''Madrasi'', also spelled as ''Madrassi'', is a term used as a demonym in the past and a regional slur for people from

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, usually used by those from

northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. In earlier usage it was a

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

to refer to the people of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

, including the people of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Karnataka and Kerala, however this use of the term is now outdated. In present-day, the exonym ''Madrasi'' specifically refers to the people in living in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

(officially called as Chennai), and the term ''Chennaite'' (or ''Chennaivasi'') is the endonym for the people living in the city.

References

People from Chennai {{India-stub

See also

References