Mudaliar

The title is derived from the Tamil word muthal or "muthar" meaning first with the suffix yaar denoting people.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFF9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA236|title=The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India|last=Barnett|first=Marguerite Ross|year=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9781400867189|page=236|language=en}} The title Mudaliar means a person of first rank. The title is used in the same sense as simply meaning headman or chieftain.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEolDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA47|title=Who Are the Jews of India?|last=Katz|first=Nathan|year=2000|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-52021-323-4|pages=47–48}}

The term "Mudali" (or "Mudaliar") is an honorific historically associated with the Vellalars,forward caste{{cite book | last1 = Rajadurai | first1 = S. V. | last2 = Geetha | first2 = V. | year = 2004 | title = Response to John Harriss | editor1-last = Wyatt | editor1-first = Andrew | editor2-last = Zavos | editor2-first = John | publisher = Routledge | pages = 115 | isbn = 978-1-13576-169-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0L6RAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 | accessdate = 2024-11-23}} agrarian communities, particularly in the Tondaimandalam region.{{cite book |last=Robb |first=Peter |title=Meanings of Agriculture: Essays in South Asian History and Economics |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=348}}{{cite book |last=Balakrishnan |first=Raja Gopal |title=The Rashtrakutas of Malkhed: Studies in the History and Culture |year=1965 |publisher=Mythic Society, Bangalore by Geetha Book House |edition=1994 |page=178}} Among the Vellalars, subgroups like the Kondaikatti and Thuluva 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 as primary cultivators and signify their longstanding role in land ownership in Tamil Nadu.

This title is also used by the Sengunthar community. Sengunthars, traditionally held a prominent place as skilled weavers and textile merchants in the Tamil region.{{sfn|Mines|1984|p=11}}During the rule of Imperial Cholas, the Sengunthars were warriors and were given the title "Sengunda-Mudali", indicating an evolution in their social status within Tondaimandalam society.{{cite book |last=Robb |first=Peter |title=Meanings of Agriculture: Essays in South Asian History and Economics |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=349}}{{cite book |last=David |first=Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp_la9QMGIQC&q=Senkuntar+India+warriors+given+title+Mutaliyar+their+bravery&pg=PA188 |title=The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia (World Anthropology) |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton; Reprint 2011 edition (1 December 1977) |year=1977 |isbn=9027979596 |pages=188}} Sengundhars are a relatively high ranking caste who rival in status the main agricultural caste, the Vellalars.{{Harvnb|Mines|1984|pp=|p=13}}

Kondaikatti Vellalar or Thondaimandala Mudaliar{{efn|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;{{sfnp|Indian Council of Agricultural Research|p=120}}}} is a Tamil{{efn|Most of the Dubashes in the late eighteenth-century Madras were Telugu brahmans or Telugu perikavārs, Tamil kannakapillais, Tamil yādhavas, or Tamil Kondaikatti vellalas. {{sfnp|Irschick|1994|p=34}}}} 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 the Chola Empire.{{efn|Among Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti 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. {{sfnp|Chanana|Krishna Raj|1989|p=92}}}}{{efn|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.{{sfnp|Mariola Offredi|1992|p=284}}}}{{efn|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.{{sfnp|Pillay|Pillay|1977|pp=23-24}}}} Their original homeland was Thondaimandalam and from there they spread to other areas in south India and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.{{efn|The original home of the Kondaikatti Vellalar is Tondaimandalam and subsequently they are found throughout Tamil nadu.{{sfnp|Venkatasubramanian|1993|p=105}}}}{{sfnp|Pillay|Pillay|1977|pp=23-24}} Since they historically used the Mudaliar title, they are sometimes referred to as Thondaimandala Mudaliar.{{sfnp|Indian Council of Agricultural Research|p=120}}

Thuluva Vellalar (Thondaimandala Tuluva Vellalar), also known as Agamudaya Mudaliars  and Arcot Mudaliars, is a caste found in northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh. They were originally significant landowners. An early Tamil tradition states that a king known as Ādonda Chakravarthi, a feudatory of Karikala Chola brought a large number of agriculturists (now known as the Tuluva Vellalas) from the Tulu areas in order to reclaim forest lands for cultivation in Thondaimandalam during late 2nd century CE.

