List of Vellalars

Vellalar

Regions with significant populations
Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka
Languages
Tamil
Religion
Hinduism and Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Tamil People

Vellalars are a group of high ranking castes in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and parts of Sri Lanka. ^{[1] [2]}

Freedom fighters and leaders

• Marudhanayagam Pillai (also known as Muhammad Yusuf Khan or Khan Sahib) – He was the first freedom fighter and was called as the hero of Madurai, he was a brave man who defeated Puli Thevar and ruled his territory. He became a rebel and revolted against The British So, they hanged him. The British army cut his dead body into pieces due to the fear of him. The dead body that was cut down was buried elsewhere in Tamil Nadu. ^[3]
• Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder – Kongu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who rose up in revolt against the British East India Company in the Kongu Nadu, Southern India. ^[4]
• Vallinayagam Olaganathan Chidambaram Pillai- also known as Kappalottiya Tamizhan and Sekkizutha Semmal, was an Indian freedom fighter and former leader of the Indian National Congress. He founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to compete against the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company.
• Chempakaraman Pillai- Chempakaraman Pillai was an Indian-born political activist and revolutionary. Born in Thiruvananthapuram, to Tamil Pillai parents, he left for Europe as a youth, where he spent the rest of his active life as an Indian nationalist and revolutionary.
• Vallal Pachaiyappa Mudaliyar – Notable Philanthropist.
• Thanapathi Pillai – The Minister and Military Commander of Veerapandiya Kattobomman.
• Ariyanatha Mudaliar- Minister of Vishwanatha Nayakar who divided the whole kingdom into 72 Palayams and appointed the Palaiyakarars.
• Thuppaki Gounder – Freedom Fighter from Sivagangai who worked with Marudhu Pandiyar against the British.
• Muthu Irulappa Pillai – The Chief Minister or Pradhani Of Ramnad Kingdom. In 1789 He studied Vaigai River and Periyar River and Conceived the plan to build Mullaiperiyar Dam.
• Thandavarayan Pillai – The Chief Minister or 'Pradhani' of Sivagangai Kingdom.
• Kalingaraya Gounder- The Chieftain of Kongu Kingdom.
• Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar- Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar (6 September 1852 – 2 March 1892) was an Indian lawyer, politician and Indian independence activist who campaigned for India's independence.
• Muthuranga Mudaliar- was a well known freedom-fighter from Poonamallee in Thiruvallur District. He participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 along with Prakasam, V. V. Giri, M. Bhakthavatsalam, K. Kamaraj and other freedom fighters ^[5]

