WillisHeiman326 at 21:25, 7 March 2026

2026-03-07T21:25:28Z

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{{Short description|Dalit caste in South India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox caste
|caste_name=Arunthathiyar
|image=
|caption=
|languages=[[Tamil language|Tamil]]{{*}}[[Telugu language|Telugu]]{{*}}[[Kannada]]
|populated_states=[[Tamil Nadu]]{{*}}[[Kerala]]{{*}}[[Karnataka]]{{*}}[[Andhra Pradesh]]
|region=Northern and western Tamil Nadu
|population=2,150,285
|religions=[[Hinduism]]{{*}}[[Christianity]]
|country={{flag|India}}
|ethnicity=[[South Asian]]
|classification=[[Scheduled caste]]
|subdivisions=Arunthathiyar{{*}}Chakkiliyar{{*}}Madari{{*}}[[Madiga]]{{*}}Pagadai{{*}}Thoti{{*}}[[Adi Andhra]]<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2013/08/commentary/caste-tamil-nadu-iii.html | title=Caste in Tamil Nadu - III | journal=Economic and Political Weekly | date=5 June 2015 | volume=48 | issue=8 | pages=7–8 }}</ref>
}}

'''Arunthathiyar''' is a [[scheduled caste]] community mostly found in the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. The term has two distinct usages: for the purposes of the state government's [[Reservation in India|reservation programme]], in 2009 it was designated an [[umbrella term]] for the Arunthatiyar, Chakkiliyar (Sakkiliyar<ref>{{cite web| url=https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/article/download/247/59/| title=Documenting a Caste: The Chakkiliyars in Colonial and Missionary Documents in India| author=S. Gunasekaran| page=52| quote=..the correct pronunciation of the caste name, from Siclar to Chakkiliyar and Sakkiliyar, correlates with the long process...| website=brandeis.edu}}</ref>), [[Madari]], [[Madiga]], Pagadai, [[Thoti]] and [[Adi Andhra]] communities with a total population of 2,150,285, accounting for 14.89% of the Scheduled Caste population according to the [[2011 Census of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=India - A-10 Appendix: District wise scheduled caste population (Appendix), Tamil Nadu - 2011 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42911 |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=censusindia.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tniuscbe.org/download/gg/gg70.pdf |publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu |title=Tamil Nadu Government Gazette |date=12 March 2009 |page=3 |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2015-06-05 |title=Caste in Tamil Nadu - III |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2013/08/commentary/caste-tamil-nadu-iii.html |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |language=en |volume=48 |issue=8 |pages=7–8}}</ref> While the [[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India|Office of the Registrar-General]], which administers the [[census of India]], does not recognize all of those communities as one.<ref name="census2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_tamilnadu.pdf |title=Tamil Nadu Date Highlights: The Scheduled Castes Census of India 2001 |publisher= Office of the Registrar-General |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref>

Specifically, within the Arunthathiyar caste it is reported that there were 1,084,162 individuals in Tamil Nadu, being 7.52 percent of the Scheduled Caste population of the state.<ref name="census2001" />

== Origin ==
Due to their speaking Telugu and lack of mention in early Tamil texts, most scholarly authorities believe the community originated in [[Andhra Pradesh]] and migrated to [[Tamil Nadu]] in the 17th century. However, the community's own history is that they are originally Tamil kings who ruled the area around Tagadur ([[Dharmapuri district|Dharmapuri]]), who were taken as captives in war to Andhra and Karnataka in ancient days and only returned in the 16th century as the Kannada-speaking Madiyars and Tamil-speaking Chakkiliyars. Therefore, they called themselves Adi Tamizhar.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Geetha|first=K. A.|date=2014-12-04|title=Unified Tamil Dalit Identity: Problematics and Anomalies|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01440357.2014.933575|journal=Prose Studies|volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=130–140 |language=en|doi=10.1080/01440357.2014.933575|s2cid=154848931 |issn=0144-0357|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Occupation ==
The Arunthathiyars, although they never touched dead cattle, still worked leather as [[leatherworker]]s and [[Cobbler (shoemaker)|cobbler]]s, and were thus given a low social status in [[Historical Vedic religion|Hinduism]] [[Caste system in India|Caste system]]. Many are also landless agricultural labourers and are engaged in bonded labour.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Salahudheen|first1=O.P.|last2=Salahuddin|first2=O.P.|title=Chakkliyas of Mannarkkad: A History from Below |date=2010|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147597|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=71|pages=1279–1286|jstor=44147597 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref>

== Current status ==
The vast majority of the community, almost 18.27 lakhs, live in Tamil Nadu, with small minorities in neighbouring states. Small populations live in the Palakkad district of Kerala (40,507), and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh (30,190) and Karnataka (2,959). 62% of the community lived in rural areas, and the literacy rate is 60%.

Many Arunthathiyars in northern Tamil Nadu work as landless agricultural labourers for Naidu landlords, and their women work as domestic help in their houses. Some girls from the community are dedicated to the Mathamma cult, a local village deity tradition.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=S|first=ANANDHI|date=2013|title=The Mathammas: Gender, Caste and the Politics of Intersectionality in Rural Tamil Nadu|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23527310|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=48|issue=18|pages=64–71|jstor=23527310 |issn=0012-9976}}</ref>

== Notable people ==
* [[Madurai Veeran]] - King and commander-in-chief (Thirumalai Nayakkar Period)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/article183989.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310073840/http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/article183989.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2014 |title=The story of Madurai Veeran |first=Gokul |last=Vannar |date=18 July 2010 |work=New Indian Express |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref>
* [[Ondiveeran]] - King and commander of an army who fought against the [[British East India Company]] in [[Tamil Nadu]]
* Veeramangai [[Kuyili]] - Kuyili was an army commander of queen Velu Nachiyar. She is considered the first suicide bomber in Indian history
* [[Rao Sahib L.C. Gurusamy]] - Member of the round table conference team led by [[B. R. Ambedkar]]; founder of Arunthathiyar Mahajana Saba. Member of the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]], social activist and politician.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Dalit communities]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Tamil Nadu]]

Arunthathiyar - Revision history

WillisHeiman326 at 21:25, 7 March 2026