Nadar (caste)

Nadar Community

K. Kamaraj, W. P. A. Soundarapandian Nadar, A. R. Murugadoss, Harris Jayaraj, C. Sylendra Babu, H. S. S. Lawrence, Ma. Po. Si..
Total population
7,967,520(app)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Thanjavur, Chennai, Kaniyakumari, Trivandrum, Kollam
Languages
Tamil, Malayalam
Religion
Hinduism, Christianity, Ayyavazhi
Related ethnic groups
Tamil people

Nadar (Tamil: நாடார், Malayalam: നാടാര്) (also referred as Nadan,Shanar,Gramani ) is one of the prominent castes of Tamil Nadu, South India. The term, Nadar, in Tamil literally means one who rules the land.^[2] The Nadars are also commonly called as Annachi (meaning elder brother). Nadars are an entrepreneurial south Indian caste^[3] and constitute 12% of Tamil Nadu's population.^[1] It is classified and listed as a Backward caste by the Government of Tamil Nadu and India.^[4][5] The Nadar community was not a singular caste, but an assortment of sub-castes and classes of different origins, which in course of time, came under the single banner Nadar.^[6] Nadar climber (or palmrya climber) was the largest subsect of today’s Nadar community.^[7] A few sub sects of the Nadar community were traditionally wealthy landlords and money lenders. Nadars are predominant in the southern districts of Tuticorin, Kaniyakumari, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar.^[8]

Historically, majority of the Nadars were humble cultivators of palmyra trees and jaggery and a few were also involved in toddy trade. The small endogamanous group of aristocratic Nadars called Nelamaikkarars who live south of Thamirabarani River had served as tax collecters under the Nayak and Pandya rulers. Some Nadar climbers, who lived mostly as minorities, in a few localities had even faced discrimination. The martial art Southern kalaripayattu was historically practiced by the Nadars.^[9]

In post independent India, the Nadars have made significant strides through their emphasis on education and entrepreneurship. The socio-economical upliftment of Nadars in southern India has elicited international academic interest and appreciation.^[10][11][12] Shiv Nadar,^[13] a billionaire businessman, ranked as 15th richest man in India by Forbe's magazine in 2009 is one of the examples of successful Nadar entrepreneurs.^[14] The Nadars today are a powerful community.^[15] They are financially very strong and are also politically influential in the Southern districts of Tamil Nadu.^[16]

Etymology

The community was previously known as Shanars,^[17] legally changed their name to Nadars in 1921.^[18] The title Nadar is believed to be derived from the Nelamaikkarars, the aristocrats and highest of the old Shanar community. The title Nadar was exclusively used by the Nelamaikkarars. Nadars claim that the original name of the community was Shantror or Shandrar (which means noble one) which, in course of time, was corrupted to Shanar. Channar , a similar title used by the Ezhava community of Kerala, means headman in Kerala.^[19][20] However, there are very little evidences to support the above claims.^[7][21]

History

The origin of Nadars as a social group is unknown. However Hardgrave states that the Teri palmrya forests around today’s Tiruchendur must have been the origin of the Nadars.^[21] The renowned Nadar historian,Samuel Sarugunar, claimed that the Nadars are the descendants of the ancient rulers of Cheran, Cholan and Pandyan kingdoms and that when Nayak rulers captured the Pandya country, they divided the country into several Palayams(divisions) and appointed Palaiyakkars as rulers. The Nayaks rulers of Tamil Nadu ,as per the claims of Sargunar, imposed Deshaprashtam (ostracism) on the ancient Pandyas (Nadars),to ensure that their rise wouldn't ever happen.^{[2][7][19][22][23]} These claims are ,however, not baseless. The traditions followed by the Nelamaikkarars and the existence of the ruins beneath the Teri palmrya forests of Tiruchendur and ancient Pandyan capital city of Korkai, where the Nadar population is predominant, suggest they could very well be the heirs of the Early Pandyas.^[24][25] The two inscriptions at Kalladaikurichi suggest that in medieval times the Nadars served as administrators and accountants both in Chera and Pandya countries.^[22][23] However, there is little evidence to suggest that the Nadars could also be the descendants of the later Pandya rulers, as per the Nadars' claim.^[25] The identity or caste of the Pandyan kings remains a mystery.^[26] This belief, that the Nadars had been the kings of Tamil Nadu, became the dogma of the Nadar community in the 19thcentury.^[24]