{{cite book |author=Krishnaswamy Ranaganathan Hanumanthan |title=Untouchability: A Historical Study Upto 1500 A.D. : with Special Reference to Tamil Nadu |publisher=Koodal Publishers |page=101}} Tuluva Vellalars are progressive and prosperous{{cite book |author=Tañcai Tamil̲p Palkalaik Kal̲akam, Tañcai Tamiḻp Palkalaik Kaḻakam |title=Glimpses of Tamil Civilization. Articles from the University Quarterly, Tamil Civilization |publisher=Tamil University |year=1994 |page=142 |quote=Tuluva Vellala is a prosperous and progressive caste in Tamil Nadu and they migrated from Tulu Nadu to Tamil Nadu in ancient times.}} in the society. They are considerably advanced in the matter of education.{{Cite book |title=Census Book of India 1961 |publisher=The Director of stationery and Printing, Madras. |year=1961 |volume=9 North Arcot District |location=Madras |pages=31 |language=Tamil |chapter=3}}

Senguntha Kaikola Mudaliar is a caste commonly found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the neighboring country Sri Lanka. In Andhra Pradesh, they are called as Kaikala or Karikala Bhaktulu, who consider the Chola emperor Karikala Chola as their hero.{{Cite web |title=National Commission for Backward Classes |url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/user_panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLvYBtdZSrP4uO+ploAhiJHMALWmHIwbzS8Il37YLL3Fb0FHfWDHzP7c |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.ncbc.nic.in}} They were warriors by ancient heritage and traditional, Textile Merchants and Slik Weavers by occupation.{{sfn|Mines|1984|p=11}} They were part of the Chola army as Kaikola regiment and were dominant during the rule of Imperial Cholas, holding commander and minister positions in the court.Martial races of undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi 2009 Page 278 https://www.google.com/books?id=vRwS6FmS2g0C Ottakoothar, 12th century court poet and rajaguru of Cholas under Vikrama Chola, Kulothunga Chola II, Raja Raja Chola II reign belong to this community. They were a part of the Ayyavolu 500 merchant guild during the Chola period which played a significant role in the Chola invasion of Srivijaya empire.{{sfn|Mines|1984|p=11}} In the olden days in India, the Sengunthars were warriors and were given the title Mudaliar for their bravery.{{cite book |last=David |first=Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp_la9QMGIQC&q=Senkuntar+India+warriors+given+title+Mutaliyar+their+bravery&pg=PA188 |title=The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia (World Anthropology) |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton; Reprint 2011 edition (1 December 1977) |year=1977 |isbn=9027979596 |pages=188}} In early thirteenth century, after the fall of Chola empire large number of Kaikolars migrated to Kongu Nadu from Tondaimandalam and started doing weaving and textile businesses as their full time profession as they sworn to be soldiers only for Chola emperors.{{cite book |last=Ramaswamy |first=Vijaya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzcrDwAAQBAJ&q=Kaikkolar |title=Migrations in Medieval and Early Colonial India |publisher=Routledge |year=2017 |isbn=9781351558259 |pages=172–174}}

