Chapter IV

Pallars in Tirunelveli Villages: Their Socio-EconomicProfile

Rangasamudram

Rengasamudram in addition to Puthukulam

Venkatachalapuram, Rayappapuram and Mahendravadi, which is

the mother village, form the Mahendravadi Panchayat which is in

Kuruvikulam Panchayat Union of Sankarankovil Taluk in Tirunelveli

District is located 12.8 K.M away from Sankarankovil towards east.

Mahendravadi village is believed to have been named after one

Mahendra Iyer. There is an interesting oral history for the village. A

Kudumban was wielding influence in this part with a lot of farm

workers at his command. Mahendra Iyer who was a frequent visitor

to Tiruchendur Temple used to stay in Kudumban's residential

premises for a while and proceed to his distination After a few years

Kudumban began to trust Mr.Iyer to the extent of paying his tribute

to the East India company Administration through him. But Iyer

betrayed Kudumban and paid the amount in his name and so in the

British record the village proprietor was not Kudumban but

Mahendra Iyer. When Kudumban became alert, it was too late. As

the records were in the name of Iyer, the court could rule only in

favour of Iyer.

Venkatachalapuram and Rangasamudram and Rayappapuram

were the three hamlets, named believably after the names of three

sons by Mahendra Iyer. Pudukulam was named so because the

settlement was around a new tank. Pallars were slaves in the farm of

Mahendra Iyer. Though the Thevars were treated leniently by the

Brahmans, The Pallars were subjected to all forms of discrimination,

which we hear to day. The descendents of Mahendra Iyer started

leaving the village once their authority was questioned first by the

Thevars. In the post independence period when agriculture fetched

low returns and when there was a shift in the choice of avocation of

the upper caste people, Brahmins had left the villages, selling their

land to Thevars and Naidus of the villages in the neighborhood.

Mahendravadi was no exception. This has made the Thevars very

dominant in Kuruvikulam Panchayat Union, parts of which are

Rengasamudram and Pudukulam.

The spread of dalits in the hamlets are as follows:

Rengasamudram is exclusively a dalit hamlet comprising Pallar

house holds of 250. Puthukulam Pallar and Thevar households

(33

constitute 40 and 50 respectively. In Mahendravadi village Pallar

households are 27 out of total households of 80. Thevars form the

majority with 50 households. 3. Venkatachalapuram has 190 Pallar

househods and Rayappapuram hamlet is inhabited by Konars. Thus

the Pallars in Mahendravadi and Puthukulam are under the

dominance of Thevars, while Pallars of Rangasamudram and

Rayappapuram are relatively leading an independent existence.

In Mahendravadi, the land in controlled by Thevars. Only 9

Pallars have land. But excepting one, all others have less than 3

acres of land. All other Pallars are landless engaged in agriculture

labour and cattle rearing. Pallar women are employed in match

factories in Kalugumalai and Kuruvikulam. They also do the job of

plucking flowers. Those who offer their labour to Match Industry

earn Rs. 20 per day, while those who opt for flower plucking get Rs.

10/ per day. Therefore the glamour to work in Match factories is

obviously noticed in the village.

Most of the Pallars, 22 out of the 27 households, live in tiled

houses. Four Pallar families have only concrete or terraced

buildings. A quick census survey held in Pallar households indicate

that 22 households have debt. Modern electronic gadgets like T.V.,

Mixer, Grinder and refrigerator are absent . Only 10 households

have fans. Only 3 households spend more than Rs. 1000/- on food

per month. 18 households have no property at all. Only 3 families

possess gold jewels.

Half of Pallar population is followers of Roman Catholic region.

Kali is worshipped by both. Thevars and Hindu Pallars. Interestingly

there is no caste tension between Thevars and Pallars of this village.

There is no form of untouchability practised against Pallars of this

village by Thevars. Yet even a boy of Thevar community calls an

elder of Pallar community by name. The implicit superiority of

Thevar community is asserted through this attitude in this village.

As for Puthukulam, which is 4 K.M. away from Mahendravadi,

the number of landless labourers is 10. All others have, in average

own one were of land. Only 4 families have 3 to 5 acres of land. Six

Pallar families have more than 5 acres of land. There is no polling

booth for this hamlet. So people have to go to Mahendravadi to cast

their votes. Pallars have been supporters of Puthia Tamizhagam, a

party led by Dr.K. Krishnaswamy. This is contrast to the position of

Pallars of Mahendravadi, who have stated that they belonged to no

political party or caste outfit. Because of the system tank and

13C

consequent thriving agriculture Thevars and Pallars lead a life of co-

existence here. Because of the fact that the Pallar population is

concentrating on agriculture they have not bothered to choose a

career by taking to education.

Relatively Mahendravadi Pallars seem to have letter

educational standards . There are 5 paliars who have completed

their plus Two. None of the pallar youths have crossed plus two level

only 5 persons have studied upto Tenth standard. Those who are

illiterate in Pudukulam out number those in Mahendravadi 74 in the

former and 47 in the later. One tend to think probably Christianity

has made its impact and prompted the Pallars of Mahendravadi to

take to education. Each village boasts, however, of a graduate.

Though the village is doing well relatively, the economic

condition of Pallars is bad. Dalits are agricultural labourers, wood

cutters and cattle rearers. There are few Pallar men and women

employed in match factories. Most of the families incur an

expenditure of Rs. 200 to 500 on food per month. The kind of subtle

form of discrimination practised in Mahendravadi also prevails in

Pudukulam. Pailars who bury the dead have a separate cemetery.

(3t.

Venkatachalapuram is also known as Puliyur. Puli Kudumban

bought this part of land from Venkata Iyer and hence it is named

Puliyur. There are 190 Pallar households comprising 600 people. 70

families have land. But none of them possess more than 3 acres of

land. As a matter of fact 40 families own less than one acre of land.