Nadars of the 19th century

See also: Nadan (Nadar subcaste) and Nadar climber

The Nadars were a community mostly engaged in the palmyra industry, including the production of toddy, in the early 19th century. A few subsects of the Nadar community were traditionally wealthy landlords and money lenders.^[27][28] During the 19th century, majority of the Nadars lived south of the Thamirabarani River(or South of Tirunelveli). Nadars living in the south of Thamirabarani River till the tip of Cape Comorin, constituted 80 to 90% of the population and had various living conditions.^[29] While majority of the Nadar population, of southern Tirunelveli, consisted of landless,poor laborers(Nadar climbers), a small endogamous group of aristocratic Nadars called Nelamaikkarars or Nadans owned vast tracts of land. Historical records and accounts indicate they possibly worked as tax collectors under the Pandyas. These Nadans or lords of the land either held their position directly under Nayak ruler in the region of Tiruchendur or as petty lords under the poligars. They commanded high respect in these regions from the rest of the population. Nadar climbers, the minority Vellalars and Brahmins showed deference to these Nadans. Nadan men rode horses and their women rode in covered palanquins.^[30] The position held by these Nadans was unchallenged by their dependent climbers. In these regions the Nadars were the most dominant caste and their interaction with other communities was minimal. However these Nadars were separated by various endogamous subcastes and lacked integrity.^[31]

Nadar climbers also populated other regions of Tamil Nadu where a few palmyra trees grew. In areas of Tamil Nadu where the Nadar climber population was not more than a few families in a village, they faced descrimination from the majority caste.^[32] Due to their association with toddy, the Nadars were considered lower than other middle castes, but relatively higher than the low castes, and were also prohibited to enter temples built by castes above them in the caste system.^[33] Even though associated with toddy, the Nadars abstinently avoided to consume it as the most punctilious Brahmins.^[34] The Nadars were schismatic about their position in the caste hierarchy and firmly claimed that they were wrongly placed in the caste system due to the Nayak invasion. They were also very caste conscious.^[35]

Nadars of Travancore

See also: Upper cloth controversy

Presumably the Nadars of Southern Travancore migrated to Travancore from Tirunelveli in the 16th century after the invasion of Tirunelveli by the Raja of Travancore. Like their Tirunelveli counterparts, the Nadars of Travancore were mostly palmrya climbers. However a significant number of Nadars in Travancore were subtenants to Nair landlords or Vellalar landlords. These Nadar tenants called themselves Nadans and a score of these Nadans also directly had control over the lands. The Nadans enjoyed special privileges under the Raja and claimed that they were superior to the climbers.^[36] The climbers of Travancore fared a little better than their Tirunelveli counterparts, but, however, suffered severe social disabilities ,unlike their Tirunelveli counterparts, under the rigid caste hierarchy of Travancore. As Swami Vivekananda stated, Kerala was like a mad asylum of castes. The Nadar climber women were not allowed to cover their bosoms, as most of the non- Brahmin women of Kerala, to punctuate their low status. However the aristocratic Nadan women, their counterparts, had the rights to cover their bosom. Uneasy with their social status, a large number of Nadar climbers embraced Christianity and became upwardly mobile.

Though they improved their status with the aid of Christian missionaries, the outcome of the conversion was not according to the point of view of the missionaries. The Christian Nadar climber women, along with the Hindu Nadar climber women, wore the upper jacket in the manner of upper class women and also their Tamil counterparts, inorder to improve their social status. In turn they were discriminated and even abused by upper class men. One of the Nadan families of Agastheeswaram, instead of supporting their depressed counterparts, supported the upper class men and claimed that only their women had the right to wear an upper cloth. However after a brutal struggle (Upper cloth revolt) with the powerful authorities of Travancore and also with the aid of the British Christian Missionaries and Vaikunta Swamy, the depressed Nadar climber women won themselves the right to wear their upper cloth, as their Nadan counterparts.^[37][38]