After the expulsion of the Portuguese, was the growing Dutch rule revolted in 1658 in the Jaffna region by the Christian Karaiyars and Madapallis.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rGSGAAAAIAAJ|title=Rivalry and Conflict: European Traders and Asian Trading Networks in the 16th and 17th Centuries|last1=Veen|first1=Ernst van|last2=Blussé|first2=Leonard|date=2005|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=9789057891045|pages=116|language=en}} A Dutch minister of the 17th century, Philippus Baldaeus, described the Karaiyars, Madapallis and Vellalars among the influential classes of the Christians. Elite Karaiyars were appointed to the rank of Mudaliyars.{{Cite book |last1=Manogaran |first1=Chelvadurai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qExuAAAAMAAJ |title=The Sri Lankan Tamils: ethnicity and identity |last2=Pfaffenberger |first2=Bryan |date=1994 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=9780813388458 |pages=34, 36 |language=en}} The Karaiyar dominance got weakened through the political rise of the Vellalars under Dutch rule.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2puAAAAMAAJ|title=Ceylon and the Dutch, 1600-1800: External Influences and Internal Change in Early Modern Sri Lanka|last=Arasaratnam|first=Sinnappah|date=1996-01-01|publisher=n Variorum|isbn=9780860785798|pages=390|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XotuAAAAMAAJ&q=karaiyar|title=South Indian Studies|last=Soundra Pandian|first=Mathias Samuel|date=1997|publisher=Chithira Publishers|location=Madras Institute of Development Studies|pages=168|language=en}}{{cite book|author=Eva Gerharz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c7JEAwAAQBAJ|title=The Politics of Reconstruction and Development in Sri Lanka|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1-317-69280-5|page=41}}

For centuries have the Karaiyars had sea-trade relations with India but also Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam Malaysia and Indonesia, which has been heavily restricted since British rule.{{Cite book|title=The Bound and the NonBound: Variations in Social and Cultural Structure in Rural Jaffna, Ceylon|last=Kenneth Andrew|first=David|year=1972|location=The University of Chicago|pages=142}}

At the hand of the powerful maritime trading clans of the Karaiyars, the emergence of urban centers known as pattanam were seen.Mudaliar (meaning "capitalist") were conferred on the maritime elite trading clans of the Karaiyars as titles of nobility.{{Cite journal|last=K|first=Arunthavarajah|date=March 2014|title=The Administration of Jaffna Kingdom- A Historical View|url=http://ijbarr.com/downloads/2014/vol2-issue3/5.pdf|journal=International Journal of Business and Administration Research Review|publisher=University of Jaffna|volume= 2| issue = 3|pages=32}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCFRAQAAIAAJ|title=Cambridge South Asian Studies|date=1965|publisher=Cambridge South Asian Studies|isbn=9780521232104|location=University of Cambridge|pages=27|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73msCkfD5V8C|title=Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order|last=Pandian|first=Jacob|date=1987|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=9780861321360|pages=109|language=en}}

• List of Mudaliars
• List of Vellalars
• List of Sengunthars
• Ceylonese Mudaliyars

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• {{cite book|title=Gender and the Household Domain Social and Cultural Dimensions|editor-first1=Karuna |editor-last1=Chanana|editor-first2=Maithreyi |editor-last2=Krishna Raj|publisher=Sage Publications|year=1989}}
• {{cite book|title=Farmers of India, Band 2|author=Indian Council of Agricultural Research|publisher=Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1961}}
• {{cite book|title=Dialogue and History: Constructing South India, 1795-1895|first=Eugene F. |last=Irschick|publisher=University of California Press|year=1994}}
• {{cite book|title=Literature, Language, and the Media in India: Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on South Asian Studies, Amsterdam, 1990, Panel 13|editor=Mariola Offredi|publisher=Manohar Publications, 1992|year=1992}}
• {{cite book |last=Mines |first=Mattison |year=1984 |title=The Warrior Merchants: Textiles, Trade and Territory in South India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521267144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y089AAAAIAAJ}}
• {{cite book|first1=Kolappa |last1=Pillay |first2=Kanakasabhapathi |last2=Pillay|title=The Caste System in Tamil Nadu |publisher=University of Madras |year=1977}}
• {{cite book|title=Societas to Civitas Evolution of Political Society in South India : Pre-Pallavan Tamilakam|first=T. K. |last=Venkatasubramanian|publisher=Kalinga Publications|year=1993}}

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Category:Surnames of Indian origin