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Mudaliar

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Mudaliar also Mudaliyār, Mudali and Moodley in Tamil language literally means a person of first rank in a feudal society[1] in south India.

According to Vijaya Ramaswamy in [2], Mudali in the 13th century referred to a title and not specific castes. many of them have supported and continue to support LTTE. The fact confirms that they were actually buddist /jain in origin. No gotras seem to be attributable.legends describe the creation of various races by demons caled asuras. this is one among them.

However, in recent times the Mudaliar surname is widely used by people belonging to various castes originally from Tamil Nadu, India and in the Tamil diaspora across the world. Most Mudaliars are Tamil people with Tamil as their mother tongue.

Origin

Mudali in Tamil means the first among many. So this was given as a title to many individuals in ancient times who were the first in importance or power. Some of the general areas used are

  • Regiments - Captains
  • Battalions - Generals
  • Temples - Priests
  • Weavers - Masters
  • Merchants - Chiefs

Mudaliar, like Pillai, is a title conferred by the King upon prominent chieftains and feudal lords in the Tamil Kingdom.

Mudaliar - From title to caste

The title Mudali was a title given to prominent citizens in the society. It was even awarded to prominent citizens of society who were not Hindus. It was used in this way as a title until as late as the 18th century.

With the advent of British imperialism, an order began to appear among the castes and their titles. Before British imperialism, a non-brahmin king would use the title of Iyer or Iyengar or Rao. Similarly, a brahmin would use the title of Mudali. In one case, two brothers used respectively mudali and pillai as their title.

Sometime in the 18th century, the use of titles such as these began to be used commonly by people. Those of the same caste used the same title, which came to refer directly to their caste and hence become their caste name.

So Chozia Vellalas referred to themselves as Pillais and Kongu Vellalas referred to themselves as Gounders.

Similarly Tondaimandala Vellalas, Sengunthars and Agamudayars started referring to themselves as Mudalis.

Intercaste marriages among the various castes was strictly prohibited. Nowadays there has been some reports of intercaste marriages among the different sections of Mudaliar

These are only names given by people to themselves to simplify the hundreds of castes found in Tamilnadu. The government of India does not recognize castes as such but classifies the people simply as belonging either to Scheduled Classes or Tribes (SC/ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) or Forward Classes (FC).

Various religions that used the Mudaliar title in historical times

People from all castes were awarded this title by the kings. Many Brahmins, warriors, poets and sages were awarded this title in various countries. Even Jews in Kerala were awarded this title in 1215 AD by the Maharajah of Cochin, according to the book [3] by Si. Pi. Acyutamēnōn . In the 17th century a leading Muslim trader Marakkayar was given the title Mudali Pillai by the Nayak king of Madurai.[4]

Sadayappa Mudaliar, patron of the poet Kambar, was a Kongu Vellala (who uses Gounder title now) but he used Mudali title.

Various castes using the "Mudaliar" title

A brief description of various castes using the title Mudaliar is given below.

Thondaimandala Kondaikatti Vellalar

Tradition suggests that this group were the first Vellalar groups that were settled in Thondaimandalam by Adondai Chakravarti after overthrowing the Kurumbar sovereignty[5]. Adondai Chakravarti is described in various ways: a) as a lieutenant in the Chola empire[6], b) as the son of ancient Chola King Kokkili and a Naga princess, c) as the illegitimate son of Rajendra Kulotunga Chola I and a palace attendant [7], d) son of Karikala Chola [8]. This claim appears blurred due to the ambiguous identity of Athondai Chakravarti and the time of such settlement. There are conflicting sources, some that say, the settlement was in 7th or 8th century AD and others that say that it was much later in 11th or 12th century AD. Nevertheless, this settlement is much later than Karikala Chola's settlement of TondaimandalamCite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).. There were many Mirasidars and Zamindars belonging to this group. They are mainly concentrated in Madras, Chingleput, Kanchipuram and Vellore districts. Their mother tongue is Tamil. Sekkizhar, the author of the Tamil epic Periyapuranam is from this community.

