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	{{Not to be confused with\|Vanniar (Chieftain)}}		{{Not to be confused with\|Vanniar (Chieftain)}}

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	[[File:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6 - Image 1.jpg\|thumb\|Vanniyars celebrating Pongal, 1909]]		[[File:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6 - Image 1.jpg\|thumb\|Vanniyars celebrating Pongal, 1909]]

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{{short description|Hindu agrarian caste}}
{{Not to be confused with|Vanniar (Chieftain)}}

{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2014}}
[[File:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6 - Image 1.jpg|thumb|Vanniyars celebrating Pongal, 1909]]
{{Lead too short|date=June 2021}}
The '''Vanniyar''', also spelled Vanniya,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Rudolph|first1=Lloyd I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7guY1ut-0lwC&pg=PA49|title=The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India|last2=Rudolph|first2=Susanne Hoeber|date=1967|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-73137-7|pages=49|language=en}}</ref> formerly known as the '''Palli''', are a community or ''[[jāti]]'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]].

==Etymology==
Several etymologies for ''Vanniyar'' have been suggested, including the [[Sanskrit]] ''vahni'' ("fire"),<ref>{{cite book |first=Lorna Srimathie |last=Dewaraja |title=A study of the political, administrative, and social structure of the Kandyan Kingdom of Ceylon, 1707–1760 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5w5AQAAIAAJ |year=1972 |publisher=Lake House Investments |page=189}}</ref><ref name="hiltebeitel35" /> the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] ''val'' ("strength"),<ref>{{cite book |first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |title=The Cult of Draupadī: Mythologies: From Gingee to Kurukserta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VncomfRVVhoC&pg=PA38 |year=1991 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1000-6 |page=38}}</ref> or the Sanskrit or [[Pali]] ''vana'' ("forest").<ref>{{cite book |first=Subramanian |last=Gopalakrishnan |title=The Nayaks of Sri Lanka, 1739-1815: Political Relations with the British in South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bG1uAAAAMAAJ |year=1988 |publisher=New Era Publications |page=134}}</ref> The term ''Palli'' is widely used to describe them, but is considered to be derogatory.<ref>{{cite book|title=The cult of Draupadī: Mythologies : from Gingee to Kurukserta |volume=1|first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1991|page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VncomfRVVhoC&pg=PA38|isbn=9788120810006}}</ref>

[[Alf Hiltebeitel]] notes that the Vanniyars derive their caste name from Vahni. Vahni itself is thought to yield the Tamil word Vanni (fire), which is also a Tamil name for an important tree.<ref name="hiltebeitel35"/> The connection to the sage leads to further associations with mythological legends.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VncomfRVVhoC&pg=PA36|title=The cult of Draupadī: Mythologies : from Gingee to Kurukserta|last=Hiltebeitel|first=Alf|date=1991|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120810006|pages=36|language=en}}</ref>

==Historical status==
Hiltebeitel, who classifies the Vanniyar as [[Shudra]] in the Hindu [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] system, notes that South Indian society traditionally recognised neither the ''[[Kshatriya]]'' (warrior) nor ''[[Vaishya]]'' (provider) varnas, being divided instead between [[Brahmin]]s on the one hand and Shudras and [[Untouchability|untouchables]] on the other. Nonetheless, communities in the region frequently sought to prove a historic higher status, based on myth or occasionally probable history. He notes that "traditions of demotion from a once higher rank are a commonplace of South Indian caste mythologies".<ref>{{cite book|title=The cult of Draupadī: Mythologies : from Gingee to Kurukserta |volume=1|first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1991|pages=33–34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VncomfRVVhoC&pg=PA33|isbn=9788120810006}}</ref> Researcher [[Lloyd I. Rudolph]] notes that as early as in 1833, the Vanniyar, who were then known as Pallis, had ceased to accept their "low caste" status,<ref name="rudolph49"/> also described as being Shudra by [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] and [[Kathleen Gough]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Rise of the Plebeians?: The Changing Face of the Indian Legislative Assemblies |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |page=447 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDN0MinxMigC&pg=PA447|isbn=9781136516610 |date=4 May 2012 }}</ref><ref name="gough">{{cite book |title= Rural Society in Southeast India |first=Kathleen |last=Gough |author-link=Kathleen Gough |publisher=Cambridge University press |pages=24, 437 |year=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZwD7EqLcAUC&pg=PA24|isbn=9780521040198 }}</ref> Gough, however, documenting her fieldwork of 1951-53, records the Palli and the Vanniyar as separate but similar cultivating castes.<ref name="gough"/>{{efn|Aside from distinguishing the Palli and Vanniyar, Gough also distinguishes the Padaiyacchi cultivating caste,<ref name="gough"/> which other scholars consider to be a synonym for Vanniyar.<ref>{{cite book|first=Vijaya |last=Ramaswamy|title=Historical dictionary of the Tamils|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA264|year=2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-53810-685-3|page=264}}</ref>}}