Northern Nadars

See also: Sivakasi riots of 1899

Some petty Nadar traders migrated from southern Tirunelveli to northern Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar and began to settle down in these regions. In course of time, these Nadars became commercially skilled and therefore became upwardly mobile in the late 19th century. Mercantilism played crucial roles in facilitating their upward mobility. Part of this change in the Nadar community resulted in some of them converting to Christianity , both Catholicism and Protestantism. However, a majority of almost 90% remained Hindus.^[39] The British rule then in the southern districts introduced new frontiers of trade and commerce.The Nadars took this opportunity and made it their greatest advantage. They established sophisticated pettais (fortified compounds) and Urvinmurais (Local Nadar association) to ensure safety for their goods. The member of Uravinmurai, the muraikkarar, would contribute a portion of his income to the association as common good funds or mahimai (means to glorify oneself), in order to use the facilities of the pettais and to improve the association as well.^[32] As the wealth of the Northern Nadars increased, they gradually began to adopt the customs of the North Indian Kshtriyas in order to improve their social status as well. This process is known as Sanskritisation. Many tried to disassociate themselves from their Nadar climber counterparts and the term Shanar(the term generally used to call a Tamil palmrya climber). The title ‘Nadan’ , a title which was before only used by the aristocratic Nelamaikkarars, was universally adopted by the Northern Nadars.

To punctuate their wealthy and powerful position in the society, the Nadars of Sivakasi even hired Maravars as their palanquin bearers.^[40] The upward mobility and kshatriya pretensions of the Nadars of Six towns of Ramanad caused resentment among, castes above them, the Vellalars and especially the Maravars, the military caste just above the Nadars.^[41] As a result, a series of conflicts, such as the Sivakasi riots of 1899, happened between the Nadars and the Maravars. However, the Sankritisation movement was a failure initially and the Nadar climbers, who lived as minorities, were still discriminated by the majority castes.^[42] However these confrontations aided the community to protest for the required rights and privileges, with integrity, and also test how much other communities were willing to buy the claims of the Nadars' high status. The Northern Nadar leaders then sought to unite their community by encouraging intermarriages within the five major Nadar subcastes and also uplift the depressed palmrya Nadar climbers. They also sought to maintain amiable relationships with other communities. This led to the formation of the Nadar Mahajana sagham in 1910.

Nadars of the 20th century

Rao Bahadur T. Rattinasami Nadar, founder of the Nadar Mahajana Sagham

Formation of the Nadar Mahajana Sagham

The local Nadar associations of the six towns was not adequate enough to back up the widely spread Nadars. Many Nadars began to migrate to other parts of Madras Presidency. This situation demanded a new Nadar association which would support the Nadars faraway from the six towns of Ramanad. This expansion,however, would not be possible until the rise of Rao Bahadur T.Rattinasami Nadar, a wealthy Nadar of Poraiyar, Thanjavur district. He was politically ambitious and sought to become a member of the legislative assembly , representing the Nadar community.^[43] As there was no organization to represent the whole Nadar community, Rattinasami Nadar invited prominent leaders of the Nadar community for a plenary session in February 1910. Rattinasami Nadar's uncle, V. Ponnusami Nadar, was elected to become the first president of the association, Nadar Mahajana Sangam. The association was open to any Nadar male of any subcaste or religion. The general purpose of the association was to uplift the entire Nadar community. The conferences initially held were dominated by the Northern Nadars.^[44][45]

Against toddy

The campaign against toddy was one of the first steps taken by the Nadar Mahajana Sagham to enhance the social advancement of the entire Nadar community. Though majority of the Nadar climbers were engaged in the production of jaggery, a significant number of Nadar climbers were also involved in the production of toddy. The Sagham urged the Nadar climbers to abandon their traditional occupation of toddy tapping and not to sell hard toddy. However many Nadar climbers were reluctant to give up their profitable occupation. The situation got out of hand when Nadar leaders tried to intimidate the climbers, by using tenets of their cult, to give up their occupation as toddy tappers. To ease the situation the district magistrate issued a proclamation restricting the climbers to sell hard toddy only in specific regions, where toddy can be legally drawn. However the Sagham's campaign was effective for only about a year.^[46]