Thondaimandala Saiva Vellalar

The Thondaimandala Saiva Vellala Mudaliars are forward-caste and are vegetarians. They are the original homogeneous group of Mudaliars who were settled in Thondaimandalam or Thondai Nadu in South India by Chola King, Karikala Chola[9][1][10][11][12]. Karikala Chola annexed Thondai nadu and gave it to his son Athondai after whom the region is named. They are feudal lords and major landowners in the Thondaimandalam area which includes the present day areas of Chennai, Chengalpet, Kanchipuram, and Vellore. A significant population of Thondaimandala Saiva Vellala Mudaliars have also migrated to other areas such as Madurai and Tirunelveli. Dalawai Ariyanatha Mudaliar, who is regarded as the founder of the Poligar system, also settled some of them in areas outside of Thondaimandalam. They are endogamous and inter-marriage with other Mudaliars is quite rare. Their mother tongue is Tamil[13] [14] . Some of the Tamils in Ceylon also trace their lineage to this group some of whom had become saints called Nayanars. The book: The Tamils in Early Ceylon By C. Sivaratnam traces some of the Mudaliyars in Ceylon to Thaninayaka Mudaliyar (among other), a rich Saiva Vellala who emigrated to Ceylon from Tondaimandalam[15].

Agamudayar/Arcot/Thuluva Vellala

The Agamudayar belong to the Mukkulathor community, which includes the Kallars and Maravars. These three communities, together known as Mukkulathor, generally use "Thevar" as their surname. The Agam udaiyars (the most upward community among the three) slowly migrated towards the northern part of Tamil Nadu, settled there and changed their caste name to Thuluva Vellala. Thuluva vellalar is just the renaming of Agam udayar and hence are classified as one by the Tamil Nadu government, India[16]. Intermingling of on a large scale between two distinct communities is very unlikely and has no historical evidence. The Agam udaiyars changed their name to Thuluva Vellala.

As early as the 13th century, Agamudayars were using the Mudaliar title. This inscription illustrates the accounts of the temple of Rajaraja-Isvaram-Udaiyar at Rajraja-Kulattur in Tiruvindalur-nadu, a subdivision of Rajraja-valanadu were audited by Kayiladamudaiyan alias Solakon-Pallavaraiyar, an Agambadi-Mudali of Solakon, between the 23rd and 25th [days of Adi]Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Kerala Muthali/Mudali

Kerala Muthali (Mudali) belongs to various Mudaliar communities. They are predominantly found in the Trivandrum and Palghat Districts of Kerala and Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. They migrated to these places in the late 17th Century onwards for various purposes including Agriculture, coconut oil extraction, coir Trade and as specialized fighters and reliable spies. They were given special preference by the royal family of Travancore due to their cultural similarity and loyalty. This status resulted in further deepening their area of influence within Travancore. During the British era, many families embraced Christianity. Unlike the Tamil Brahmins settled in various places of Kerala, Muthalis/Mudalis marry Nairs, Chakravar, Sakravar (Kavathi) and those who are converted to Christianity but retain Mudaliar identity. Kerala Muthalis still keep their separate identity even though they are a micro-minority caste in Kerala. Due to their linguistic and educational backwardness Kerala [1], Tamilnadu [2] and Pondicherry [3] states have categorized them as BCs. Gradually after independence and state reorganization, Kerala Muthalis have completely integrated with the Kerala Culture, but still consider Lord Muruga/Subramanya as their primary god of worship while most of the Kerala Hindus are devotees of Lord Vishnu.

Sri Lankan Mudaliyars

Jaffna has two or three clans from Thondaimandalam with the Mudali surname. Irumarapum Thooya Thaninayaga Mudali from Seyyoor and Mannadukonda Mudali whose clan has been quoted even during famour poet Kambar's time.

Here is the direct quotation from Kailaya Malai, a historical book of Jaffna on the migration into Jaffna from Thondai Nadu. The other clans may come under this section or under Sri Lankan Vellalar section.

