Agamudayar Explained

Caste Name:	Agamudayar
Languages:	Tamil
Ethnicity:	Tamils
Population:	1981-1982: 5 per cent of the Backward Class population of Tamil Nadu^[1]
Region:	Tamil Nadu

Agamudayar (otherwise Agamudaiyar, Akamudayar, Agamudayan) are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.^[2] In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the Thevar or Mukkulathor community. According to the anthropologist Zoe E Headley, the three communities (Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar) are the "numerically dominant rural backward castes of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu".^[3] Agamudayars are listed in the national commission of backward caste lists for Tamil Nadu as "Agamudayar including Thozhu or Thuluva Vellala".^{[4] [5]} Agamudayar consider themselves to be descendants of the Chera dynasty.^[6]

Etymology

The term Agamudayar is a Tamil word of "Agam" which means Palace or Land and "Udayar"means Lord or Holder "Palace Chief " or "Land holder".^[7]

Notable people

• T. R. Baalu
• P. U. Chinnappa
• Dhivyadharshini
• S. P. Jananathan
• Karunas
• Manivannan
• Maruthu Pandiyar
• Sangili Murugan
• S. S. Rajendran
• V. Ravichandran
• K. Samarasam (Politician)
• Soori (actor)
• Thengai Srinivasan
• Kalaipuli S. Thanu
• Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar
• V. Thiruselvam
• Vasanthabalan
• A. Veerappan

Notes and References

1. Ambasankar Commission and Backward Classes . P. . Radhakrishnan . Economic and Political Weekly . 24 . 23 . 10 June 1989 . 1265–1268 . 4394921.
2. Book: Das. Biswajit. Caste, Communication and Power. Majhi. Debendra Prasad. 2021. 157. SAGE Publishing India. 978-93-91370-90-9. en.
3. Book: Headley, Zoe E. . A Companion to the Anthropology of India . Isabelle . Clark-Decès . John Wiley & Sons . 2011 . 978-1-44439-058-2 . https://books.google.com/books?id=98uLj5FpTHQC&pg=RA3-PA1985 . Caste and Collective Memory in South Asia . 1982, 1985.
4. Web site: List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu .
5. Web site: National Commission for Backward Classes . 2022-05-30 . www.ncbc.nic.in.
6. Book: Caste as Social Capital The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society. 24 July 2023 . R Vaidyanathan. 978-93-5708-186-3 .
7. Book: Madras (India : State). B. S. Baliga. Madras District Gazetteers: Salem. by Ramaswami, A. 1967. Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. 124 .