Prohibition of toddy act

The Sagham then in order to aid the depressed climbers, sought to abolish the tax levied on palmrya trees. After the establishment of the Prohibition(of toddy) act in the Northern districts of Madras Presidency, the Nadar Mahajana Sagham along with its sister association,Dakshina Mara Nadar Sagham of Tirunelveli, sought to remove it to aid the depressed climbers. The British advisor government in turn suspended the act. However, the prohibition act was reintroduced after the independence. Under the rules of the act, the climbers could only tap between 4 am to 2pm and sell sweet toddy between 6am and 2pm. These procedures can also only be practiced by climbers who have license. The rigid government rules pressurized the depressed climbers. The two prominent Nadars saghams constantly pressurized the government and eventually the enforcement of these regulations gradually eased. By mid 1950's, the government assigned cooperative societies to promote jaggery production.^[47]

Nadar educational institutions

The Nadar community did not completely rely on the Backward Class Commission for educational advancement. The Nadars realized the importantance of education ,perhaps, more than any other community. In 1885, the Northern Nadars established the Kshatriya Vidhyasala High School in Virudhunagar by using the mahimai funds from the Nadar uravinmurai. Education was also the primary concern of the Nadar Mahajana Sagham ever since its inception. In 1921, the Sagham began to provide scholarship loans to the needy students of the community. By 1964, loans were offered to more than 3000 students. These loans were awarded to qualified Nadar students and were supposed to be repaid. Some students were also assisted to study abroad. The Sagham also aided villages, faraway from educational institutions, to establish their own schools. These expenses represented the largest expenditure of the Nadar Mahajana Sagham. The Nadar bank along with other cooperative societies gave 5 percent of their profit to the scholarship fund. The Nadar Mahajana Sagham also established a college, Senthilkumara Nadar College, in 1947.^[48]

Resolution to inter-caste conflicts

In villages where the Nadar climbers numbered very few, they were oppressed by the majority caste of the region. The Nadar Mahajana Sagham backed these oppressed Nadars with the strength and influence of the larger community. The oppressed Nadars could ask the Sagham to intervene into issues which involves members of other communities. In turn the Sagham would investigate the issue and confirm that it is true. Then ,if necessary, the Sagham would ask the police to intervene or take the issue to the court. The Sagham however would not back the oppressed Nadar claimant financially to contest the case, but would rather see that Nadars' case is properly heard by the court. After the independence, the Sagham was very well aware of the secular caste less society and used its advantages. The Sagham also cooperated with the government to establish a caste less society and urged the Nadars to allow other communities to use their schools, tanks, temples and wells. Even the name of the Nadar bank was changed to Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank. These activities earned the Nadar community respect and recognition.^[49][50]

Most of the shops in Ranganathan Street, Tamil Nadu's premier high street, are owned by the Nadars.^[15]

Politics

In the 1920s and 1930s, Nadar Mahajan Sangam supported the non-Brahmin movement and Justice party.^[51] W. P. A. Soundrapandian Nadar as the president of Nadar Mahajana Sangam led the effort to ally the community with Periyar E. V. Ramasamy's Self-respect movement. The Nadars joined the Justice party in its attack against Brahmins on cultural and religious front.^[52][53] Nadars also practiced self-respect marriages during the non-Brahmin movement.^[54] The Northern Nadars would continue to give their support to the justice party until the rise of Kamaraj Nadar. The Nadar freedom fighter, Kamaraj, was even stoned by the Nadars , when he tried to speak on behalf of the Congress in Kamudi, and branded as a traitor of the Nadar community for supporting the Congress.

However, in the late 1940s the Nadars' support shifted to Indian National Congress. Though Kamaraj was detested by his own community initially, his political success gradually changed the Nadars' support to Congress.^[55] Kamaraj went on to become the Indian National Congress president ,from 1964 to 1967, and Chief Minister of Madras state ,from 1954 to 1963. After the end of Kamaraj's era, the Nadars' political support have become diffused across various parties and the Nadar Sangam has become less politicized.^[51][56]

Success in Business

Nadars' success in business played a pivotal role in the community's rise. Nadar grocery stores can be found today in almost every corner of Tamil Nadu. The Nadars' success in business is mainly due to their frugality and strong determination to rise. Many Nadar businessman can reveal their rise from poverty. It is difficult to determine the wealth of a Nadar merchant for a very wealthy Nadar may sit simply in his tiny shop.^[55]