There is no protected irrigation system and the agriculture is

dependent on monsoon. Many of the Pallars have opted for wage

labour in construction industry. They get more wage than what they

would get in agricultural labour. A construction worker is paid

between Rs. 100 and Rs. 125 for working from 9 o' clock in the

morning to 5o' clock in the evening. However, they get work only for

3 days in a work. Women are engaged in match sticks preparation

work. They are taken to match factory centres such as Kuruvikulam,

Kalugumalai and Sankarankovil in a bus.

Despite the onerous existence, many of them send their

children to school. Reportedly there is an IPS officer and a University

teacher from this village. There are ten degree holders in the village.

About 30 persons from this village hold positions of various type in

government service. As women are hand working the Tirunelveli

Service society (TSS), an adjunct of Catholic Diocess has organized

(3?

them into self- help groups. There are four self-help groups in the

village. Yet the living condition is not the same for every family.

At the same time there are people still living in thatched huts

(15). 120 Pallar houses have mud floor while 30 households have no

eletricity. They have no jewellery or any other liquid property. The

families which have at least one of their members of family in

government service are relatively better off. They, numbering about

33, live in terraced houses. There is a striking contrast in the

standard of living of educated Pallars. Thus are houses with

consumer durables like Mopeds (10 families), TV (15 persons) Fans

(35 households) and Grindless (15). 15 families have gold of 20 to 30

sovereigns worth. Surprisingly a majority of the Pallars are member

of mainstream political parties such as DMK ADMK. Only 10

families conveyed the information that they were supporters of

Puthia Tamilazhagam Party. Thus is no polling booth in the village.

People will have to go to Mahendravadi to cast their votes.

Rangasamudram is distinct from other villages. Relatively it is

a bigger village as it has 250 Pallar households with 805 people.

About 60 per cent of households have at least one person abroad.

They have mostly gone to Gulf countries, Malaysia and Singapore as

'31

load men, domestic helps, car drivers and gardeners. As there is

money repatriated from the Gulf and the Southeast Asia, the village

is relatively prosperous. The village remains educationally forward in

the entire union. As such many are in government service. There is a

striking number of teachers (70) from this village. There are more

than 100 graduates from the village. Expectedly a majority of Pallars

are Christians. 220 families out of 250 households are catholics.

There are two rain-fed tanks and hence if the monsoon is

normal there is good harvest of crops. 150 households have land.

Only 5 families have more than 3 acres of land. Others are all

marginal farmers. There are cattle-rearers amongst Pallars this

village. Therefore the number of cattle the village has is strikingly

high. Goats number 500 while animals are 250 in number. This is

the only village where 15 households have mosaic floor. There is no

thatched hut and the 15 concrete terraced houses with mosaic floor

indicate that those whose family member is abroad or in government

service is well.off . This is the only village again where gas stove is in

use. 20 houses have gas stove. 75 households have Grinders.

Refrigerator is available in 10 households. 2 families have fitted air-

conditioner in certain homes. The consumer durables are visibly in

plenty in the households of many Pallar families. 3 households have

Tempo vans and 2 households have tractors. Five families have more

30 sovereign worth of gold. At the same time, 150 families don't have

any jewellery to fall back upon.

Here 4 self help groups are active. The people of the village are

entirely supporters of Puthia Tamilazhagam party.

Kodiyankulam

Kodiyankulam is 4 K.M. off Naraikinaru railway station and

10 K.M. away from Kangaigondan which is on Tirunelveli - Madurai

Highway road. Vanchi Maniyatchi railway junction is 8 K.M. away

from this village. Kodiyankulam village which is situated on 13.22

acres of land has 248 households with a population of 1053. If the

248 households, 237 are Pallar households. There are 3 families of

Asari caste, 5 families of dhobies and 3 chakkiliyar or arunthathiyar

households. Excepting six families, all others have land. But they

are only marginal farmers with less 3 acres of land. 36 families have

taken to Christianity and this factor is attributed to the educational

advancement of many Pallar men and women in the village.

I

'4.-f,

The rate of literacy is 85.2% which is very impressive by any

standard. There are 170 persons who are matriculates in this

village. 45 persons, women inclusive, are graduates. This village

came to light when police excesses were committed on August 31,

1995. When caste conflict of unprecedented nature swept the entire

south Tamil Nadu. 1 The Pallars of this village provided leadership to

their fighting brethren in the district and hence it was targeted for

attack by the police at the instance of the then AIADMK government.

The police brutality resulted in the loss of property of great

magnitude. The loss incurred by the people of Kodiyankulam was

estimated to be .... The police accusing that the people of

Kodiyankulam had given shelter to the illicit brewers and country

bomb makers resorted to Operation Venus. Under the pretext of

search, the police went berserk and caused enormous damage to the

household utensils and consumer durables owned by the people of

Kodiyankulam.

The relative prosperity of the village in explained by the money

repatriated from the Gulf countries. At the time of police raid in the

village 82 male members were working in Arab countries such as

Iran, Iraq, Kwait, Yemen, Omen, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dabi. There

See "1995 caste clashes" authored by K.A. Manikumar and published in Vallinam (Tamil), 2003.

41-1

are also 15 persons returned to their village on retirement from work

in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Therefore many of them had lost gold jewellery and cash in the

course of police highhandedness they had saved over their life time

abroad.

In 1970 one G. Subbiah had gone to serve the Crompton

Company as an electrician in one of the African countries. His

example was later on emulated by many a person in the village. This

village before the police raid was known to the Pallars of the region

as "Mini Dubai". The oral history of the village is that the villagers

were till the dawn of the 20the century leading a contented life, as

agriculture was thriving. But they were evicted from their land when

Sivalaperi and Parakrama Pandiyan Tanks were sought to be

restored. Yet these tanks when neglected and eventually became dry,

the area was parceled off under Ryotwari settlement and pattas

distributed. The Pallars who bought the land in course of time from

Brahmins were hit by the move of the colonical state first and the

Congress government later to restore the tanks in the region.

Afterwards they had to content with the dryland outside their village.

As the land acquired was not productive, they had to think of

((f

alternative livelihood. Today a large tract of land remains

uncultivated because of the unproductive nature of the soil.

