Chozhia Vellalar

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Chozhia Vellalar / Sozhia Vellalar
Religions Hinduism, Christianity
Languages Tamil
RegionTanjore ( Chola Nadu ) in current-day Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
Feudal title Pillai, Chettiar
Related groups Vellalar, Indian Tamils

Chozhia Vellalar (also spelt as Sozhia, Choliya or Sholiya Vellalar) is a caste or a subcaste of Southern India, related to the Vellalar community. [1]

Contents

They traditionally used Pillai as a title or surname, [2] up to the political hegemony of Dravidianism in the state of Tamil Nadu, where they essentially come from.

Distribution

The Sozhiya Vellalars were present predominantly in the Cauvery delta districts of Tamil Nadu — Thanjavur, Mayuram, Nagappattinam and Thiruvarur — as well in a lesser extent in the neighbouring Trichy, Karur and Namakkal.

History

Their name, Sozhiya or Chozhia, reflects this geographical particularity, as a population concentrated in the heart of the ancient Chola kingdom or Chola Nadu , which corresponds to the Tanjore region. [2] They are among the few communities to hold this title, along with notably the Chozhia Chettiars and Chozhia Iyers. [2] The title of these communities is more indicative of their very ancient ties with the Tanjore region, rather than proof of direct kinship with the Chola dynasty. [3] They have historically formed a large population in this area. [3] [4]

In the work named Castes and Tribes of Southern India , published in 1909, colonial anthropologist Edgar Thurston notes that the most eminent pandaram, thambiran and oduvar – who significantly make up the ecclesiastical body or administrative and managerial bodies of Shaivite monasteries (adheenam) and temples – are notably drawn from the Chozhia Vellalar community. [4] He also makes the paradoxical observation that in his times, the Chozhia Vellalars are also sometimes perceived as being of dubious ancestry or legitimacy, as it is also to their community that some parvenu individuals seeking to improve their social status try to affiliate themselves. [4]

In their studies of the social setting in rural southeastern India (especially Tanjore) in the second half of the twentieth century, anthropologists Kathleen Gough and André Béteille report that the general social perception of the Chozhia Vellalars was that of an upper caste. [3] [5] Although, depending on the locality, they were not a dominant caste. [5] The socio-economic conditions of the community were diverse, although there was a predominance of people engaged in agriculture, with both landowners and tenant farmers. [3] [5]

Present status

Before 1975 in the state of Tamil Nadu they were classified as Forward caste, but due to their economical situation, as well as caste-based regional politics, they were reclassified as Other Backward Class under India's Reservation system. [6] [7] Till 2015, they were still classified as Forward caste in the Union Territory of Pondicherry. [8] [9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gough, Kathleen (1981). Rural Society in Southeast India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 434, 440. ISBN 978-0521239125.
  2. 1 2 3 Singh, K. S.; Thirumalai, R.; Manoharan, S., eds. (1997). People of India: Tamil Nadu. People of India / Anthropological Survey India. K. S. Singh. Vol. XL (1. publ ed.). Madras: Affiliated East-West Press. ISBN   978-81-85938-88-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Béteille, André (1965). Caste, Class, and Power : Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   9780520020535. OCLC   411150.
  4. 1 2 3 "Vellāla"  . Castes and Tribes of Southern India– via Wikisource.
  5. 1 2 3 Gough, Kathleen (1989). Rural change in southeast India : 1950s to 1980s. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195622768. OCLC   20179784.
  6. ↑ "List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu".
  7. ↑ Racine, Jean-Luc (2009). "(9) Caste and Beyond in Tamil Politics". In Jaffrelot, Christophe; Kumar, Sanjay (eds.). Rise of the plebeians? the changing face of Indian legislative assemblies. Exploring the political in South Asia. New Delhi: Routledge. pp. 445–450. ISBN   978-0-415-46092-7. OCLC   473822352.
  8. ↑ Singh, K. S.; Ramadass, M.; Naidu, Thalapaneni Subramanyam; Xaviour, D. (1994). People of India : Pondicherry. People of India / Anthropological Survey India. K. S. Singh. Vol. XXXVI. Madras: Affiliated East-West Press. ISBN   9788185938257.
  9. ↑ "Include 2 More Castes in OBC List". The New Indian Express . 13 February 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2024.


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