| Sozhia Vellalar | |
|---|---|
| Religions | Saivam, Vainavam, Saktham, Christianity |
| Languages | Tamil |
| Region | Tanjore ( Chola Nadu ) in current-day Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala |
| Feudal title | Pillai, Chettiar |
| Related groups | Vellalar, Tamil people |
Chozhia Vellalar (also spelt as Sozhia Vellalar) is a high-ranking subcaste of the Vellalar caste. [1] They are landlords and cultivators who formed the aristocracy of ancient Tamil society from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. [2] [3]
The earliest occurrence of the term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature is found in Paripadal, where it is used in the sense of a landowner. [4] The word Vellalar (வெள்ளாளர்) may originate from the root Vellam for flood, denoting their ability to control and store water for irrigation purposes. [5] which led to the development of various land rights, ultimately giving the Vellalar their name. [6] The term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) is also derived from the word Vel (வேள்), a title used by Velir chieftains during the Sangam age.
The term Chozhia means "men of the Chola country" and refers to the Vellalars of the Chola region. They use Pillai as a surname. [7]
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. [8] They are among the few communities to hold this title, along with notably the Chozhia Chettiars and Chozhia Iyers. [8] 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. [9] They have historically formed a large population in this area. [9] [10]
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. [10] 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. [10]
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. [9] [11] Although, depending on the locality, they were not a dominant caste. [11] 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. [9] [11]
Before 1975 in the state of Tamil Nadu they were classified as Forward class, 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. [12] [13] Till 2015, they were still classified as Forward caste in the Union Territory of Pondicherry. [14] [15]
The Sozhiya Vellalars were present predominantly in the Cauvery delta districts of Tamil Nadu — Thanjavur, Mayuram, Nagappattinam and Thiruvarur — as well in the neighbouring Trichy, Karur and Namakkal
Not only were the Vellalas the landowning communities of South India,...
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