In view of the money repatriated from the Gulf, at the time of

police atrocity in the village on August 31, 1995 , a number of

Grinders, T.Vs, Cameras, Video-cameras and Fans were found

broken and lay scattered in the village when the investigator visited

after the lapse of six months of police operation allegedly to flush out

the criminals. The number of concrete terraced houses is strikingly

high in the village. When Pallar villages have tiled houses else where,

here tiled houses are very little.

The Gomathinayagam Commission set up by the government

exonerated the police of the charge levelled by the political parties

with high handedness. In anticipation of this finding, the people of

Kodiyankulam had boycotted the Commission. The ministers sent

earlier by the Chief Minister to assuage the feelings of the people of

Kodiyankulam were boycotted by the villagers. The president of

Federation of Devandrakula Vellalars Associations, now Puthiya

Tamilagam Chief, Dr. K. Krishnaswamy (a medical doctor from

coimbatore) alone was allowed to enter the village and provide aid to

the affected people. The women of the village in the absence of their

/4'. 3

husbands abroad are assertive, aggressive and independent, unlike

their counterparts in other Pallar villages. They were full of

resistance and anger in the aftermath of the Kodiyankulam incident

on August 31, 1995. They compaigned for Dr. K. Krishnaswamy in

the subsequent State Assembly election and elected him to the

legislature from Ottapidaram constituency exclusively on a dalit

platform, without the backing of any mainstream political parties.2

Pallar women of this village are strikingly different. As many of

their husbands out of the country they have to run the household.

This has trained them not only in household management but also

in public affairs. In village meetings, they take part on par with male

members. Their opinions are respected. Apart from self-help groups,

there is a Women's Association in Kodiyankulam. They provide fillip

to the Dalit movement in this region.

Keelapattam

Keelapattam located in Palayamkottai taluk is a panchayat

village with inhabitants belonging to equal number of Thevars,

Nadars and Pallars. The village was considered sensitive from the

2 K.A. Manikwnar, "Caste Clashes in South Tamilnadu," Economic & Political Weekly, September 6, 1997.

/44-

view point of Law and Order authorities since 1930s. 100

households of Pallars were surveyed. The total population covered by

the survey was 282 with 144 females and 135 villages. Though the

sex ratio of the Scheduled Castes for the whole Panchayat was

100:1034, the survey in 100 households showed a low sex ratio. In

terms of literacy, the female literacy is impressively high. In 100

households, the number of literates worked out to 72% and &77%

for male and female respectively. The impressive performance of the

female is ubiquitous in elementary, high, high secondary and

collegiate level. The village is well connected to Tirunelveli by road

and hence the modern development seems to have affected the dalits

positively. Two Pallar families possess more than five acres of land.

Only 8 persons own land from 1.5 to 3 acres. While 6 persons have 1

acre land the rest of them are landless labourers.

The economic condition of Pallars is reflected in the housing.

39 families' live in concrete houses. Around 10 live in huts with mud

flooring. 31 households have cycles, 23 households have a

television. Grinder is available in 12 households while 5 families

have mixers. 63 households still depend on firewood stove. There are

25 households which have no electricity supply. The high rate of

literacy has enabled the dalits to assert their rights. There 50

persons with membership in caste outfits. 48 persons have openly

identified themselves with one political party or the other. 9 persons

had been affected by the 1995 caste conflict.

Therku Kadayam:

This South Kadayam is part of Kadayam Panchayat union in

Ambasamudram TaJuk of Tirunelveli district. It is a multi-caste

village with a sizable presence of communities such as Brahmin,

Nadar, Konar and Pillai. The dalits belonging to Pallar caste live in a

hamlet called Bharathi Nagar. They are all Hindu Pallars. There are

250 households. Excepting a few Kuravar families, numbering about

12, all others are Pallars. The survey was confined to 100 Pallar

households. Excepting one Christian family all other 99 are Pallar

families. Sixty eight households have only mud floors; 18

households do not have electricity. There are only 8 terraced

buildings. 84 families live in tiled houses while 8 in thatched huts.

Data collected from Bharathi Nagar indicate that 33 persons

have matriculated from this hamlet. Girls also get education on par

with boys up to high school level. For example the number of males

passed high school level number 14, while the girls who have passed

FLfC

lOthe standard are 19 in number. But the overall literacy rate in

unsatisfactory. The literacy rate for the village is 38.3%. This is very

low by any standard. The data reveals 80 Pallar households have

land. But on an average each household has only less than an acre

of land. Many of them seem to work as wage earners. There are

equal number of agricultural labourers and manual labourers in

non-agricultural avocations. The families which have stable income

educate their wards. There are 17 graduates from this village of

them 11 are males and 4 are females.

The Pallars of this village still use firewood for cooking, 80

families use traditional firewood stove while 5 use kerosene stove.

About five families use Gas stoves. 38 households have T.V.s, 37

families have ceiling fans, 45 persons have bicycles and 22 houses

have transistors at home. The people who have consumer durables

have at least one person in government service or in private

establishment with fixed monthly income.

The Pallars of Bharathi Nagar constitute numerically a force to

reckon with and hence probably are free from oppression of

dominant castes. Another reason for this relative freedom is

Kadayam happens to be a multi caste village with no particular

caste forming a dominant group. The social discrimination reported

in Tirunelveli dalit villages such as denial of access to road, temple

and drinking water source is not prevailing here. But still this

hamlet is considered one of the sensitive conflict prone areas.

Surprising information about this hamlet is that the Pallars

are not members of any caste outfit or dalit political parties such as

Puthiya Tamilagam and Tamilar Munnetra Kazhagam. Only 4

Pallars have claimed to have political affiliation. But the implicit

message is that they would determine who should be supported in

the election by the people living in the hamlet. Enquiry with other

caste groups helped to substantiate this inference.

Therku Kallidaikurichy:

Therku Kallidaikurichy is a panchayat village in

Cheranmahadevi Panchayat Union of Ambasamudram taluk in

Tirunelveli district, It is a village with the dalit population of 938.

