24 Manai Telugu Chettiars

24 Manai Telugu Chettiars is an Indian caste.

Origins

24 Manai Telegu Chettiars community is believed to have originated from the trader communities who descended from Vijayanagar Kingdom and settled around Madurai(1530-1781 CE) and Thanjavur (1530-1674 CE).

Thanjavur was the heart of the Chola dynasty (from the 9th century to the 13th), but in the second quarter of the sixteenth century a Telugu Nayak viceroy (Raghunatha Nayaka) was appointed by the emperor of Vijayanagar, thus establishing a court whose language was Telugu. Telugu Nayak rulers acted as the governors in the present day Tamil Nadu area with headquarters at Madurai(1530-1781 CE) and Thanjavur (1530-1674 CE).

After the collapse of Vijayanagar, Thanjavur and Madurai Nayaks became independent and ruled for the next 150 years until they were replaced by Marathas. This was the period when several Telugu families migrated from Andhra Pradesh and settled down in Thanjavur and Madurai.

The 24 Manai Telugu Cettiar community is called so because it consists of 24 Manai's or houses (similar to a gothra). These 24 houses are divided into 16 "Male" houses and 8 "Female" houses. According to tradition, people should only marry a person from opposite group (i.e., a person belonging to one of the 16 "male" houses should only marry a person belonging to one of th 8 "female" houses. This is not always followed now, though marrying within same house is a strict no-no. The community is classified under OBC (Other Backward Community) in Tamil Nadu. Telugupatty Chetty, is classified as MBC (Most Backward Community). In Karnataka, Sadhu Chetty is Classified as MBC. There are few groups of people who moved to Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Prominent people

V.A.Vasudevarju IAS served in various capacities in the Pondicherry government.K.C.Palanissamy Member of Parliament and Industrialist from Karur.Pollachi V. Jayaraman, Former Minister (of Tamil Nadu state government) and presently Member of Legislative Assembly (of Tamil Nadu state), representing Pollachi assembly constituencyLate Shri. Musiripputhan, who served as MLA few times and headed the worldwide MGR fans association

ee also

*Udumalai Narayana Kavi

External links

* [http://www.24manai.com 24manai.com]