Chettiar

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Chettiar
Total population
14% population of Tamil Nadu[1]
Regions with significant populations
Sivagangai, Salem, Pudukkottai, Theni, Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Thiruppur, Trichy,Vellore, Thanjavur,Nagapattinam, Karur, Namakkal, Dindigul Districts, Aruppukkottai, Paramakudi
Languages
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
Religion
Hinduism

Chettiar or Chetty, is a title used by various mercantile castes in South India especially in Tamil Nadu state. In Tamil Nadu, 14% of the population is Chettiar.[2]

History

The Chettiar claim a legendary relationship with the Hindu god Murugan (also called Subramaniam).[3] Legend has it that when Murugan married Valli, who was from a tribal group in Tamil Nadu, her society were henceforth called Chettiyars in order to restore Valli's status as a god's consort.[citation needed]

Social status

Chettiar communities claim the Vaishya (merchant) varna within Hindu society.[4] The Nattukottai Chettiar are elite bankers.[5]The Chettiars are considered to be among the pioneers of organised banking in the country. They are also credited with introducing the concept of double entry bookkeeping, 'Pattru Varavu' in Tamil, commonly known as debit and credit.This community from the south of Tamil Nadu has left a silent signature on everything from manufacturing to banking, fertiliser and films.[6]

Notable people from Chettiar Community

Notable Persons from Chettiar Community in Tamil Nadu

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Featured Articles from The Economic Times". The Times Of India. 
  2. ↑ "Tamil Nadu: Caste factor continues to play make-or-break role in politics". The Times Of India. 2 April 2011. 
  3. ↑ Pg 23 - the word chetty in Tamil refers to Lord Muruga
  4. ↑ . Some of the artisan and trading castes, such as the various groups of Chettiars and the Kammalars, claimed to be Vaishyas, wore the sacred thread, and regarded themselves as of higher rank than the Sudras. In most cases, however, their claim was not accepted by the higher-ranking Sudra castes... who, although Sudra, had occupied positions of authority...
  5. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=tDN0MinxMigC&pg=PT423&dq=chettiar+vaishya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Pu3NUeMv9sXgA7nqgGg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAw
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayapuram_Singaravelu_Chettiar
  8. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._A._Ramalingam_Chettiar
  9. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Avinashilingam_Chettiar
  10. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alagappa_Chettiar
  11. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karumuttu_Thiagarajan_Chettiar
  12. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Rm._M._Annamalai_Chettiar
  13. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._A._Muthiah_Chettiar
  14. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._A._Chidambaram
  15. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.V._Subbiah
  16. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Vellayan
  17. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avichi_Meiyappa_Chettiar
  18. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannadasan
  19. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._P._Muthuraman
  20. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalli_Kuppuswami_Chetti
  21. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirkazhi_Govindarajan

Further reading

  • Christine Dobson, Asian Entrepreneurial Minorities, Curzon Press UK, 1996. (A chapter in the book is devoted to the Chettiars who set up businesses in Burma.)
  • Rajeswary Brown (1993) "Chettiar capital and Southeast Asian credit networks in the inter-war period". In G. Austin and K. Sugihara, eds. Local Suppliers of Credit in the Third World, 1750-1960. (New York: St. Martin's Press).
  • Kudaisya, Medha M. (2009). "Marwari and Chettiar Merchants. 1850s-1950s: Comparative Trajectories". In Kudaisya, Medha M.; Ng, Chin-Keong. Chinese and Indian Business: Historical Antecedents. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9789004172791. 
  • David Rudner (1989) Banker's Trust and the Culture of Banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of Colonial South India. Modern Asian Studies 23 (3), 417-458.
  • Heiko Schrader (1996) Chettiar Finance in Colonial Asia. Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie 121, 101-126.

External links

See also

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