The next was the Vellala of the family of him who shed over kamban a shower of gold for the work of Erezhupatu, whose country was Tondainade, who had a widespread name, who used to wear a lotus garland and whose name was Maanadukanda Mudali. He was made to reside at Irupalai. The next was the Vellala of Seyur, who was as wealthy as Indra, and who never deviated from the path of visture. whose garland was of water lilies. Whose fame was great and whose paternal and maternal lines were matchless and pure and whose name was Taninayaga. He was made a chief of Neduntiva.[17]

See Sri Lankan Mudaliyars for the class of Mudaliyars created by the British administrators during 19th century Sri Lanka.

Sengunthar/Kaikolar

See main article at Sengunthar The Kaikolars, also Sengunthar, are a large Tamil people in the states of Southern India[16]. Historically, there were seventy-two subdivisions (nadu or desams). Their name comes from the Tamil words "kai" (hand) and "kol" (shuttle used in looming or spear). They consider the different parts of the loom to represent various gods and sages. They are also known as Sengunthar, which means a red dagger in Tamil.

During Chola rule Kaikolars served as soldiers and were called "Terinja kaikolar padai". (Terinja means "known" in Tamil and Padai means "regiment"), so "terinja-kaikolar padai" were the personal bodyguards. Kaikkolars were militarised during the Chola empire and formed a major part of the Chola army from 8th century to 13th century. There were no Kaikolar army before or after the Chola empire. Kaikkolar formed merchant groups and maintained a military unit to protect the merchants.

They formed many regiments in the Chola army. Kaikolars were prominent members of Tamil society even during the 10th century AD during Chola rule.[18] Smarakesarit-terinja-Kaikkolar and Vikramasingat-terinja-Kaikkolar derived their names from possible titles of Parantaka[19] [20] [21] [22] Udaiyar-Gandaradittatterinja-Kaikkolar[8] must have been the name of a regiment called after king Gandaraditya, the father of Uttama-Chola. [23] [24] Singalantaka-terinda-Kaikkolar (a regiment named after Singalantaka i.e. Parntaka I) [25] [26] Danatonga-terinja-Kaikkola (regiment or group). The early writing of the record and the surname Danatunga of Paranataka I suggests its assignment to his reign. [27] [28] [29] Muttavalperra seems to indicate some special honour or rank conferred on the regiment by the king. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

Nanjil Mudali

Nanjil Mudali is another group of people who have the Mudali surname. They belong to Nanjil Nadu in Kanyakumari district. [37]

Mudaliars of Bangalore

The Bangalore Exhibition is usually conducted on the RBANMS grounds in Ulsoor which is owned by Rai Bahadur Arcot Narrainswamy Mudaliar trust. The trust has several schools and colleges affiliated to it.

Mudaliars of Hyderabad

The Mudaliar community has a significant presence in some important commercial & residential areas in Secunderabad in places like Marredpally, Begumpet, Padma Rao Nagar, Malkajgiri, Tarnaka, etc. Mudaliars from the Arcot Mudaliar,Thuluva Vellala, Agamudayar sects, among others, are thriving having made Secunderabad their home.

Gatti mudalis of Taramangalam

  1. REDIRECT Gatti Mudalis

Notable Mudaliars

Saints


Vaayilar Nayanar: One of the 63 Saivite Nayanars

Kings & Lords

  • Thalavai Ariyanadha Mudaliyar - Prime Minister of Viswanatha Nayak
  • Kanthappa mudaliar - land lord, ruled an island under ariya kings government
  • Thiruvarur smasthanam - Thiruvarur vst mudaliar
  • Jeyamkondam zamin - Jeyamkondam

