Where did the term pariah come from?
The word pariah—originally derived from Tamil paṛaiyar, “drummer”—once referred to the Paraiyan, a Tamil caste group of labourers and village servants of low status, but the meaning was extended to embrace many groups outside the so-called clean caste groups, with widely varying degrees of status.
Who invented caste system in Tamil Nadu?
According to the racial theory, caste system was the outcome of the practice of Aryan race. 41 The political theory explains that the caste institution was invented by the Brahmins to maintain their superior position.
Who are Adi Dravidians?
Adi Dravida (or Adi Dravidar) is a term that has been used since 1914 by the state of Tamil Nadu in India to denote Paraiyars. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, they made up about half of Tamil Nadu’s Scheduled Caste population.
Is a Dalit a pariah?
Once known as “Pariahs,” Dalits are primarily descendants of unfree agrarian laborers. They belong to India’s most subordinated castes, face overwhelming poverty and discrimination, and provoke public anxiety.
Who are the ancestors of Tamil?
The Indian Tamils (or Hill Country Tamils) are descendants of bonded laborers who migrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th century to work on tea plantations. There also exists a significant Muslim population in Sri Lanka who are speakers of the Tamil language.
Where did the Dravidians come from?
The Dravidian speakers originated in Africa, in modern day Sudan [11-12]. They expanded into Iran, on into the Indus Valley, across Central Asia into the Tarim Basin and China [8-10].
Which is the first caste in Tamil Nadu?
| Paraiyar | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Scheduled Caste |
| Religions | Hinduism (Shaivism), Christianity, Buddhism, Islam |
| Languages | Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada |
| Country | India, Sri Lanka |
Is pariah politically correct?
The word is used by others in a derogatory and insulting manner not unlike the ‘N’ word in your country.” In an attempt to be alliterative, the magazine had unthinkingly deployed a term loaded with casteist prejudice. In its broadest sense, the term indicates an outcast.
Who is No 1 caste In Tamil Nadu?
The top three castes by numbers in Tamil Nadu are Thevar (also known as Mukkulaththor), Vanniar and Kongu Vellalar (also known as Gounder). As is natural, they wield most of the political power in the state.
Where did Tamilians come from?
The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. The oldest Tamil communities are those of southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka.
What is the opinion of Ambedkar on caste?
Ambedkar saw the caste system as an unequal mode of organization of social relations, with the pure and the impure at either extreme. He argued that this system was sanctified through religious codes that forbade intermixture of castes and confined social interaction to a regulated structure.
How did the Paraiyars get their name?
Robert Caldwell and several other writers derive the name of the community from the Tamil word parai (“drum”). According to this hypothesis, the Paraiyars were originally a community of drummers who performed during flood time, war, auspicious events like festivals, weddings and also funerals.
What does Parayar stand for?
Paraiyar, or Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree), is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Sri Lanka.
What is the origin of the name Paraiyan?
Hart believes that one of the drums called kiṇai in the literature later came to be called paṟai and the people that played the drum were paraiyar (plural of paraiyan ). Paraiyar as a word referring to an occupational group first appears in the second century CE writings of Mangudi Kilar.
What is the origin of the Tamil word Parayar?
Paraiyar or Parayar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree) is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and Sri Lanka. The Adi Dravida (“Ancient Dravidians”) are an unrelated caste which didn’t have connotations of lawlessness in British and European chroniclers. The word Pariah may be the origin of this word.