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.[4] Agamudayar consider themselves to be descendants of the Chera dynasty.[5]

Etymology

The term Agamudayar is a Tamil word meaning "House owner" or "Landholder".[6]

Notable people

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: National Commission for Backward Classes . 2022-05-30 . www.ncbc.nic.in.
  5. Book: Caste as Social Capital The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society. 24 July 2023 . R Vaidyanathan. 978-93-5708-186-3 .
  6. Book: Madras (India : State). B. S. Baliga. Madras District Gazetteers: Salem. by Ramaswami, A. 1967. Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. 124 .