Arts

  • TR Sundaram: Modern Theatres, Salem to Produce and direct many movies who patronised MGR,VC.Ganesan & M.K.
  • G.N.Velumani: Tamil film producer (Saravana Films) who was instrumental in paving a bright career for MGR,Shivaji by giving hit films like Paasa malar, Paava manippu etc.
  • Paventhar Bharathidasan (1891-1964) Tamil Poet
  • Pammal Sambandam Mudaliar: Tamil movie director and actor of early 20th century.
  • Perumal Mudaliar:Founder of National pictures who introduced Shvajiganesan in Parasakthi.
  • Nataraja Mudaliar: Founder of South Indian Cinema - to Produce and direct a Movie in South India-(1917)
  • Thengai Srinivasan: Tamil comedy Actor.
  • P.S Veerappa:Villain Actor
  • Isarivelan:Actor.
  • K.S.Ravikumar:Director & Actor
  • RK Selvamani:Director
  • Vikram (actor):Actor
  • Prashanth:Actor
  • V. Ravichandran:Kannada actor
  • Venu Ravichandran:Producer,Aascar Films
  • G. V. Prakash Kumar:Music Director
  • Thiyagarajan:Actor
  • Anandraj:Actor
  • R.Pandiarajan:Actor & Director
  • Yogi:Actor and Grandson of Thengai Srinivasan
  • T.R.Rajakumari[citation needed]
  • M.N.Rajam[citation needed]

Education

  • Sir Arcot Ramaswami Mudaliar: Mayor of Madras(1928-30), Member-Advisor in High Level "War Committee" formed by the British PM Sir. Winson Churchill during the World Wars, Member-Advisor in all the 3 London-Round Table Conferences(1930,'31,'32);Commerce member of the Viceroy's Council;Indian Representative & Leader in U.N.in 1945 and his efforts put India as a Member Nation in the U.N.; Chief of U.N. Finance Committee; Diwan of Mysore(1946-49) and his efforts put Mysore in joining the Indian Union in 1949; Vice Chancellor of University of Kerala(1951-61), Travancore ; Chairman-The Shipping Corporation of India; FOUNDER Chairman & Managing Director of ICICI (1955) -Industrial Credits & Investment Corporation of India.
  • Dr. B. S. Nagabhushanam Mudaliar: Renowned philanthropist and legendary physician
  • Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar: First Indian principal of the Madras Medical College, Served as Chairman-UNESCO; Vice Chancellor, University of Madras for the Longest Tenure of 27 Yrs; Chairman-W.H.O, Younger Twin Brother of Sir. A.Ramaswami Mudaliar.
  • Dr.T.K. Shanmugasundaram: Leading Orthopaedic Surgeon. Former President of World Orthopaedic Association.
  • A.C.Shanmugam: Founder MGR University, Chennai.
  • Isari Ganesh: Founder VEL's Institutions, Chennai.

Writers and Novelists

Freedom Fighters

Sports

Government

Politics

Social Service

Historical Personalities

  • Sekkizhar:Minister in chola dynasty and author of Periapuranam
  • Ottakoothar:Minister in Chola dynasty and author of Thakayagaparani and Saraswathi Andhadhi
  • Kovoor kizar:Poet
  • kambar:Poet who wrote Ramayana in Tamil. There is a saying that "Kamban veetu kattu thariyum kavi paadum", loosesly meaning, Even Kamban's loom can pen a poem.

Religion

UnderWorld

  • Varadarajan Mudaliar: Known as Vardha Bhai; former prominent underworld kingpin of 70s. Tamil movie Nayagan was based on his life story.

Business Firms

  • chennai silks
  • Gomathi Mills
  • color plus
  • The Sharp Tools
  • Kodai International Hotels

