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Uthumalai, also known as Uttumalai, is a village in the Indian state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. It lies in Veerakeralampudur taluk, which itself is in Tenkasi district.


History

The village was once governed by what anthropologist Nicholas Dirks terms "little kings", who were polygars from 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 ...
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
. Theirs was the largest in area, although not in population, of several Maravar-governed lands in what is now Tirunelveli district. The lands formed a part of the 1803 Permanent Settlement in
Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
and became recognised by the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
(EIC) as a
zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
i estate, with its palace at Veerakeralampudur. In 1823, it comprised , with a population of 14,612; administratively situated in
Tenkasi taluk Tenkasi taluk is a taluk of Tenkasi district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters is the town of Tenkasi. In addition to the headquarters town, the taluk includes the towns of Aygudi, Courtalam, Ilanji, Kadayanallur, Melagaram, Samba ...
by 1917, it was the third-largest of all the zamindaris in the district, comprising 63 villages spread over an area of , with an estimated population of 51,246. The zamindari estates of the area arose in the aftermath of the
Polygar Wars The Polygar Wars or Palaiyakkarar Wars were wars fought between the Polygars (''Palaiyakkarars'') of the former Tirunelveli Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company forces between March 1799 to May 1802 or July 1805. The ...
, when the British conferred the status on those who they deemed not to have been subversive. Uthumalai had sided with them in opposition to Polygar rebels such as Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The little kings were now expected to be landlords who managed local agriculture and paid an annual tribute, although even the British authorities had doubts about their transplanting of the settled property concept from its origins in
Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
to that of Madras. Despite its zamindari status, in the first half of the century the British East India Company often imposed direct rule, overarching the position of the zamindar. The family gained a period of relatively independent governance during the regency of Peryanayaki Nachiar, who acted on behalf of her underage son, Irudalaya Marudappa Taver, after the death of his father in 1850. As an adult ruler, Irudalaya married Annapurni Nachiar and Menakshi Sundra Nachiar, although only the latter initially joined him in his palace – Annapurni was around six years old at the time of her marriage and so at first lived with her relatives. Those relatives assisted Irudalaya in opposing the claims of his uncle, who lived and held a title at
Chokkampatti Chokkampatti is traditionally recognized as one of the 72 palaiyams of Madura. This Palayam is also referred to in the early records as Vadagarai or Vadhagerri. Earlier location This Maravar palaiyam was located in the Sankarankovil taluk, in t ...
. Irudalaya was succeeded as zamindar upon his death in 1891 by an adopted son, Navanithakrishna Marudappa Taver, but the Court of Wards stepped in to govern on his behalf because he, too, was a minor. When Navanithakrishna died, a few months after his father, a family squabble broke out as Annapurni and Menakshi laid claim to the estate, each arguing that they had the closer relationship to Irudalaya and Navanithakrishna. A wide range of arguments were put forward during the legal proceedings, such as a claim that Irudalayar had been too ill in his last years to formally adopt Navanithakrishna, that he had divorced Annapurni and she had forced her way into the palace, and that Menakshi could not have taken part in any adoption process – and thus could not be the adoptive mother – because her
menstrual cycle The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that make pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of eggs a ...
made her ritually polluted. The court concentrated on the divorce and ritual arguments and ruled in favour of Menakshi, a decision that was upheld by the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
on appeal.


Demographics

The
2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
recorded Uthumalai as having 2168 households and a population of 7737, comprising 3788 males and 3949 females. Some of the population were categorised as members of
Scheduled Caste The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
s; there were no members of
Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
s.


Infrastructure

Since 2012, the village has had a 700 kW wind turbine that feeds into the grid. , the nearest town was
Surandai History Earlier “Surandai” was known as “Raja Sooriya Nallur” then it becomes “Suranthai”. For the past 50 years, the city name is Surandai. Polygar rule and the revolts As the Dalavay Mudali, the governor of Tirunelveli, became in ...
, over distant. The village had several educational facilities at all levels from pre-school to senior secondary; facilities for higher education were some distance away, with the exception of a non-vocational training centre. There were some primary healthcare facilities in the village but the nearest hospital was over 10 km away. It had a veterinary hospital. There was a sub-post office in the village, with a more major office less that 10 km away. Internet facilities were available, as was a bus service. The nearest railway station was over 10 km from the village and so too was the nearest market and ATM, although there were other banking facilities. sankarankovil is near by muncipolity and nearest Railway stattion, 24KM apart from village. The village contains 3 ATMs (1 Nationalised bank ATM and 2 White label ATMs) and 2 banks (Central bank of India and Pandian Grama Bank)


Economy

The area of the village in 2011 was , agriculture was the mainstay of the local economy and beedi was the main crop.


References

Notes Citations


Further reading

* * *{{cite journal , title=Study of Poligar Violence in Late 18th Century Tamil Country in South India , first=Raman N. , last=Seylon , journal=African and Asian Studies , volume=3 , issue=3–4 , pages=245–272 , year=2004 , doi=10.1163/1569209332643692 Villages in Tirunelveli district Zamindari estates Palayam