There are 126 households. The survey was restricted to 100

households to maintain uniformity. Excepting one Christian family

all others are Hindus. The households which possess land are 20 in

number. None of them has more than 2 acres of land. Inclusive of

landholders, all the Pallars offer their labour for wages. In the 100

households, 68 houses have mud floors. 19 houses have no

electricity. 20 persons are educated up to 10th std. 15 persons have

completed plus two. There are eight graduates and two post

graduates. Despite the indigent economic condition, Pallars of this

village seem to give importance to education. The rate of literacy is

73%.

In terms of household utensils, the Pallar houses in Therku

Kallidaikurichy is ill-equipped. 77 households still use firewood

stove. 50% of the households do have only 2 meal a day. 19 houses

have fans, 24 houses have T.V.s and 11 houses have Tansistors.

Consumer durables are conspicuously absent in many of the

households. 48 households still use pottery for cooking . Curiously

only one household has reported to be using stainless steel utensils.

None of the households has reported that they were part of any caste

Aloutfit or any mainstream political part. There is no allegation of

discrimination or oppression by the dominant caste people, as the

Pallars form the village.

Keelakottai Village

Keelakottai is a Pallar panchayat village in Ottapidaram Union

of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu which was intensively

surveyed by the Census department in 1961 and there is a

monograph on it. The village has been resurveyed in 2001 by K.A.

Manikumar and I had the fortune of joining him in field work.

Keelakottai is part of Ottapidaram Assembly (Reserve) Constituency.

Today the three hamlets other than Keelakottal that constitute the

Keelakottai panchayat village are K. Kilasapuram, Gopalapuram and

Govindapuram. There are 60 Pallar households with a total

population of 250 in Govindapuram. Curiously all of them are

landless labourers, as a few Naidu families own land there.

Govindapuram was part of Pazhavendan village panchayat till the

bifurcation of the district into Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi. Non-

availability of data about this hamlet in the 1961 monograph has

handicapped us from subjecting to a comparative analysis. In the

case of Gopalapuram, where 4 Nayakkar, 9 Chettiyar and 6

Carpenter families live, the increase of households has been

minimal, from 9 in 1961 to 19 in 2001. Recently 4 carpenter families

and 5 Chettiyar families have left in search of a secure livelihood.

There has been no perceptible change in this hamlet since 1961.

I

Thus, our focus virtually turns out to be on Keelakottai and

Kailasapuram hamlets.

When the village was studied in 1961, Keelakottai was in

Kovilpatti taluk of the then composite Tirunelveli district. By rails,

the village is reachable through Vanchi Maniyachi junction, which

lies at a distance of 8 km in the east. The village is about 10 km off

the "Slater village" Gangaikondan, which is situated 4 km away from

the Tirunelveli- Madurai highway in the eastern direction. In 1961,

Keelakottai people had to walk up to Naraikinaru to board the train

bound for Maniyachi from where they could reach any part of south

Tamilnadu. There was only a cart track that linked Keelakottai with

Gangaikondan, from where people could take a bus to any part of

the district. When Chittar flooded during monsoons, Keelakottai

remained cut off from the rest of the district for days together. But

to-day a metal road has been laid linking Gangaikondan to

Kailasapuram, thereby making the village accessible even during

monsoons. Public transport service facilitates visits of the people to

taluk and district headquarters without much difficulty.

Dharmakumar in her Land and Caste in South India states the

circumstance in which the Pallars, a scheduled caste group, could

have secured freedom from bondage. This was when money wage

was introduced. Money wage enabled the bonded Pallars to save

money necessary for the commutation of the labour services inflicted

in lieu of the debt incurred. According to her, such instances were

reported in Tirunelveli in 1836. As for dalits (lowest castes) aquiring

land, Dharmakumar writes that the colonial government introduced

special rules under which a person who cultivated a piece of land for

more than five years could make a legal claim to ownership of the

land; the government also made specific allocations of land to

"depressed castes" and agricultural labourers either directly or

through Christian missionaries. In this manner, in all probability,

the Pallars of Keelakottai could have thus broken their bond to

Mirasidar families or Mirasidar villages and settled as tenants or

land owners in Keelakottai.

Pallars constitute the Keelakottai village. The Devendra

Pallars, a sub-class of Pallars, have dwellings in Keelakottai hamlet.

The Veeranattu Pallars who claim superior caste origin inhabit

Kailasapuram-the usual Atha (mother)-Amma(mother) Pallar divide.

The author of 1961 village monograph wrote that Veeranattu Pallars'

dwellings (Kailasapuram) remained separate from the settlement of

Devendrakula Pallars (Keelakottai hamlet) as the former considered

themselves superior to the latter. Today in the context of

politicization and emerging solidarity among various sub-groups of

Pallars, the feeling of superiority is not openly expressed by the

Veeranattu Pallars who no longer consider Devendrakula Pallars

beyond the pale of marriage ties. Instances of intermarriage between

the two groups are reported now. But it is wrong to assume that

endogamy as a principle has been totally abandoned by the both.

As for the number of households in Keelakottai, Kailasapuram

and Gopalapuram hamlets, which constituted the village panchayat

in 1961, it has increased from 276 in 1961 to 647 in 2001.

However, the increase registered in each hamlet has varied. The

households in Kailasapuram have increased phenomenally from 154

to 397. Relatively, there has been no such marked increase in the

case of Keelakottai hamlet since 1961. There were 90 households

recorded in 1961. The number has risen to 231. The population of

the village has correspondingly risen from 1,398 to 2,016 (excluding

Govindapurain) over the last forty years-an increase of 44.2 %.

Based on the census figures of 1901, the investigator calculated the

population increase in the village by 46.5% in the past sixty years. If

we follow the similar analogy, the population of the village has

increased by 57% since 1961.

153

If one goes by the figures on village population in the last forty

years, there has been an addition of about 150 persons every

decade. The total number of births registered in this village in the

last ten years is 297, while the number of deaths registered during

the same period is 167. In 1961, the births recorded in the previous

ten years was 406 while the deaths registered happened to be 203.

