Piramalai Kallars is a sub caste of the Kallars and thus are part of the

Mukkulathor The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are a community or group of communities native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They comprise the Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar communities that sha ...

community that also includes the

Maravar Maravar (also known as Maravan and Marava) are a Tamil community in the state of Tamil Nadu. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title ''Thevar''. The ...

and

Agamudayar Agamudayar (otherwise Agamudaiyar, Akamudayar, Agamudayan) are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the Mukkulathor community. A ...

castes.They belong to Most backward class/Denotified class in Tamil nadu.

History

Copper plate inscriptions dated 1645, 1652, 1655 and 1656 are the most important artefacts about the Piramalai Kallars. According to these, during the period of

Thirumalai Nayak Tirumala Nayaka ( Tamil: ''"Thirumalai Nayakar"''; 1623–1659) was the ruler of Madurai Nayak Dynasty in the 17th century. He ruled Madurai between A.D 1623 and 1659. His contributions are found in the many splendid buildings and temples of M ...

, members of the community were appointed as guards ("kavalkarars") of villages. The Piramalai Kallar group responsible for a village had to compensate for any theft in that village. Piramalai Kallar local chieftains, such as Tirumal Pinna Thevar, also performed judicial duties by organising

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

s. This is described in the 1655 inscription. With a separate system of judiciary and policing, they refused to accede to British rule. In 1767, around 5000 Kallars were killed by British forces near

Melur Melur is the Northern entrance of Madurai district. It is the town and municipality in the Madurai North in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Melur Old Name is Called Naduvi Nadu. The name Melur name comes from "Mela Nadu". Melur is called Thaigra ...

in a single day when they refused to pay tax. With the introduction of British rule and the fall of the

Nayak dynasty Nayaka dynasties emerged during the Kakatiya dynasty and the Vijayanagara Empire period. The Nayakas were originally military governors under the Vijayanagara Empire. After the battle of Talikota, several of them declared themselves independent. ...

, the Piramalai Kallars began to lose their work as guards. They participated in the South Indian Rebellion of 1800-1801 that resulted in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

and the adjoining regions coming under the British rule. When the rebellious Kallars refused to pay tax, the British abolished the kavalkarar system. Piramalai Kallars were reduced to poverty, reliant on land farming. , while continuing to oppose the British. They became classified as a criminal tribe under the

Criminal Tribes Act Since the 1870s, various pieces of colonial legislation in India during British rule were collectively called the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), which criminalized entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals. Under these acts, ethni ...

(CTA). On 3 April 1920 a group of Piramalai Kallars at Perungamanallur village battled against the British in protest against the CTA. A memorial pillar at the village names 16 inhabitants who were shot dead during the incident. The Act, which had originally been introduced in 1871 and then amended in 1911, was repealed in 1948.

References

Notes Citations

History

References

Further reading