Nadars today

Saravana Bhavan in New Jersey, United States, International chain restaurant founded by Nadar businessman

Further information: List of Nadars

The social and economical development achieved by Nadars in Independent India have evoked academic interest and appreciation across the world.^[10] The Nadar caste entered many professions in the 20th century, from "high-tech entreprenuer" to owner of a large dairy company.^[10] Nadar businessmen and Professor Varshney all pointed to educational opportunities that allowed Nadars to enter high-class professions.^[10] The Nadars, who were once not allowed to enter Hindu temples built by castes above them, now occupy respected positions as Trustees in many Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu.^[12][57] The Nadars today are a powerful community.^[15] They are financially very strong and are also politically influential in the Southern Tirunelveli regions of Nanguneri, Srivaikuntam, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin and Kaniyakumari. There is a Nadar in almost every political party. The community also has influential Tamil media houses like Dina Thanthi in its fold.^[16]

Crawford Young, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in his book The politics of cultural pluralism writes,

Today, the Nadars are recognized as an "advanced" community - a status reversal accomplished over the past century through caste horizontal mobilization of caste solidarity, challenge to servile traditional ascription through ritual transformations, effective utilization of modern opportunity through education and commerce, and skilful communal exploitation of the political arena.^[58]

Subcastes

The legend of the origin of the Nadars tell of the birth of seven sons; with the death of two, the remaining five father the separate divisions of the community. There were five major divisions among the Nadars.^[59]

Karukkupattaiyathar

Palmrya climber in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu

They are supposed to be the original inhabitants of the country around Manadu. This is sub-division was later known as Mara Nadar. They claim to be the descendants of the Pandyans. It is the largest of the five subcastes and constitutes about 80 percent of the entire community,including the aristocratic Nelamaikkarars as well as the climbers beneath them. The Nelamaikarrars and the Nadar climbers beneath them are two endogamanous groups, forming sub-subcastes each marrying only among themselves. The Nelamaikkarars were the highest of the five Nadar subcastes.

Mel-nattar

The term mel-nattar comes from Mel-nadu(western country). Mel-Nattars lived traditionally in Southern Travancore and Western Tirunelveli districts. The Nadars claim that after the fall of the Chera dynasty, the descendants of the Chera kings,the Mel-Nattars, settled down in the Western Ghats of the Pandya country. They can be found today concentrated in Ambasamudram, Sankarankoil, Srivaikuntam, Nanguneri and a few can also be found in Tenkasi.

Tiruvarudi Vaihunda Nadan, the last Zamindar of Nattathi.

Nattathi

They are predominant in the village of Nattathi near Sawyerpuram, Tuticorin district. They are traditionally cultivators, traders and money lenders. Legendary accounts claim that the Nattathis are descendants born of the Pandyas and Cholas. The community is today predominantly Christian and remains a endogamanous unit. The overlord of Nattathi was a retainer of the Kattabomma Nayaka. The Nattathi overlord was invested with Zamindari rights under the British. The last of the Nattathi zamindars, Tiruvarudi Vaihunda Nadan, died in 1892. The properties of the Zamindar were eventually divided among a number of claimants.

Kodikal

They are found in Ambasamudram and Tenkasi taluqs and traditionally palmrya climbers. They are supposed to have migrated to the Pandyan country from the banks of the Cauvery River in Tanjore to serve the Pandyan kings as their flag bearers.

Kalla

The Kalla shanars were considered as the lowest division of the Nadar community. They are also known as Servai(not Kallar).The term kalla means ‘false’. Originally believed to have been palanquin bearers of the Pandyan kings or as menial slaves of the Nelamaikkarar family. They are traditionally toddy tappers. They are believed to be the descendants of the illegal unions within the Nadar community.^[59]

The subsect culture is not present today among the Nadars north of Tirunelveli. However the subsect culture still exists among the Nadars of southern Tirunelveli. The Karkuppatayathars, the endogamaous Nelamaikkarars and the Nadar climbers beneath them, are today known as A group or Mara Nadar and the remaining four sub castes are known as B group.^[60][61]