This is suggestive of decline in fertility and mortality rates. The

increase of population in the hamlet has not tallied with the number

of births and deaths registered. This implies that out- migration has

been taking place without any proportional in-migration. Local

enquiry reveals that the educated unemployed in the last few years

had migrated to Sivakasi, Tirupur and Thoothukudi to eke out a

livelihood. Besides the educated when get white-collar jobs, they do

not remain in the village as in the previous generation. They move

out and settle in places of employment.

The Veeranattu Pallars were the first to take to Christianity

that provided them opportunities for better education and

employment. About 57% of them had become Catholics while the

remaining 43% subscribing to Protestantism in 1961. Following

Veeranattu Pallars, a few Devendrakula Pallars (only 12 households)

also took to Christianity, but adopted a minor Protestant

denomination called Brother Mission Society. Significantly, there is

no Christian convert among the Chakkiliyars. None of the people in

the village, either from the Chakkiliyar community or from the dalit

caste groups, is able to give any reason for their non-conversion. The

Christian converts who formed 36.76% of the village population in

1961 now constitute 43% of the village population. This is, as

explained by the villagers, in view of the return of those who had

migrated at the time of 1961 census to Manjolai tea estate in

Tirunelveli district and Sengarai estate in Kerala to eke out a

livelihood. In 1961, there were two churches, one for Catholics and

one for Protestants. Now Kailasapuram has two more churches, one

for Seventh Day Adventists and the other for the Pentecost group.

The Seventh Day Adventist and Pentecost sects command 62 and 32

followers respectively in Kailasapuram.

The Pallars of Keelakottai village gratefully recalls the yeoman

service rendered by a Christian priest from Naraikinaru by name

Grandon Durai. The Daniel Elementary School in Keelakottai was

founded by him. St. Michael Boarding School started in

Kailasapuram, facilitated access to higher elementary education. The

Harijan Welfare Department subsidized the cost of hostel

!,s5

accommodation with a grant of Rs. 16 per a boarder for 10 months.

This government subsidy has continued to date. St. Michael

Boarding School and the Roman Catholic Elementary school in

Kailasapuram promote the cause of school education in the village.

The Boarding Home attached to St. Michael School when

started in 1949 had a student complement of 15 (boys only). In 1961

when survey was conducted, the school had 74 boys 14 girls as

boarders. Now the Home has 96 males and 27 females. But the

building of the Home is almost in a bad shape. The Diocese has not

shown any interest to repair the building. This is probably because

of the setting up of a students' hostel by the Adi-Dravida Welfare

Department in Kailasapurarn, in which there are 38 dalit students

and 12 backward caste students (Christian Pallars mostly). The

dalits attribute the lack of concern for the cause of dalits in the

Diocese to this sorry state of affair.

The village has registered impressive growth in terms of

educational attainments. At the time of 1961 survey, 41% of the

villagers had been returned as literates-males 54% and Females

25%. This was then well above the district and state averages of

35.6% and 30.2% respectively. The rate of literacy today for the

three hamlets (Keelakottai, Kailasapuram and Gopalapuram) put

together is 66.7%.( See Table: IV. I)

Table: IV. I

Population, Literacy and Sex Ratio

(Exclusive of Govindapuram)

Year Households Population Literacy Sex-ratio

1961

276

1398

41% 1000: 849

2001

Mew

2016

66.7% 1000: 1014

Source: K.A. Manikumar, Keelakottai Village- A Resurvey,

2002 (Unpublished)

The literacy rate of the village is above the district average of

65.28. The rate of literacy today for Kailasapuram is 71.1% and

60.8% for Keelakottal. The male literacy rate for Kailasapuram and

Keelakottai are 78.5% and 68.9% respectively. Each hamlet has

achieved female literacy at the rates of 64.3% and 54.2%. The

number of persons who cannot read and write in Kailasapuram is

266 while this number for Keelakottai being 385.

The accomplishment of Kailasapuram contrasts with

Keelakottal. Kailasapuram compares favourably with the attainment

of non-.dalits in Gopalapuram. For the total population of 87 in

Gopalapuram, 23 are illiterates, which mean a literacy rate of

73.5%. Compared to 1961 situation in Gopalapuram, where 28% of

the children of school going age were not attending school, its

present accomplishment is not bad. Now with recorded increase in

households there, only 10 such children (11%) are out of formal

school system.

The school dropouts are either assisting their parents in the

agricultural activities or in animal husbandry. It is not the non-

affordability of their parents that has led to this incidence of child

labour, but the lack of employment avenues available for the

educated. The parents expressed no regret for not sending their

children to school because according to them even the educated

postgraduates in the village remain unemployed. They deplored that

the poor dalit families have to bribe the politicians to get jobs in

government schools and offices. This, they pointed out, has

dampened the enthusiasm of the parents to educate their children.

The village has improved its sex ratio from a low of 849 to

1014. Interestingly, within the village, Keelakottai hamlet has a low

ratio of 1000: 934. Kailasapuram, reflecting its overall progress, has

recorded a sex ratio of 1000:1097. It is higher than the district

average. In 2001, Thoothukudi district registered a sex ratio of 1049

(for every 1000 men 1049 women), although it is a marginal decline

from a high of 105 un the last decennial year. The rise in the sex

ratio is a positive indicator.

The Mission schools that existed in 1961 are carrying on its

mission of imparting education up to tenth standard. Two classes,

IX and X, have been added up since then. In 1961, the total strength

of the students, boys (271) and girls (154) put together, worked out

to 325. At present, there are 607 students on rolls, with boys and

girls numbering 334 and 273 respectively. There are 4 boys and 8

girls now reading in degree colleges; six girls are doing a course in

nursing. 16 boys and 18 girls are in plus two classes.

IS

It has to be noted that in terms of educational accomplishment

Kailasapuram has outshun Keelakottai. Table: 3 while bringing out

this sharply also establishes the striking accomplishment of

Kailasapuram hamlet in female education.

