caste for reservations in both state and central level.[15][16]Kondaikatti Vellalars are not classified as Backward caste and cannot avail any reservations.
India
Kondaikatti Vellalar
Kondaikatti Vellalar or Thondaimandala Mudaliar[a] is aTamil[b] caste in south India. Historically, they were a caste of non-cultivating land-holders and some of them were administrators under various south Indian dynasties especially theChola Empire.[c][d][e] Their original homeland wasThondaimandalam and from there they spread to other areas in south India and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.[f][21] Since they historically used theMudaliar title, they are sometimes referred to as Thondaimandala Mudaliar.[17]
Thuluva Vellalar
Thuluva Vellalar (Thondaimandala Tuluva Vellalar), also known as Agamudaya Mudaliars and Arcot Mudaliars, is a caste found in northernTamil Nadu, southernAndhra Pradesh. They were originally significant landowners. An early Tamil tradition states that a king known asĀdonda Chakravarthi, a feudatory ofKarikala Chola brought a large number of agriculturists (now known as theTuluva Vellalas) from theTulu areas in order to reclaim forest lands for cultivation inThondaimandalam during late 2nd century CE.[23] Tuluva Vellalars are progressive and prosperous[24] in the society. They are considerably advanced in the matter of education.[25]
After the expulsion of the Portuguese, was the growingDutch rule revolted in 1658 in theJaffna region by the Christian Karaiyars andMadapallis.[30] ADutch minister of the 17th century,Philippus Baldaeus, described the Karaiyars, Madapallis andVellalars among the influential classes of the Christians.[27] Elite Karaiyars were appointed to the rank ofMudaliyars.[31] The Karaiyar dominance got weakened through the political rise of theVellalars underDutch rule.[32][33][34]
At the hand of the powerful maritime trading clans of the Karaiyars, the emergence ofurban centers known aspattanam were seen.Mudaliar (meaning "capitalist") were conferred on the maritime elite trading clans of the Karaiyars astitles of nobility.[36][37][38]
^Some of the important endogamous sub-divisions among the Vellalas are: Aranbukatti, Arunattu, Cholapuram Chetti, Choliya, Dakshinattan, Kaniyalan, Karaikatta or Pandya, Kodikkal, Kongu, Kottai, Malaikanda, Nainan, Mangudi, Pandaram or Gurukal, Panjukara Chetti, Ponneri Mudali, Pundamalli Mudali, Sittak kattu Chetti, Tondamandalam Mudali or Kondaikatti, Tuluva, Uttunattu, and Yelur. The Tondaimandalam, Ponneri and Pundamalli Vellalas use the title Mudaliar;[17]
^Most of the Dubashes in the late eighteenth-century Madras were Telugu brahmans or Telugu perikavārs, Tamil kannakapillais, Tamil yādhavas, or Tamil Kondaikatti vellalas.[18]
^Among Tamil castes, bothKarkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) andKondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP: both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties. Both are of high status, laying great stress on ritual purity.[19]
^Like the Kondaikatti Velalar described by Barnett(1970), they have allied themselves with south Indian dynasties as administrators, and have built up a position in the religious sphere in being employers of Brahmans and builders of temples for "high" gods like Siva, Ganesh and Vishnu.[20]
^The original stronghold of the Kondaikatti Vellalas was Tondaimandalam. Later they spread from there throughout Tamil Nadu. Some of them were employed in the king's court and others as military leaders during expansionist times.[21]
^The original home of the Kondaikatti Vellalar is Tondaimandalam and subsequently they are found throughout Tamil nadu.[22]
^Silva, Chandra Richard De (2009).Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives: Translated Texts from the Age of Discoveries. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 225.ISBN9780754601869.
^Robb, Peter (1996).Meanings of Agriculture: Essays in South Asian History and Economics. Oxford University Press. p. 348.
^Balakrishnan, Raja Gopal (1965).The Rashtrakutas of Malkhed: Studies in the History and Culture (1994 ed.). Mythic Society, Bangalore by Geetha Book House. p. 178.
^"CENTRAL LIST OF OBCs FOR THE STATE OF TAMILNADU"(PDF).www.bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in. Department of Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare, Tamil Nadu. p. 1. Retrieved11 March 2021.Entry.No 1
^Krishnaswamy Ranaganathan Hanumanthan.Untouchability: A Historical Study Upto 1500 A.D. : with Special Reference to Tamil Nadu. Koodal Publishers. p. 101.
^Tañcai Tamil̲p Palkalaik Kal̲akam, Tañcai Tamiḻp Palkalaik Kaḻakam (1994).Glimpses of Tamil Civilization. Articles from the University Quarterly, Tamil Civilization. Tamil University. p. 142.Tuluva Vellala is a prosperous and progressive caste in Tamil Nadu and they migrated from Tulu Nadu to Tamil Nadu in ancient times.
^"3".Census Book of India 1961 (in Tamil). Vol. 9 North Arcot District. Madras: The Director of stationery and Printing, Madras. 1961. p. 31.
^Kenneth Andrew, David (1972).The Bound and the NonBound: Variations in Social and Cultural Structure in Rural Jaffna, Ceylon. The University of Chicago. p. 142.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Chanana, Karuna; Krishna Raj, Maithreyi, eds. (1989).Gender and the Household Domain Social and Cultural Dimensions. Sage Publications.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research.Farmers of India, Band 2. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1961.
Irschick, Eugene F. (1994).Dialogue and History: Constructing South India, 1795-1895. University of California Press.
Mariola Offredi, ed. (1992).Literature, Language, and the Media in India: Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on South Asian Studies, Amsterdam, 1990, Panel 13. Manohar Publications, 1992.