Christian Nadars

In 1680, the first congregation of Nadars was started at Vaddakankulam with the conversion of Nadar women and a church was built accordingly in 1685. A permanent mission was established in 1701. Some Nadars accepted Christianity through will and some accepted it due to their aversion to local beliefs.^[62][63] In 1970, Christian Nadars numbered 150,000 as opposed to 1.5 to 2 millions of Hindu Nadars in Madras state.^[64] Nadar Christians, like Hindus, marry within their caste.^[65]

Orthodox Hindu religious customs

The Nadars, like other Tamil castes, perform a number of rituals and ceremonies according to their customs. Birth ceremony, initiation ceremony, marriage ceremonies and death ceremonies are the most important of all the ceremonies. Every Hindu Nadar belongs to a kuttam(assemblage) through patrilineal descent. The people of the same kuttam share a common family deity. During migration, families would often take soil from their family temple, in their native place, and enshrine it in the place of their new home. Traditionally, all the members of a kuttam would assemble at least once a year at the family temple. With the birth of a child, the family would traditionally go to the family deity temple, where the hair of the child is shaved for the first time and offered to the deity. At the time of marriage the first invitation is presented to the family deity. The Hindu Nadars are almost entirely Saivite (only one kuttam is Vaishnavite). Of the deities, Murugan has been widely popular among the Nadars. Goddess Bhadrakali is the tutelary deity of the Nadar community. The Nadars also claim that they are the descendants of Bhadrakali. A Bhadrakali temple is usually at the centre of almost every Nadar settlement.^[66]

The socio-religious movement of Ayyavazhi was pioneered and patronized by the Nadar community^[67]

Kalaripayattu/Varma Kalai/Marma Ati

See also: Southern kalaripayattu

Marma Ati/Varma Kalai was a great warfare practised by the Nadars to defeat/kill the enemy without any external injuries. The art was practiced exclusively by the Nadars of Tamil Nadu and by the Nairs and Ezhavas of Kerala.^[9][68][69]

Genetic study

Recent genetic studies on the antigenic variations among south Indian populations suggest Nadars share several genotypic characters with East Asian populations, consistent with the demographic history of South India, and also revealed that there are several genetic markers unique to the Nadars, which are rare or absent in other populations of India and the world. The study suggested a distinct evolutionary lineage with lesser admixture in the gene pool among groups of Tamil Nadu. The gene pool of nadars show more similarity to the East Asian populations. The study reveals that a relatively lesser degree of genetic admixture occurred between the South Indian and North Indian racial groups than that between South Indian and East Asian groups.^[70] Also the presence of shared HLA genome between the Nadars and Fulani people indicates that a genetic relationship may have existed between them. This finding supported also the linguistic and archaeological evidence.^[71]