The Pallis tried to get an order in [[Pondicherry]] that by descent they were not a low agricultural caste. In preparation for the [[Census of India prior to independence|1871 Indian census]] they petitioned to be recognised as being of the Kshatriya varna.<ref name="rudolph49"/> They formed a number of caste organisations using their preferred name, with the Vanniyakula Kshatriya Maha Sangam appearing in [[Chennai|Madras]] in 1888<ref>{{cite book |last=Chockalingam |first=Joe Arun |title=Constructing Dalit Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0JuAAAAMAAJ |year=2007 |publisher=Rawat Publications |isbn=978-81-316-0081-8 |page=43}}</ref> and extending state-wide in 1952.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India |first=Marguerite Ross |last=Barnett |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-40086-718-9 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFF9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA85}}</ref>{{efn|The creation of new names such as ''Agnikula Kshatriya'' and ''Vannikula Kshatriya'' during the period of sanskritisation was an attempt to take ownership of the Agnivanshi fire myth.<ref name="rudolph49"/>}} By 1931, due to their successful politicking (a process known as [[Sanskritisation]]), the term ''Palli'' was removed from the Madras census, with the term ''Vanniya Kula Kshatriya'' appearing instead.<ref name="rudolph49">{{cite book |first=Lloyd I. |last=Rudolph |author-link=Lloyd I. Rudolph |title=The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7guY1ut-0lwC&pg=PA49 |year=1984 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-73137-7 |pages=49–52}}</ref> The [[Invented tradition|reinvention of their history]] through Sanskritisation, and thus the change in their status to Vanniyar rather than Palli, was evidenced in the community adopting such practices as vegetarianism and prohibiting the [[Women in Hinduism#Widowhood and remarriage|remarriage of widows]],<ref>{{cite book |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |title=India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |pages=183–184 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC&pg=PA183}}</ref> and what Rudolph terms a "radically revisionist history" was supported by claims of descent from the ancient [[Pallava dynasty]].<ref name="rudolph49"/>

According to Hiltebeitel, whilst the mythological claims of origin from the fire lend credence to their demand for being deemed as Kshatriyas, the claims to military origins and Kshatriya identity did not solely rely on myths. He notes that they had historically adopted various titles and terms that signified a self-image of Kshatriya status, including the ''Vanniyar'' name itself, and that

{{quote|beyond linguistic indicators ... The Vanniyars' Kshatriya claims are rooted in their history. There is, to begin with, no reason to discount the ... traditions that Vanniyars formed an important part of the Pallava soldiery. And after the Pallava period there is increasing evidence of Vanniyars assuming "Kshatriya" roles and activities.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VncomfRVVhoC&pg=PA38|title=The cult of Draupadī: Mythologies : from Gingee to Kurukserta |volume=1|first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel|author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1991|page=38|isbn=9788120810006 }}</ref>}}

The caste has also been significant in the practices of the [[Draupati Amman|Draupaudi cult]], together with the [[Konar (caste)|Konars]] and [[Vellalar]] [[Mudaliar]]s, and quite possibly were the instigators of it, with the other two communities being later adopters. The Vanniyar practice of [[polyandry]] was perhaps related to their adoption of the cult.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Soni|first=Sakshi|date=2015|title=Draupadi in Folk Performances and Sculptural Representations|url=http://journals.du.ac.in/humsoc/pdf/SONI%20Draupadi.pdf|journal=Delhi University Journal of Humanities and the Social Sciences|volume=2|pages=25–40|via=}}</ref><ref name="hiltebeitel35">{{cite book|title=The cult of Draupadī: Mythologies : from Gingee to Kurukserta |volume=1|first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1991|page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VncomfRVVhoC&pg=PA35|isbn=9788120810006}}</ref>

In addition to [[domestic slavery]], there were a number of agricultural labor relationships. According to Ravi Ahuja, [[Paraiyar]] or Vanniyar farmhands sometimes called {{Transl|ta|pannaiyals}} were collectively bound to their home village soil. Vanniyar's mobility was severely restricted but the powers exercised by their masters were also limited - such [[slaves]] cannot be expelled or transferred to another village, even if the masters left the region themselves. As Dharma Kumar, argues the term slavery does not adequately describe the many forms of bondage existing within the traditional agrarian society. [[Caste]] involved a number of slavery-like criteria, like restriction of freedom, [[forced labor]] and ownership.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/slaveryabolition00majo| url-access=registration| quote=palli slaves.| title= Slavery, Abolitionism and Empire in India, 1772–1843| publisher= Oxford University Press | work= History | date= 2012 | author= Andrea Major | pages=[https://archive.org/details/slaveryabolition00majo/page/33 33]}}</ref>

