Erambala Krishnan Nayanar was an Indian politician who served as the 9th chief minister of Kerala from 1980 to 1981, 1987 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2001. He served in that position for a total of 10 years, 11 months and 22 days, thus making him the longest-served Chief Minister of Kerala. He was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Pillai or Pillay, meaning "Child of King" (Prince) or "Child", is a surname found among the Malayalam and Tamil-speaking people of India and Sri Lanka.
Menon is an aristocratic hereditary title of the Nair community bestowed by various kings of Kerala, most saliently the Zamorin of Calicut and Maharaja of Cochin, upon eminent Nairs. The recipient of the title held it lifelong, and the male members of the family held it in perpetuity in the matrilineal line.
Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar was a Malayali essayist and short story writer, and a prominent landlord of Malabar district.
The Thampis and Kochammas are the sons and daughters of the maharajahs of Travancore and their consorts belonging to Nair caste
Kaimal is an aristocratic title or position granted by various Rajas to powerful Nair families in Kerala.
Kartha or Karthavu, meaning "Lord" in the Malayalam language, is an aristocratic title. It was conferred by the Rajas to powerful families, they are Desavazhi or Naduvazhi status.
Jenmi or Janmi, plural Jenmimar, is the Malayalam term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala who traditionally held their lands as absolute and allodial owners, with such lands known as Jenmom or Janmam. They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region in colonial times, and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this community. They predominantly belonged to the Nambudiri and Nair castes.
Naduvazhi were feudatory princes who ruled over microstates that are now administrative parts of Kerala, India. They constituted the aristocratic class within the Hindu caste system and were either kings themselves or nobility in the service of the kings of Kerala.
The Nambiar is a Hindu Ambalavasi caste of Kerala. Ambalavasi Nambiars wear sacred thread like Brahmins and is traditionally considered as a different caste to Nairs including same name bearing Nair-Nambiar caste, who were traditionally the feudal landlords of North Malabar which usually leads to confusion.
Nayanar is an honorific title used by sub-castes of the Nair community from North Malabar, India. The word Nayanar is believed to have originated from the word "Nayanmar" (Nairs), which is a title of nobility. The Nayanar title is mostly given to prominent Nambiar families by the Chirakkal Raja. Their position lies between Samantha Nairs and Kiriyathil Nairs. They sometimes have interchangeable surnames like Nambiar, Kurup, and Nair. Nayanar families are mostly seen north of the river Korapuzha. Like other North Malabar Nairs, Nayanars earlier claimed a higher status to Nairs of South Malabar. Samantha Nairs of South Malabar, Kaimals of Cochin, and Pillais of Travancore are considered similar castes to Nayanars.
Melathu Veettil Raghavan was a veteran Communist leader and a former Minister in Kerala state of India. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Marxist Party, an alliance partner in the UDF. Prior to the formation of the CMP he was a prominent leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Kiryathil Nair or Kiriyath Nair is a Kshatriya subdivison of Nair caste, of martial nobility, having performed the functions of Kshatriyas in Kerala, India. They also did business, industry, medicine and accounting. But as they were Kshatriya sub-division their main occupation was martial nobility.
Moopil Nair, also transliterated Mooppil and Muppil is an elite subgroup of the Nair caste. They were vazhunnors, naduvazhis and desavazhis of small feudal polities on the Malabar, present-day Kerala state, South India, typically owing at least nominal allegiance to a superordinate Raja, despite frequently aggregating lands and political powers of sufficient scale so as to establish them as essentially autonomous monarchs in their own rights. Although Moopils frequently simply styled themselves as 'the' name of swaroopam/tharavadu Nair, virtually all were entitled to higher titular Nair rank, most saliently that of Nambiar, but also Nayanar and Mannadiyar, among others.
Madampi(equivalent to Lord in English) is an aristocratic title given to the uppermost subdivisions of Nairs in Kerala, by the Maharajahs of Travancore and Cochin. Usually, it was given in addition to the Pillai title. Madampis served as Jenmis or landlords during the pre-independence era. Their power was severely reduced after the Communist government passed the Land Reforms Ordinance. The title Madampi was also used in Cochin, to denote the 71 Nayar chiefs who ruled under the Maharajah of Cochin. A few Nambuthiri landlord families, most notable of whom being those in Vanjipuzha and Makilanjeri, were also given the Madampi title. In Cochin, the Madampis had their own armies, but seldom numbered more than 100. Their power was only a little bit higher than that of the Desavazhis. Madampis supplied chieftains along with soldiers in times of war to the King.
Chakkala Nair, also known as Vattakkat Nair, and Vaniya Nair is one of the intermediate subcastes of the Nair community. They are distributed throughout Kerala. In Travancore, they are known as Chakkala, while in Cochin and Malabar they are Vattakattu and In the extreme north of Malabar they are called Vaniya
Kurup of Travancore, meaning "Guru" in Sanskrit was a title used by Nairs in the Kingdom of Travancore, many among them were experts in Kalaripayattu, serving as warriors and army generals. Additionally, a segment of the Nair Kurup belonged to the "Naaduvaazhi" and landlord class in Venad until the 18th century and they mostly belongs to the Illam and other subcastes in Travancore Nair caste. Kurup is also the title of Kiriyath Nairs in Malabar and Cochin. The Nair Kurup caste is unrelated to other Kurups. It is important not to confuse them with the Kurup Caste, Kalari Kurup, etc., as they have distinct identities.