Politics

• C. Natesa Mudaliar- Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar (1875–1937), also known as Natesan, was an Indian politician and activist of the Dravidian Movement from what is now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was one of the founders of the Justice Party, along with P. Theagaraya Chetty and Dr. T. M. Nair. He is often mentioned as Dravida Thanthai (lit., Father of the Dravidian Movement).
• Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar- Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar was born in a Tamil-speaking Thuluva Vellalar (Arcot Mudaliar) family. ^[6] KCSI - Founder Chairman of UNESCO and the Diwan of Mysore.
• Sir S. Muthiah Mudaliar- Indian politician and legislator of the Justice Party.
• A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar- Sir Arcot Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar (14 October 1887 – 15 April 1974) was an Indian educationist and physician. He was also the Deputy Leader of the Indian delegation to the First World Health Assembly in Geneva in 1948. He was elected as the chairman of the World Health Organization Executive Board in 1949 and 1950, was vice-president of the Eighth World Health Assembly in 1955 and President of the Fourteenth World Health Assembly in 1961. ^{[7] [8]} He was knighted in the 1945 New Year Honours, ^[9] Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1954 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1963., ^[10] He served as General President of the 46th Indian Science Congress held in 1959. ^[11]
• S. Muthiah Mudaliar- Sami Muthiah Mudaliar ^[12] CIE (1883 – 15 July 1953) was an Indian politician and legislator of the Justice Party. He studied and graduated in law and commenced practice as a lawyer. He joined the Justice Party and later, the Swarajya Party and served as legislator from 1923 to 1930. From 1928 to 1930, he served as the Minister of Education and Excise in P. Subbarayan's government. He returned to the Justice Party in the late twenties and participated in the Madras 1938 Anti-Hindi agitations.
• R. N. Arogyasamy Mudaliar- Diwan Bahadur Royapuram Nallaveeran Arogyaswamy Mudaliar (18 April 1870 – 30 January 1933) was an Indian politician and civil engineer who served as the Minister of Excise, Medical Administration and six other departments in the Madras Presidency from 1926 to 1928
• C. Subramaniam Gounder- Father of the Indian Green Revolution, Vetaran Congress Leader, Former Union Finance Minister, Deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, Governor of Maharashtra. Bharat Ratna (the nation's highest civilian honour) in 1998. ^[13]
• V. R. Nedunchezhiyan- was an Indian politician and writer. He served thrice as the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
• Palanivel Thiagarajan- Dr. Palanivel Thiagarajan (PTR) is an Indian politician and the current Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 2016 and 2021 from Madurai Central.
• P.T.R Palanivel Rajan- Ponnambala Thyaga Rajan Palanivel Rajan (27 February 1932 – 20 May 2006) was an Indian politician.
• P.T Rajan- Sir Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan (22 April 1892 – 25 September 1974) was the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 4 April 1936, to 24 August 1936 (143 Days). He was also the last President of the Justice Party. P. T. Rajan was born in a Thondaimandala mudaliar family in Uthamapalayam.
• C. S. Ratnasabhapathy Mudaliar- Chinna Seevaram Ratnasabhapathy Mudaliar OBE was an Indian industrialist and politician who served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1926 to 1936. His family hails from Seevaram village near Cheyyar of North Arcot district.
• A. Ranganatha Mudaliar- Arcot Ranganatha Mudaliar (29 June 1879 – 8 July 1950) was an Indian politician and theosophist from Bellary. He served as the Minister of Public Health and Excise for the Madras Presidency from 1926 to 1928.
• Pulavar K. Govindan- Pulavar K. Govindan (1916–1991) was a writer, historian, rationalist and politician. He was an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of Madras State and later, the state of Tamil Nadu. He served as the Deputy Speaker of the Madras Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1968 and Speaker for two terms from 1969 to 1971 and 1973 to 1977. ^{[14] [15]} He has written extensively on Tamil literature and his works were nationalized by the Tamil Nadu State Government in 2007. ^[16]
• P. U. Shanmugam- P U Shanmugam, affectionately called as Paa Vuu Saa (15 August 1924 – 11 April 2007) was an Indian politician and former minister of Tamil Nadu for Internal affairs, former minister of Public works, former minister of public health and various other portfolios on various tenures. The Dravidian veteran also worked as the Organisation Secretary of DMK and the 3rd General Secretary of AIADMK.
• Arcot Ranganatha Mudaliar- was an Indian politician and theosophist from Bellary. He served as the Minister of Public Health and Excise for the Madras Presidency from 1926 to 1928.
• Dr. B. M. Sundaravadanan- Chairman of Tamil Nadu Medical Council.
• Edappadi K Palaniswami- Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami (born 12 May 1954), often referred to by his initials E.P.S., is an Indian politician who is the current leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He served as the seventh chief minister of Tamil Nadu, from 2017 to 2021. He has been the General Secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) since 28 March 2023. Previously, Palaniswami has served as the interim general secretary (2022–23), joint co-ordinator (2017–22) and headquarters secretary (2016–22) of AIADMK.
• Annamalai Kuppusamy- Annamalai Kuppusamy is an Indian politician and former police officer. He was appointed as the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party of Tamil Nadu by National president Jagat Prakash Natta on 8 July 2021.
• Isari Velan- was an Indian actor, politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu.
• A. C. Shanmugam- is the founder and president of the Puthiya Needhi Katchi, a caste-based political party for the thuluva Vellalar caste in Tamil Nadu, India. He is also the founder and chancellor of Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Rajarajeswari Group of Institutions, and ACS group of institutions in Arani. ^[17]