==Current status==
Rudolph noted that, although "necessarily tentative" because of being based on figures from the 1931 census, the Vanniyars in the 1980s constituted around 10% of the population of Tamil Nadu, being particularly prevalent in the northernmost districts of [[Chingleput District (Madras Presidency)|Chingelput]], [[North Arcot]], [[South Arcot]] and [[Salem district|Salem]], where they formed around 25% of the population.<ref name="rudolph49"/> Traditionally, most Vanniyars are agricultural labourers but they are increasingly benefiting from political influence and organisation and they now own 50 per cent of the lands of the traditional landowners.

During the growth of Tamil Nadu's economy, the Vanniyars have mostly stuck with agriculture, buying up the lands of erstwhile landlords who were moving to urban areas. Most remain either marginal farmers cultivating small areas of land or landless labourers. However, they have been hurt significantly by the rising debt crisis engulfing Tamil Nadu agriculture, and many now work as day labourers in [[Bangalore|Bengaluru]] and [[Chennai]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=N.|first=Nakeeran|date=13 September 2003|title=Women's Work, Status and Fertility: Land, Caste and Gender in a South Indian Village|url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2003/37/special-articles/womens-work-status-and-fertility.html|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=38|issue=37|pages=3931–3939}}</ref>

Due to their population size and concentration, the Vanniyars wield significant political clout in northern Tamil Nadu. The [[Pattali Makkal Katchi]] (PMK) is a political party was formed by [[S. Ramadoss]] from the Vanniyar Sangam, a caste association. It has been known on occasion for its violent protests against [[Dalit|Dalits]] and draws its support base from Vanniyars.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Telegraph |title=Senior Ramadoss arrested |date=1 May 2013 |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1130501/jsp/nation/story_16846810.jsp |access-date=27 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141706/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1130501/jsp/nation/story_16846810.jsp|archive-date=2018-06-06}}</ref> The Vanniyars who previously were of the [[Other Backward Class|Backward Class]] category, were now designated as a Most Backward Caste after successful agitations by them in the 1980s entitling them to 20% reservations. The reason for the agitation and subsequent re-classification was to avail more government benefits for the community.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gorringe|first=Hugo|year=2012|title=Caste and politics in Tamil Nadu|url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2012/633/633_hugo_gorringe.htm|publisher=India Seminar}}</ref> In 2020, the PMK launched an agitation to obtain 20% reservation solely for Vanniyars and forced the Tamil Nadu government to institute a caste census.<ref>{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=2020-12-02|title=PMK agitation in support of reservation for Vanniyars paralyses traffic|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/pmk-agitation-in-support-of-reservation-for-vanniyars-paralyses-traffic/article33226064.ece|access-date=2020-12-12|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[S. S. Ramasamy Padayachi]], founder of the [[Tamil Nadu Toilers' Party]]
* [[S. Ramadoss]], founder of the [[Pattali Makkal Katchi]]
* [[Anbumani Ramadoss]], former [[Ministry of Health and Family Welfare|Minister of Health and Family Welfare]] (2004–2009)
*[[Kaduvetti Guru]], leader of the Vanniyar Sangam and PMK politician
*[[Auto Shankar]], gangster

== See also ==
*[[Draupadi#Draupadi as a goddess|Draupadi cult]]
==References==
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}
'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |first1=Geert |last1=de Neve |first2=Henrike |last2=Donner |title=The Meaning of the Local: Politics of Place in Urban India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4BW5e8reosC|isbn=9780203967645 |date=8 February 2007 }}
*{{cite book |first=A. R. |last=Venkatachalapathy |chapter="More Kshatriya than thou!" Debating caste and ritual ranking in colonial Tamilnadu |title=Ritual, Caste and Religion in Colonial South India |editor1-first=Michael |editor1-last=Bergunder |editor2-first=Heiko |editor2-last=Frese |editor3-first=Ulrike |editor3-last=Schröder |publisher=Primus Books |year=2011 |isbn=9789380607214 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OcEM2IsnA1AC&lpg=PA275}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}

{{Social class}}

[[Category:Vanniyar| ]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]

Vanniyar - Revision history

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