Table: IV.2

Educational Attainments of Kailasapuram and Keelakottai

Kailasapuram

Keelakott ai

Post-graduates - 32

(male- 13;female- 19) 2

Graduates -94

(male-40; female -54) 13

Plus two 136

(male-65;female-71) 37

10th standard -207

(male-106;female-1O1)52

Source: K.A. Manikumar, Keelakottai Village- A Resurvey,

2002 (Unpublished)

Note: There is no male-female break-up for Keelakottai.

At the time of 1961 survey about 65 dug wells existed. At

present there are 23 wells and 16 tube wells fitted with compressor

pumps owned by Keelakottai dalits. Kailasapuram people have 29

,c)

wells and 9 tube wells. The availability of water in the wells depends

on the monsoon rain and the resultant filling of the Prakrama

Pandian Tank in the village. Therefore they are of no use today.

There were no pump sets in 1961. Today, the village has about 50

pump sets.

The 1961 survey report recorded two small ponds that

remained the true source of irrigation. Now there is a big tank called

Parakrama Pandyan Tank, named after a later Pandya King. But

distressingly, the channel excavated from Uppodai to feed the

Parakram Pandiyan tank has become dilapidated now. The tank's

bund which has breached also needs to be strengthened. A proposal

prepared in the year 1998 at an estimated cost of Rs. 1 lakh is

gathering dust. The failure of monsoon in the last five years has still

worsened the condition. Water for agriculture purpose was earlier

sold to marginal and small farmers by the owners of the tube wells

at the rate of Rs.40 for the water pumped every hour. In

consequence of deteriorating ground water level these days, those

who have no well water source face a trying situation.

Earlier the people of this village were raising millet and cotton.

They abandoned millet cultivation in the wake of tank irrigation.

I'.'

Thorny bushes occupy the plots where once millet and groundnut

were grown. They are leased out for making charcoal. Paddy, cotton,

chilly and vegetables are the popular crops of Keelakottai villagers

today. A few of them have taken to sugarcane cultivation too. This

they say was because of restoration of Parakrama Pandian tank in

the sixties. But to-day there is gloom in the village because the

inflow of rain water into the tank has been blocked and the only

water source of the village is in a state of disrepair.

The farmers have taken to modern methods of cultivation like

the use of fertilizer, pesticide and tractor. Yet the reply one

invariably gets from the farmers owning land, ranging from 2 acres

to 5 acres, whether one was from Keelakottai or Kailasapuram, is

that they could not get a fair price for their produce. The Uzhavar

Santhal (Farmers' Market) set up by the State has not been of any

use to the farmers of this interior village. The government's scheme

has only benefited the farmers living on the outskirts of towns and

cities. The villagers suggest that the district administration should

evolve a mechanism to buy the produce at a fair price from the

farmers of interior villages. In agriculturist families, where some

body is educated and gainfully employed there is no visible

melancholy. The families that depend entirely on agriculture for

their sustenance are managing the distress either by pledging their

jewelry or by incurring a debt. The total debt of the village has been

reckoned as Rs. 1,4 1,000, which is nearly twice the volume of debt

recorded in 1961 (Rs. 66,100).

Keelakottai hamlet, which was a mother settlement in the

beginning, has almost lost its status to Kailasapuram. This is

attributed to the total dependence of the people of Keelakottai on

agriculture. For Keelakottai Devendrakula Pallars, who are mostly

marginal farmers, agriculture is dear to their heart and so they did

not take to education in any big way. In contrast, the three-fold

increase of households in Kailasapuram and their relative affluence

is explained as an outcome of the importance given by its

inhabitants to education and public employment. Many of the

educated persons, even as late as 1980s, after employment chose to

live in their native village. Even those settled elsewhere made it a

point to buy land in their native village, which was looked after by

their family members. Things are changing now in the context of

deteriorating agricultural condition and mounting incidence of

unemployment of educated youth.

3

The formation of self-help groups by women have generated a

new enthusiasm in the village. There are 8 such self-help groups, six

in Kailasapuram and two in Keelakottai hamlets. The Tirunelveli

Social Service Society (an N.G.O run by Catholic diocese of

Tirunelveli) has formed 3 in Kailasapuram and 2 in Keelakottai. The

Y.M.C.A. has organized two other such groups. The women of the

self-help groups controlled by the T.S.S. are dissuaded from taking

to beedi rolling and trained to make doop sticks. These women's

groups have succeeded in getting loans with subsidy from the state

government.

There are 945 pattadars in the village. Only 135 persons hold

land above 1 ha (2.5 acres). Another interesting fact that comes out

of the survey is the Hindu dalit families outnumber the Christian

families in terms of possession of land at the ratio of 607: 338. The

fact that the pattadars of Kailasapuram number only 234 (out of

945) indicates the preeminently agricultural nature of Keelakottai

hamlet people. Many of the farms are cultivated by family labour

alone. Even the relatively big land holders employ labourers only

during the seedtime and harvest. Where the landowners could not

support their families and sustain a livelihood by cultivating their

own holdings hire themselves out as labourers.

t"f-

The line of distintion between general labour and agricultural

labour is becoming thin. Even the presently employed agricultural

labourers have to supplement their earnings by opting for group or

gang labour in the lean years. Besides, the estrangement between

the land controlling Thevars and the dalits have forced the latter to

seek more arduous employment elsewhere. At the moment, about

200 persons from Keelakottai hamlet are employed in cable laying

and construction work. 57 workers, male and female inclusive, are

employed in back-breaking work at a quarry in Thalaiyuthu where

the India Cements Factory is located. Despite the onerous nature of

work, people opt for it in view of high wages it fetches. A quarry male

worker gets Rs. 100 while a female worker is paid Rs.60 per day.

Those who own more than 5 acres of land manage to lead a

hand to mouth existence. The monsoon-rain-fed agriculture has

forced others who possess less than 2 acres of land to look for

supplementary income. The total number of persons returned as

agricultural labourers in our survey is 270 in Kailasapuram and 322

in Keelakottai. Yet only 47 landless labourers work in the Pallar

lands in the village. They are not in a position to bargain a better

wage for their hard work because of strong kinship feelings. In 1961

I",--

the agricultural wage was Re. 1 to Rs. 1.50 for males and 62 np. To

75 np. For female workers. Today wage paid for a male labour is Rs.