Spiritual

• Arumuka Navalar – born as Kandar Arumugam Pillai, a Hindu reformer. ^[18]
• Appar - also referred to as Tirunāvukkarasar or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Vellalar family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is generally placed sometime between 570 and 650 CE.
• Nammalvar – He was one of the twelve Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of the Alvars are compiled as the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, where praises are sung of 108 temples that are classified as divine realms, called the Divya Desams.
• Vallalar (Born – Ramalingam) – A Hindu Saint who said God is none other than Light and espoused the veneration of the radiant flame emanating from a lit lamp.
• Sekkizhar – Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar, was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 verses, recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, the devotees of Shiva. Sekkilhar himself was later canonised and his work, the Periyapuranam became the twelfth and final book of the sacred Sai
• Thycaud Ayyavu Swamikal (1814 – 20 July 1909) was a spiritualist and a social reformer in kerala
• Thayumanavar or Tayumanavar – (Tamil: தாயுமானவர் Tāyumānavar) (1705–1744) was a Tamil spiritual philosopher from Tamil Nadu, India. Thayumanavar articulated the Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. He wrote several Tamil hymns of which 1454 are available. His first four songs were sung 250 years ago at the Congress of Religions in Tiruchirappalli. His poems follow his own mystical experience, but they also outline the philosophy of Hinduism, and the Tirumandiram by Saint Tirumular in its highest form, one that is at once devotional and nondual, one that sees God as both immanent and transcendent.

Literature

• Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai – was a Tamil poet. Asiya Jothi, Nanjil Nattu Marumakkal Vazhi Manmiyam, and the translation of the work of Omar Khayyam are his masterpieces. He is known for his poetry. In 1940 the Tamil Sangam at its 7th annual conference held at Madras (now Chennai) honoured Desigavinayagam Pillai with the title "Kavimani". On 21 October 2005, he was commemorated on an Indian postage stamp.
• Mahavidvaan Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai – He was a Tamil scholar and teacher of U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, a Tamil scholar and researcher who was instrumental in bringing many long-forgotten works of classical Tamil literature to light. Pillai's important contribution is in the form of temple history called Thala Varalaru for ninety temples in Tamil Nadu.
• Thirikooda Rasappa Kavirayar – The author of Thirukutrala Kuravanji.
• Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai – He was an Indian scholar, noted for the famous Tamil drama Manonmaniyam . as well as the state song of Tamil Nadu Tamil Thai Valthu.
• Venkatarama Ramalingam Pillai – sometimes called Namakkal Kavignar, was a Tamil poet from Tamil Nadu, India and independence fighter who wrote poems about independence. He wrote hundreds of poems. He also participated in the Salt Satyagraha against the British government in 1930 and went to jail for one year. He received the "Padmabhushan" award in 1971 from the Indian government.
• Thiru. V. Kalyanasundaram- better known by his initials Thiru. Vi. Ka, was an Indian scholar, essayist and activist for the Tamil language. The analytical depth of his commentaries on classical Tamil literature and philosophy, and the clear, fluid style of his prose. His works, along with those of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Maraimalai Adigal, and Arumuka Navalar, are considered to have defined the style of modern Tamil prose.
• Makaral Karthikeya Mudaliar- was an Indian scholar and poet of Tamil ancestry, Mudaliar authored Velir varalaatru maanbu, Aathichudi Muthar Viruthiyurai, ^[19] Tamil Solvilakkam, and Mozhi nool. ^{[20] [21]}
• Mu. Varadarajan- also known as Mu. Va. and Varatharasanar, was a Tamil scholar, author and academic from Tamil Nadu, India. He was a prolific writer whose published works include 13 novels, 6 plays, 2 short story collections, 11 essay anthologies, a book on the history of Tamil literature, books on Tamil linguistics and children's books. During 1961–71, he was the head of the Tamil department at the University of Madras. In 1961, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil for his novel Agal Vilakku . During 1971–74, he was the vice-chancellor of the University of Madurai. ^{[22] [23] [24]}

