Pillai (surname): Difference between revisions
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==History of the title== |
==History of the title== |
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"Pillai" was historically used throughout the medieval period as an honorific title bestowed on high functionaries serving in various royal courts in |
"Pillai" was historically used throughout the medieval period as an honorific title bestowed on high functionaries serving in various royal courts in South India particularly the [[Nairs]] in Kerala and the upper caste[[Vellalas]]in Tamil Nadu .<ref>Edgar Thurston (1909), Vol. VI, pp.198.</ref>. Although traditionally bestowed on members of high status and aristocratic castes, the name became adopted as a surname by a broad layer of the Tamil peasantry during the 19th and 20th century. |
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The peasantry and the lower castes were looked after by the state or by those of the upper classes which mean they were like extra children to thea nd henc ethe title as Thurtson notes. |
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With the extension of tenancy rights, the growth of the market economy and with new opportunities for middle class employment, members of cultivator communities, starting with the peasantry, began adopting the name as both a form of upward social mobility and as a means of differentiating themselves from the broader peasantry.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Those adopting it for this reason included communities considered historically oppressed (see [[Paraiyar]]). |
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Amongst some Tamil communities the name is also now used as a [[caste]] name or signifier, though without any real historical basis. |
Amongst some Tamil communities the name is also now used as a [[caste]] name or signifier, though without any real historical basis. |
Revision as of 19:12, 18 June 2012
Pillai,[1] Pillay, Pulle, Pilli or Pillaimar (Tamil:பிள்ளை,பிள்ளைமார்) (Malayalam:പിള്ള) is a upper caste title used by land owning caste of Tamil- and Malayalam-speaking people of India and others living in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa and Fiji, mostly from Vellalar and Nair communities.
Though it started as a Hindu title, today Pillai is also found amongst Christians both as a surname and a given name.
South African Tamils use the spelling Pillay, whereas some Sri Lankan castes may also use Pulle or Pilli.
History of the title
"Pillai" was historically used throughout the medieval period as an honorific title bestowed on high functionaries serving in various royal courts in South India particularly the Nairs in Kerala and the upper casteVellalasin Tamil Nadu .[2]. Although traditionally bestowed on members of high status and aristocratic castes, the name became adopted as a surname by a broad layer of the Tamil peasantry during the 19th and 20th century.
The peasantry and the lower castes were looked after by the state or by those of the upper classes which mean they were like extra children to thea nd henc ethe title as Thurtson notes.
With the extension of tenancy rights, the growth of the market economy and with new opportunities for middle class employment, members of cultivator communities, starting with the peasantry, began adopting the name as both a form of upward social mobility and as a means of differentiating themselves from the broader peasantry.[citation needed] Those adopting it for this reason included communities considered historically oppressed (see Paraiyar).
Amongst some Tamil communities the name is also now used as a caste name or signifier, though without any real historical basis.
In 1909 Edgar Thurston notes, ″ Pillai. — Pillai, meaning child, is in the Tamil country primarily the title of Vellalas, but has, at recent times of census, been returned as the title of a number of classes, which include Agamudaiyan, Ambalakaran, Golla, Idaiyan, Nayar, Nokkan, Panisavan, Panikkan, Paraiyan, Saiyakkaran, Sembadavan and Senaikkudaiyans. Pilla is further used as the title of the male offspring of Deva-dasis. Many Paraiyan butlers of Europeans have assumed the title Pillai as an honorific suffix to their name. So, too, have some criminal Koravas, who pose as Vellalas.″[3](EdgarThurston (1909), Vol. VI, p.198.)
Tamil Nadu usage
In Tamil Nadu, this title or surname is mostly used by people of the Vellalar caste among the population of Tamil descent (particularly in southern districts), Illathu Pillaimar & Saiva Pillai, and the Nair caste population of the Malayalam-speaking immigrant population. The usage of the title is prevalent among Nair, and Tamil Yadavas [4]. The Elur Chetty community in South Tamil Nadu and Kerala also use this surname.
Saiva Pillai
Saiva Pillai or Pillai are the forward caste peoples from Tamil Nadu. Many live in Tirunelveli, Tanjore, Salem, Tiruchirapalli and Kanyakumari. Their main occupation is agriculture as they are called as merasthars (landlords) in areas around Trichy. Some are elected as Panchayath union heads in villages. Other Saiva Pillais work in professional roles and government jobs in Tamil Nadu.
Illathu Pillaimar
Illathu Pillaimar lives in various part of Tamilnadu, mainly in Southern Tamilnadu uses the surname pillai.Most of them are in tirunelveli, Madurai district and Virudhunagar district.
Kerala usage
Pillai is a subdivision or clan of the Nair community of Kerala. Pillai was one of the most common titles of dignity held by the Hindu caste of the Nairs and Pattaryas of North Travancore. The title of Pillai was bestowed through a formal ceremony known as Thirumukom Pidikkuka, i.e. holding the face of the King, and included the payment of a fee known as Adiyara to the King. A person thus bestowed with this title now secured the honorific title of Pillai suffixed and the distinctive title of Kanakku (meaning accountant in Tamil language) prefixed to his name. However, Kanakku and Pillai were never used together; a person named Krishnan would be referred to as Krishnan Pillai or Kanakku, followed by his maternal uncle's name, and Krishnan. The latter style was used in royal writs and communications. So important were the privileges granted by this title that as late as in 1814 a Brahmin, Sanku Annavi, sometime Dewan of Travancore, obtained the same from the Maharajah. Prominent among the Pillais of medieval Kerala were the Ettuveetil Pillamar of Travancore.