Notable people

Further information: List of Nadars

See also

• Pandyan Kingdom
• Nadan
• Tamilnad Mercantile Bank
• Korkai

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nadar vote bank remains divided". Business Standard. 17 March 2004. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/nadar-vote-bank-remains-divided/147228/. Retrieved 24 December 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Unique in its own way". The Hindu. 4 August 2007. http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/08/04/stories/2007080450090400.htm. Retrieved 24 December 2010. 
3. ^ Barbara Harriss-White (2003). India working: essays on society and economy. Cambridge University Press. pp. xvii. ISBN 0-521-80979-7. 
4. ^ "List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu". Government of Tamil Nadu. http://www.tn.gov.in/bcmbcmw/bclist.htm. Retrieved 26 December 2010. 
5. ^ "Central list of other backward classes". Government of India. http://ncbc.nic.in/backward-classes/kerala.html. Retrieved 26 December 2010. 
6. ^ [1] Gazetteers of India Tamil Nadu state: Thoothukudi district by Sinnakani: Copyrighted by the Government of Tamil Nadu, Commissioner of archives and Historical Research Page 233-242
7. ^ ^{a b c} Sinnakani. Tamil Nadu State:Thoothukudi District, Volume 1. Government of Tamil Nadu, Commissioner of archives and Historical Research. pp. 233–242. 
8. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 269–270
9. ^ ^{a b} Thomas A. Green (2001). Martial arts of the world: en encyclopedia. A - Q, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO, Inc.. pp. 177. ISBN 1-57607-556-7. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} *Polgreen, Lydia (September 10, 2010). "New Business Class Rises in Ashes of South India's Caste System". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/world/asia/11caste.html?pagewanted=1&hp. Retrieved September 14, 2010. 
11. ^ Robert Hardgrave. The Nadars of Tamil Nadu. University of California Press. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Dennis Templeman (December 19, 1996). The Northern Nadars of Tamil Nadu: An Indian Caste in the Process of Change. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0195637885. 
13. ^ Harish Damodharan (16 September 2008). India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 191. ISBN 978-0230205079. 
14. ^ "Forbes India's richest". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/77/india-billionaires-09_Shiv-Nadar_0RUU.html. Retrieved 24 December 2010. 
15. ^ ^{a b c} *N.S. Ramnath (03 July, 2009). "A bank controlled by Tamil Nadu’s close-knit, powerful Nadar community". Forbes India Magazine. http://business.in.com/printcontent/1532. Retrieved 03 July, 2009. 
16. ^ ^{a b} *Sanchita Das (March, 17 2004). "Nadar vote bank remains divided". Business Standard. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/nadar-vote-bank-remains-divided/147228/%7D. Retrieved March, 17 2004. 
17. ^ Henriette Bugge (1994). Mission and Tamil Society: Social and Religious Change in South India (1840-1900). Curzon Press Ltd. pp. 86. ISBN 0-7007-0292-X. 
18. ^ Richard G. Fox (Jan, 1970). "Avatars of Indian Research". Comparative Studies in Society and History 12(1): 70. JSTOR 178151. 
19. ^ ^{a b} Hardgrave 1970, pp. 20
20. ^ M.S.A.Rao (1979). Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes. Macmillan. pp. 23. http://books.google.com/books?id=tZAiAAAAMAAJ&q=Social+Movements+and+Social+Transformation+A+Study+of+Two+Backward+Classes+M.S.A.Rao,+Macmillan,+1979&dq=Social+Movements+and+Social+Transformation+A+Study+of+Two+Backward+Classes+M.S.A.Rao,+Macmillan,+1979. 
21. ^ ^{a b} Hardgrave 1970, pp. 80–90
22. ^ ^{a b} History of Tamil Nadu, 1565-1982 Page 277 By K. Rajayyan
23. ^ ^{a b} [2] Deccan Chronicle March 1st 2007
24. ^ ^{a b} Hardgrave 1970, pp. 87
25. ^ ^{a b} Rajni Kothari (1995). Caste in Indian Politics. Orient Longman. pp. 103–104. 
26. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 14
27. ^ Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr.(1969) The Nadars of Tamilnad
28. ^ Bishop Stephen Neill: from Edinburgh to South India By Dyron B. Daughrity
29. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 25
30. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 29
31. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 42
32. ^ ^{a b} Hardgrave 1970, pp. 24
33. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 22–23
34. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 39–41
35. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 44&71–72
36. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 56&52
37. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 55–70
38. ^ Jamie S. Scott, Gareth Griffiths (2005). Mixed messages: materiality, textuality, missions. Plagrave Macmillan. pp. 75. ISBN 0-312-29576-6. 
39. ^ Clothey, Fred W. (2006). Ritualizing on the boundaries: continuity and innovation in the Tamil diaspora. University of South Carolina press. pp. 88–90. ISBN 9781570036477. OCLC 255232421. http://books.google.com/books?id=uRxAOJWnyEwC&lpg=PA89&dq=Sivakasi%20riots%2C%201899&pg=PA89#v=onepage&q=Sivakasi%20riots,%201899&f=false. Retrieved 2009-11-08. 
40. ^ Hardgrave 1970, pp. 105–109
41. ^ Mandelbaum 1970, pp. 511
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References

• Hardgrave, Robert (1969). The Nadars of Tamilnad. University of California Press. ISBN 81-7304-701-4. 
• Templeman, Dennis (1996). The Northern Nadars of Tamil Nadu: An Indian Caste in the Process of Change. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0195637887. 
• Mandelbaum, David Goodman (1970). Society in India, Volumes 1-2. University of California Press. ISBN , ISBN. 
• M., Immanuel (2002). The Dravidian Lineages: The Nadars Through the Ages. A Socio-Historical Study. From Indus Valley Civilization to present time. 137/H-4 Bethel Nagar, Nagercoil-629004, Tamil Nadu, India: Historical Research & Publications Trust. ISBN , ISBN.