Arts and Cinema

• Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai- Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai (1826–1889), also known as Mayavaram Vedanayagam Pillai, was an Indian civil servant, Tamil poet, novelist and social worker who is remembered for the authorship of Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram , recognized as the "first modern Tamil novel". Vedanayagam's ideals of women's liberation and education are reflected in the novel. He has a well-known great-grandson, Vijay Antony, who is an actor in the Tamil film industry.
• Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar- Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", ^[25] was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan. ^[26]
• Papanasa Mudaliar- he was an early Carnatic music composer who lived in what is now Tamil Nadu, India.
• Surya Sivakumar – Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor and film producer. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors.^{[ citation needed ]}
• Karthik Sivakumar – Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), known as Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, two SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.^{[ citation needed ]}
• Sivakumar – Palaniswamy (born 27 October 1941), better known by his stage name Sivakumar, is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television.
• Josheph Vijay – Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar (born 22 June 1974), known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian actor and playback singer who works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning in just over 3 decades, Vijay has acted in over 65 films and is one of the most commercially successful actors in Tamil cinema with multiple films amongst the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time and is amongst the highest paid actors in India.^{[ citation needed ]}
• SA Chandrasekhar – S. A. Chandrasekar (born 2 July 1943) is an Indian film director, producer, writer, and actor who primarily works within Kollywood. He made his directorial debut with Aval Oru Pachai Kuzhanthai (1978), He got his breakthrough with Sattam Oru Iruttarai (1981). He has directed over 70 movies in all south Indian languages, and is known for directing films focusing on social issues.
• Sathyaraj – Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who appears predominantly in Tamil films. He also appears in works in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
• Kalaivanar N.S Krishnan – Nagercoil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan, popularly known as Kalaivanar (lit. 'Lover of arts') and also as NSK, was an Indian actor, comedian, theatre artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry – in the 1940s and 1950s. He is considered as the "Charlie Chaplin of India."
• R. K. Shekhar- was an Indian music composer who worked mainly for Malayalam movies. He composed music for 52 films (23 in Malayalam with 127 songs), and was the music conductor for more than 100 films. He is the father of music composers and singers A. R. Rahman and A. R. Reihana. His grandsons G. V. Prakash Kumar and A. R. Ameen are also involved in music production. ^[27]
• A. R. Rahman- Allah Rakha Rahman born A. S. Dileep Kumar; is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist ^[28]
• Arun Vijay – (born 19 November 1977), formerly known as Arun Kumar, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He also starred in a few films in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
• Vijayakumar – Panchaksharam Rangasamy Pillai (born 29 August 1943), known professionally as Vijayakumar, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. His son is actor Arun Vijay.
• Sundar C – Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian film director, writer, actor and producer who works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani award.^{[ citation needed ]}
• Vadivelu – Kumaravadivel Natarajan known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and occasional playback singer, having acted mainly in Tamil movies. He has at least 200 credits to his filmography and several awards including three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Comedian.
• Vijay Antony- Frances Antony Cyril Raja (born 24 July 1975) known professionally as Vijay Antony, ^[29] is an Indian music composer, playback singer, actor, film editor, lyricist, audio engineer, and filmmaker working predominantly in Tamil cinema.
• G. V. Prakash Kumar- G. V. Prakash Kumar (born 13 June 1987) is an Indian music composer, playback singer, actor, and film producer known for his work in Tamil cinema. ^{[30] [31]}
• Vikranth-s an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. He is the cousin of popular Tamil actor Vijay
• Varun (actor)- Varun is an Indian actor who predominantly works in tamil cinema. He is the grandson of Isari Velan.

References

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