References

  1. ^ a b Irschick, Eugene F. Dialogue and History: Constructing South India, 1795-1895. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. direct web reference: http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft038n99hg&brand=eschol
  2. ^ Vijaya Ramaswamy, "Artisans in Vijayanagar Society", Indian Economic & Social History Review, 12 1985; vol. 22: pp. 417 - 444.
  3. ^ The Cochin State Manual http://books.google.com/books?id=X7UCAAAAMAAJ&q=jew+mudali&dq=jew+mudali&pgis=1
  4. ^ Muslim trader with Mudali title http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D11FYACaVySoC%26pg%3DPA17%26lpg%3DPA17%26dq%3Dmudali%2Bpillai%2Bmarakkayar%26source%3Dweb%26ots%3DeiwtCjhi7G%26sig%3D-2kNNkzgn_Yr1C_A7Ox3aTW0Rs4&ei=SfFOR9_1II-4gQTV7_TsCg&usg=AFQjCNEilgXz8uD_MNmmVvhnu7B5PDldkw&sig2=Ip7S5Nt8KflOsrXjzNcwRw
  5. ^ Religion and Public Culture: encounters and identities in modern South Indi by John Jeya Paul, Keith Edward Yandell,http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0700711015&id=x3GuKnZTGG4C&pg=PA241&lpg=PA241&ots=0mGugDgcw8&dq=adondai+kondaikatti&sig=rvjX3UZKGetOlVMyoGQS0IC4ac0
  6. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,http://books.google.com/books?vid=0o3HpzvAK7y1RHyxOc&id=JLFfVFU1mCoC&pg=PA581&lpg=PA581&dq=adondai+chola#PPA581,M1
  7. ^ Some Contributions of South India to Indian Culture By S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN8120609999&id=vRcql-QBhRwC&pg=PA394&lpg=PA394&dq=adondai+chola&sig=CUdOfMyvFWr60FUG2jBelSkCQhQ
  8. ^ History of Tirupati: The Tiruvengadam Temple By T. K. T. Viraraghavacharya, http://books.google.com/books?vid=0EAC1QqCYpse1n8eEo&id=VBoaAAAAMAAJ&q=adondai&dq=adondai&pgis=1
  9. ^ The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago By V. Kanakasabhai, http://books.google.com/books?id=BzgYmdwFby4C&pg=PA42&dq=maravar#PPA28,M1 (Page 28)
  10. ^ Order and Disorder in Colonial South India Eugene F. Irschick Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3 (1989), pp. 459-492,http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-749X(1989)23%3A3%3C459%3AOADICS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B
  11. ^ Lionel Place, 1799 East India Company Report, para. 59.
  12. ^ The Hindu : Of tilting pillars
  13. ^ Kerala Pillai History as told by Dr. Kanam Sankara Pillai
  14. ^ Vellalar History
  15. ^ The Tamils in Early Ceylon By C. Sivaratnam, http://books.google.com/books?vid=0PrqSaY8TV9DtgCG9v&id=hlocAAAAMAAJ&q=mudaliyar+vellala&dq=mudaliyar+vellala&pgis=1
  16. ^ a b List Of Backward Classes Approved
  17. ^ noolaham.net
  18. ^ South Indian Inscriptions-Volume-XIX-Inscriptions of Parakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  19. ^ South Indian Inscriptions-Volume-XIX-Inscriptions of Parakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  20. ^ South Indian Inscriptions Volume_13 - Inscriptions of Rajakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  21. ^ South Indian Inscriptions Volume_13 - Cholas Inscriptions @ whatisindia.com
  22. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Volume 17 Inscriptions collected during the year 1903-04 @ whatisindia.com
  23. ^ South Indian Inscriptions Volume_13 - Inscriptions of Rajakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  24. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Inscriptions collected during the year 1908-09 @ whatisindia.com
  25. ^ South Indian Inscriptions Volume 2 - Rajarajesvara Temple Inscriptions at Tanjavur @ whatisindia.com
  26. ^ South Indian Inscriptions Volume_3 - Nagesvarasvamin & Umambesvara & Adimulesvara Temples Inscriptions @ whatisindia.com
  27. ^ South Indian Inscriptions-Volume-XIX-Inscriptions of Parakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  28. ^ South Indian Inscriptions Volume_13 - Inscriptions of Rajakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  29. ^ South Indian Inscriptions-Volume-XIX-Inscriptions of Parakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  30. ^ South Indian Inscriptions-Volume-XIX-Inscriptions of Parakesarivarman @ whatisindia.com
  31. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Inscriptions of Rajaraja I @ whatisindia.com
  32. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Tiruvarur (Thiruvarur) Temple Inscriptions @ whatisindia.com
  33. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Inscriptions collected during the year 1906-07 @ whatisindia.com
  34. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Inscriptions collected during the year 1908-09 @ whatisindia.com
  35. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Inscriptions collected during the year 1908-09 @ whatisindia.com
  36. ^ South Indian Inscriptions - Inscriptions collected during the year 1908-09 @ whatisindia.com
  37. ^ List of Backward Classes
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