60 to 70 while female agricultural worker gets Rs.20 to Rs.30 per

day. The gender discrimination in payment of wages goes

uncontested by any peasant organizations.

The villagers, as the figures in Table: 1V3 suggest, have taken

to cattle and poultry rearing to supplement their dwindling income.

But the lack of support of scientific health care for cattle and poultry

from the district veterinary centre has made cattle and poultry

rearing economically non-viable.

Table: IV.3

The Livestock of the Village, 1961 vis-à-vis 2001

Year Goats and Sheep Cows Buffaloes Poultry

1961 703 99 5 300

2001 1713(608+1105) 395 10 1202

Source: K.A. Manikumar, Keelakottai Village- A Resurvey, 2002

(Unpublished).

(

Keelakottai as a hamlet has not shown any visible progress in

terms of infrastructure development. Most of the mud walls have not

been replaced by bricks as has been the case of Kailasapuram. In

1961, electricity had been provided only in Kailasapuram while the

other two hamlets Keelakoottai and Gopalapuram lacked this

facility. Now all the three hamlets have been electrified. There were

no street lamps in 1961. Now, there are 63 lamp-posts to provide

street light. Yet, 107 households in Keelakottai hamlet still use

kerosene lamp for light. 181 households still use firewood to cook.

Compared to the economic condition of the people of Kailasapuram,

the lot of Keelakottai villagers has hardly improved. The drinking

water facility available to Kailasapuram hamlet is absent in

Keelakottai hamlet. There are hand pumps installed by the

panchayat administration to provide drinking water here.

Keelakottal continues to suffer from ill-laid roads and lack of

drainage system. However 200 out of 206 households own the house

they live in. This may be explained as a benefit accrued to them with

the introduction of the special government housing scheme for

Scheduled Castes. Yet compared to 1961 situation, the standard of

living of the dalits here has definitely improved. Earlier 62.6% of the

icq-

households had thatched huts, whereas now the thatched sheds

work out to 12.9% only.

During the last survey, millet was the main staple food of the

people while rice was considered a luxury. Out of 276 households

surveyed in 1961, 175 could afford two meals a day. Now three

meals a day have become affordable in all households and rice is the

staple diet of the people. Beedi rolling has come to the rescue of

many a household to lead a hunger free existence. The author of

1961 monograph observed the common occurrence of tuberculosis.

That the village remains tuberculosis-free today is illustrative of the

fact that the villagers have access to relatively nutritious food.

Kailasapuram is relatively prosperous. There were only 15

terraced houses in the village in 1961. To-day 99 households have

terraced buildings. 78 of them have come up in Kailasapuram. This

is attributed to tank-irrigated agriculture and educational

empowerment. Seven persons hold more than 10 acres of land. 43

persons have more than 5 acres of land. About 76 persons possess 2

acres of land. 146 households have a radio and 59 families have a

television set. Reportedly, there were no paddy fields in Keelakottai

village in 1961. Today there are a couple of paddy fields in the

village, owned prominently by Kailasapuram Viranattu Pallars. This

is surprising when more and more people in the neighbourhood are

taking to banana cultivation because of labour intensive nature of

paddy cultivation. About 17 dalits of Kailasapuram owned paddy

fields in Gangaikondan during 1961 survey. Now 150 people have

land in Gangaikondan where paddy cultivation is undertaken. This

suggests that dalits in Keelakottai and Kailasapuram have acquired

more land during the days of prosperity. It is significant in this

context to note that in Gangaikondan (a Slater Village) land is

changing hands from Thevars to Pallars. This aspect deserves a

separate study.

Out of 1008 people in Keelakottai, 451 persons (235 males,

216 females) have been returned as unemployed. In educated

inhabited Kailasapuram 485 persons (219 men and 266 women)

have reported that they had no employment and income. Because of

monsoon failure and neglect of the State in repairing the Parakrama

Pandian tank, the thriving agriculture of this village has suffered

much. There are a number of graduates and post-graduates

remaining jobless.

The Pallars of Keelakottai, irrespective of their sub-caste

variations and religious differences, remained under the spell of the

Congress party For a long time. The villagers contend that after the

Congress party none of the Dravidian parties has done any thing

substantially to develop the infrastructure of the village. The higher

primary school run by Tirunelveli Protestant Diocese has not been

upgraded despite repeated pleas and petitions. The Diocese has been

permitted to offer IX and X standards in St. Michael School with out

government's financial grant. Even in Catholic-run elementary

school where the student strength is 180, instead of five teachers,

there are only two teachers. The villagers strongly feel that the

standard of education in the school has fallen and point out the

increasing tendency of the parents to send their wards to

matriculation schools in the neighbouring Thurayur village or in

Palayamkottai.

The domination of Veeranattu Pallars - the residents of

Kailasapuram- in local Panchayat administration has evoked

resentment from Devendrakula Pallars of Keelakottai and

Chakkiliyars of Kailasapuram settlement. It has to be noted here

that under the present dispensation, the President C. Sarkarai, the

Vice-President Gnanaprakasam and the Councillor S. Subramanian

and seven out of nine members are from Kailasapuram. So when the

Veeranattu Pallars first started backing the Dravida Munnetra

Kazhagam (D.M.K.), the latter two groups, namely Devendrakula

Pallars and Chakkiliyars, politically began to support the

A.I.A.D.M.K. But after the formation of Puthiya Tamilagam by Dr. K.

Krishnaswamy, both the feuding Pallar sub-castes buried their

hatchet and rallied behind him under the common identity of

Devendrakula Vellalars, while the Chakkiliyars continued to support

the A.J.A.D.M.K. As ardent supporters of Dr. K. Krishnaswamy of

Puthiya Tamilagam Party, they did not allow his contender Siva

Peruman, who was fielded by the A.I.A.D.M.K. as a candidate for

Assembly election from Ottapidaram constituency to do

electioneering in the village during the general elections of 2001.

