CHENNAI: The caste associations of various communities - Pillais, Mudaliyars, Chettiars etc., who use the appendage Vellalar and Velaalar have taken exception to the decision of the Central and State governments to rename the seven sub-sects of Scheduled Castes as Devendrakula Velala. For the past few months, they have been staging agitations at the district level and now, they are shifting their protest to Chennai on Sunday. The issue assumes significance as the state is going to polls in a couple of months.
A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took pride in announcing that a Bill to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to rename the seven sub-sects - Devendrakulathan, Kadaiyan, Kalladi, Kudumban, Pallan, Pannadi and Vathiriyan and Devendrakula Velala would be placed before the Parliament before the start of the next session. He said it was a long pending demand of these castes.
ARA Annadurai, president, All India Velaalar, Vellalar Kootamaippu cum Name Protection Committee told TNIE: “We have already submitted our representations to President, Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister urging them to reconsider the decision to give our community name ‘Vellala’ to some other caste because large number of people who identify themselves as Pillais, Mudaliyars and Chettiars are using this Velaalar or Vellalar appendage because it is the collective name for our community. The names Pillais, Mudaliyars and Chettiars came into existence only a few hundred years ago as they are titles given to them by the kings but collectively we are known as Vellalar or Velaalar.”
Annadurai further said, “Both Dravidian majors AIADMK and DMK and the BJP have betrayed us. Our population is around 1.75 crore in Tamil Nadu. So, we have decided to field our own candidates in the ensuing Assembly elections to show our strength. We won’t vote for any of these parties. If they field anyone from our communities, we will vote for NOTA in those constituencies. Further, we are moving the Supreme Court very soon since this decision of the Centre and State governments is against the Constitution.”
However, countering this strongly, M Thangaraj, president, Devendrar Thannaarva Arakkattalai, who strove for the renaming of the seven sub-sects as Devendrakula Velala, told TNIE: “The Centre and State governments have taken a decision in this regard after a detailed ethnographic and anthropological studies. The state government has submitted the report in this regard to the Registrar General of India (RGI).”
Thangaraj contended that RGI had clarified that many communities exist in one name across the country. “The seven sub-sects have been renamed based on their cultural and other aspects and the Pillais and others have not been brought under the name Devendrakula Velala. So, how can they object to the reclassification? There are many Gounders and Pillais in Tamil Nadu but they don’t get married among themselves. For example, there is a tribal caste called Malayali Gounder but they have no connection with the Gounders living in the plains. So also, just because all those who have the Velala appendage, cannot belong to the same caste. So, opposition to the renaming of seven subjects will not stand the test of law.”
When asked about this protest, a senior BJP functionary told TNIE that a decision on renaming the seven sub-sects was taken after an anthropology study by Madras University and Hansraj Verma Committee appointed for this purpose. Since this is election time, such a protest is being triggered by a political party, the functionary added.