Chempakaraman Pillai
A title superior to the ordinary Pillai was that of Chempakaraman Pillai, an innovation of Maharajah Marthanda Varma of Travancore. The individual whom it was the king's pleasure to honour was first taken in a procession by the nobles and ministers of the state, atop an elephant, around the main four streets of the city of Trivandrum and then received in the palace by the Prime Minister and seated next to him. The ceremony concluded by treating him to Paan Supari. A person thus honoured prefixed Kanakku, followed by Chempakaraman instead of the name of his maternal uncle, followed by his own name, e.g. Kanakku Chempakaraman Krishnan. [5]
Andhra Pradesh usage
The Gavara community uses Pilla as a title, whereas the Aaraama Dravidulu community uses Chellapilla. The same surname is used by many other castes like mala, kapu etc.
List of castes using the title
- Pattariyar
- Padmasaliya
- Elur Chetty
- Illathu Pillai(Ezhavar)
- Isai Vellalar
- Kaaralavellala Pillai
- Karai Kattu Pillai
- Karkarthar Saiva, Karkarthar Vellalar
- Muthuraja
- Nair
- Nangudi Vellalar (also known as Sivakalai Pillaimar/PILLAIMAR in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, and Madurai regions)
- Nanjil Nattu Vellalar
- Saiva Pillai
- Saiva Vellalar
- Sozhiya Vellala Pillai also called as Chozia Vellalar
- Tirunelveli Saiva
- Vellalar
- Yadava
- Muslim of South Travancore
Notable people named Pillai
- Social leaders
- V. O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936), Indian freedom fighter
- Mannathu Padmanabhan Pillai (1878–1970), founder of Nair Service Society
- Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (1885–1970), Second Chief Minister of unified Kerala
- Paravur TK Narayana Pillai (1890–1971), Indian freedom fighter
- Champakaraman Pillai (1891–1934), Indian freedom fighter
- Namakkal Kavignar Ramalingam Pillai, poet and freedom fighter
- Sir N. R. Pillai, first Cabinet Secretary of Independent India
- Rao Bahadur P. I. Chinnaswamy Pillai, first Municipal Chairman of Palakkad, Kerala, India
- R. Balakrishna Pillai (born 1935), former State minister in Kerala[6]
- L. D. Swamikannu Pillai, Indian astronomer, Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly
- Navanethem Pillay, South African Judge, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- A. R. Pillai, Indian freedom fighter
- Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai (born 1931), Leader of Indian Coffee House movement, Author of Coffee Housinte Katha
- Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, minister of Ramnad during the reign of Muthuramalinga Sethupathy
- G. Parameswaran Pillai (1890–1963), Dewan of Travancore
- P. Govinda Pillai, a Communist Party of India leader
- Ariranga Pillay (born 1945), former Chief Justice and briefly Acting President of Mauritius
- Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai, Indian Freedom Fighter - Vedaraniam Salt March
- Thesiga Vinayaka Pillai, Indian freedom fighter, great poet
- Rao Sahib S. Sambasivam Pillai (1887–1945), Municipal Chairman, Erode, Tamil Nadu and Engineering Contractor of Mettur Dam, Erode Railway Station, and Ulundurpet Air-Strip.
- mr.[velu pillai prabagaran]LTTE leader sri lanka
- [kavimani desiga vinayagam pillai]famoes poet writer
- Others
- Ananda Ranga Pillai (1709–1761), a dubash in the service of French East India Company
- Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, a writer of Malayalam poetry
- Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai, eminent writer in Tamil literature; his poem "Niraarum Kadal Udutha" is the official Tamil Anthem
- Nagai Vedachalam Pillai, also known as Maraimalai Adigal
- Devasahayam Pillai (1712–1752), Indian court official, controversial convert to Christianity
- Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725–1764), Indian soldier and administrator. Also known as "Muhammed Yusuf Khan"
- Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–1950), Indian mathematician
- Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1912–1999), a Malayalam author
- K. C. Sreedharan Pillai (1920–1985), Indian mathematician
- Dr. Sivathanu Pillai,[7] Head of Defence Research and Development Organisation
- Rajmohan Pillai (born 1964), Indian businessman
- Dhanraj Pillay (born 1968), Indian hockey player
- Nisha Pillai, Indian-born journalist and BBC news anchor
- Rhea Pillai, Indian model
- S. Kanapathipillai (1899–1986), Hindu revivalist
- V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, current Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU.
- Naraina Pillai, a social entrepreneur and businessman
- Marimutthu Pillai, a musician
- C. W. Thamotharampillai, publisher of ancient Tamil texts
- Arumuka Navalar, born as Kandar Arumugam Pillai, a Hindu reformer
- M. P. Narayana Pillai, a Malayalam writer
- K. C. Pillai, Doctor of Divinity, (1900–1970) a Bishop-at-large of the Indian Orthodox Church, Antiochean Succession, Chennai (Madras), India.
- K. R. Thangamuthu Pillai, a Tamil freedom fighter from Madurai, India who fought against British oppression and was a notable supporter of Bhagat Singh in Tamil Nadu.
- Palani Subramaniam Pillai (1908–1962), Carnatic music percussionist
See also
References
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillai_(community)
- ^ Edgar Thurston (1909), Vol. VI, pp.198.
- ^ Edgar Thurston (1909), Vol. VI, pp.198.
- ^ Edward Balfour. The cyclopaedia of india and of Eastern and Southern Asia.
- ^ Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Edgar Thurston, ISBN 978-81-206-0288-5
- ^ Nairs Academy of Information
- ^ A. S. Pillai
External links
- Thurston, Edgar; Rangachari, K. (1909). Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. VI (P to S). Madras: Government Press. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- A Pillai Who's Who, saivaneri.org