However, Dr. Krishnaswamy was routed in the election, which has

upset the Pallars of this village. Krishnaswamy's one full term as

M.L.A. (1996-2001) of Ottapidaram constituency under which

Keelakottai is a segment, has not helped the village much to improve

its infrastructure. The villagers grudgingly concede that the only

benefit that accrued to them was a permanent building for the

village ration shop.

fq-f

The village is encircled by a few Thevar villages, prominently

Gangaikondan at one end and Vadakarai at another end. In

Gangaikondan, the Brahmin landholders had sold their land to their

Thevar tenants and left. Hence, it has become almost a The'ar

village since then. The social relationship between Thevar land

holders and Pallar labourers has completely broken down in the last

10 years and therefore in the event of an inter-caste conflict the

people of Keelakottai cannot move out of their village. In 1995 when

caste riots of unprecedented nature were rocking Tirunelveli and

Thoothukudi districts, the villagers could not move out of their

habitation. The adults could not reach the work spot while boys and

girls were unable to attend schools and colleges for weeks together.

Because of estrangement between the two conflicting

agricultural caste groups of this region, namely Thevars and Pallars,

there is always a tense situation in and around Keelakottai village.

Pallars have stopped working in Thevars' farms. They don't borrow

from the Maravar moneylenders. The children of Pallars fight shy of

attending Higher Secondary School in Gangaikondan. The demand

of dalits to establish a school in some other neighbouring area to

avoid frequent clashes between the school children of Thevar and

Pallar communities has gone unheeded by the government.

The Devendrakula Vellalars' assertiveness has forced the

Vadakarai Thevars to concede the Keelakottai people's right to fish

in the village pond. Yet in many fronts the Pallars have grievances

and strongly feel that all mainstream politicians have betrayed their

interests. This has despaired them to look to their caste leaders for

the amelioration of their burden. It is in this context Dr. K.

Krishnaswamy of Puthia Tamilagam and John Pandian of Tamilaga

Munnetra Kazhagam have emerged as contenders for winning the

trust of the Pallars of this region. However, Dr. Krishnaswamy's

sway over the Pallars of Keelakottai is total.

Seethaikurichy:

Seethaikurichy is hamlet in Therkupetti panchayat of Manoor

Union in Tirunelveli district. The story about the village is that there

was a murder case against the zamindar of VeerakeralamPudur

(V.K.Pudur), earlier known as Uthumalai zamin. When the case was

successfully fought and won, the zamindar donated the land with

the potential of yielding 60 kotta to the lawyer from whom his heirs

Chelliah Pillai and Pitchiah Pillai inherited it. First, they builL a

house for their stay during their visit to supervise the land. Later

they brought a few Thevar families from Keelarastha to do watch and

ward and protect their crops. Besides, people from Rukmaniapura.m,

Kavalarkurichy, Manur and a few repatriates from Colombo were

invited to settle down. However after some time, they sold the land to

the tillers and went to Tirunelveli town.

On the northern side of the river Chittar, there is a stone

inscription dedicated to Seethai amman. As it is believed that

Seethai amman is the protector of the village it came to be called

Seethaikurichy. The village is also known as the Palathakulam, after

the name of the mother of the heirs of the original donee. Around

1900, an English Catholic Father put up a hut that served as a

school and a place of worship. The Pastor of Villichery is said to have

converted the Pallars of the village to Catholicism. The school set up

by Catholic father seems to have received the government

recognition only in 1948.

The present population of the village is: 630 (Male- 312;

Female-318). Pallar Catholics living in the village reportedly were not

adhering to the principles of Catholicism. In disgust the Catholic

diocese ordered closure of the church. It is claimed that the Pallar

Catholics had a demoralizing time during this period and added to

the woe was the practice of untouchability by the dominant

castes(Thevars) in the neighbourhood. The Pallars recall the days

when they had to drink tea only in coconut shells. If they wanted to

take tea next day they must clean up and drink in the same shell.

Before the caste Hindus, they should not wear head gear.

Humiliated by the treatment meted out to them by the

dominant castes some of them approached Thenkasi Medal M.N

Abdul Rahman and expressed their desire to take to Islam. In 1944,

many of the Pallar Christians took to Islam. Some of them who

developed aversion to certain rituals in Islam switched back to

Christianity after some time. Abdul Salam, curiously, a converted

Thevar Muslim sorted out the differences amongst villagers on

burying the dead and the building of a mosque. Thereafter with the

donation of money from Kuwait a mosque was built. Pallars of

Seethaikurichy seems to be the earliest to take to Islam next to

Nadars of Tenkasi region who took to Islam in the context of

Sivakasi riots.

People pursue agriculture and rearing of cattle. Many are daily

wage earners. Women are doing beedi rolling. Father Joseph Raj of

Society of Jesus is living in the village and striving for the

betterment of the people. For instance from his own fund, he

supplies beedi leaves to enable them to make their own beedi brand.

Father Anthony Cruse, Director of the Tirunelveli Service Society,

organized the women into self-help groups and formed village

development council to inculcate social awareness amongst the

people. He was responsible for securing a loan of 1, 00,000 to buy

milch animals for 25 persons. For 31 members he arranged loan

through banks for the same purpose. The village panchayat

president is running milk society profitably with the support of the

Tirunelveli Service Society. 4 persons have been provided with

housing. A nursery school has also been built.

There is 100 per cent enrollment. There are night classes

conducted to improve the performance of the students with the

financial assistance from the S.0 & S.T. Commission. There are no

drop outs in school. There is a public library functioning from March

28, 2001. The birth rate is very low and hence the enrollment in

school is poor. There are Hindu Pallars, Christian Pallars, and

Muslim Pallars. Religion has not divided them. Caste still is a

binding force in this village. But sadly the economic status of the

Pallars of this village has not improved. They hardly possess any

consumer durables. But they lead a respectful independent

existence without suffering harassment of oppression at the hands

of dominant castes.