Talk:Caste system in Kerala/Archives/2021/June

The subjugation of indigenous Dravidians - Tamil Kingdoms by Aryans, Nagas and Foreigners
The Caste system in Kerala is the result of the subjugation of indigenous Dravidian Tamil people by the Aryans and Nagas who migrated from Ahichatra in the Indo-Nepalese Border. Kerala used to be ruled by the indigenous Tamil dynasties from time immemorial. The Chera Dynasty and Pandyan Kingdom of the Tamil Villavar people .Kulasekarapperumal who founded the Later Chera Dynasty described himself as Villavar Kon. The Tamil rulers until 14th century practised Patriarchy and wrote inscriptions with Tamil Vatteluttu Script.Tamils considered the Karnatakas Kadamba kingdom as the arch enemies and Chera king Neduncheralathan won a critical victory over the Kadambas in the fourth century AD.

Aryan Naga Migration
Kadamba king Mayuravarma, the arch enemy of Cheras brought Aryans and Nagas from Ahichatram, in Uttarpradesh in the 4th century AD .The Nagas arrived at Banavasi since were hereidtary bonded or Bunta. Some of the sub castes of Bunt (community) of Karnataka migrated to Kerala after 800 AD.

During Later Chera period
Tharisapalli plates issued by Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal King of the Venads Ay kingdom mentions Ezhavas, Vellala and Theeyamalzhwars (Police officers) etc and not Nairs and Namboothiris.Thrikodithanam inscription (10th century AD) mention of migrant Nairs and Namboothiris from Tulunadu. .Namboothris used Manipravalam but the official language was Tamil while inscriptions were used.

The invasion of Malik Kafur and defeat of Tamils
After the invasion of Malik Kafur at 1310s all the Tamil dynasties of Tamil Nadu and Kerala were replaced by Nagas(Naicker and Nairs).Some of the sub castes of Bunt (community) of Tulunadu the Nayaras, Menavas,Kurubas and Samantas appeared as the rulers of Kerala after the invasion of Malik Kafur.During the rule of Madurai Sultanate most of the Naga kingdoms of Kerala came into existence.The Arab Ilkhanate and Turkish navies protected the northern kingdoms of Nagas of Kerala.Matriarchy Polyandry and Naga Worship came to Kerala in that period.The Bunt dynasties used Tulu script to write Malayalam. Most of the Tamils and other Dravidian people of Kerala were pushed to a lower level. The Nagas and Aryans occupied a higher status and Dravidians occupied a lower level. The Uttarpradesh/Nepalese culture dominated Kerala replacing the Dravidian culture.

British Period
Tippu Sultan who gained the support of Ali Raja of Kannur brought an end to the Kolathiri and Zamorins of Calicut in 1789 .Exodus of Nairs from Malabar to Travancore worsened the condition of Dravidians in Travancore.The conclusion of the treaty by British East India Company with Travancore brought Tamil and Telugu Brahmin administrators who occupied a higher status than Malayalees.British also appointed Syrian Christian ministers such as Thachil Matthoo Tharakan and Syrian Christian judges.

The Dravidians and Non-Dravidians of Kerala
Keralas Chera Dynasty which ruled Kerala till 1100 ad was a Tamil dynasty contrary to the claims of Nairs and Namboothiris. Keralolpathi claims that the Chera kings followed Matriarchy and belonged to Tulu Bunt (community). In reality Chera kings were Tamils who followed Patriarchy who hated Polyandry practised in the later times. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Nairs and Namboothiris were Tamils. The Dravidian people of Kerala are Dark indigenous tribes who descend from the Villavar Meenavar Vellalar and other supporting tribes of Chera Dynasty such as Vanavar Malayaman and Pazhuvettarayar of old Tamil Stock. Many of them have completely disappeared from Kerala but can be found in parts of Tamilnadu. The Bunt (community)/Nairs and Brahmins according to Gramapaddathi of Tulunadu Brahmins and Keralolpathi migrated from Ahichatram and adjoining areas of Nepal and may be of Aryan and Naga lineage and not Dravidians.The Nagas were brought to Kadamba kingdom of Mayuravarma as herditary bonded slaves or Bunta who were not allowed to marry or to have families and thus Matriarchy evolved.The Namboothiris who once brought Nair/Bunt (community) from Ahichatram refused to accept them as Kshatriyas even after their ascendencey to rulership after Malik Kafurs invasion in 1310 ad. The Nairs display a fair colour with slightly mongoloid features like their Nepalese counterparts the Newars. Namboothiris the Aryans from Ahichatram, Uttarpradesh are relatively fair people. The descendents of various foreign communities who migrated from Syria Persia and Portuguese who established Christianity also display foreign features including sharper facial features and fair colour. In short the Aryans and Nagas and immigrants are ethnically different from indigenous Dravidian people of Kerala/ South India) and cant be included in Dravidian caste system at all.Dravidians of Kerala are many thousand year old and most of the Dravidian kingdoms were ruled by them prior to 1310 AD.

Non Dravidian Customs of Nagas Aryans and immigrants
The Naga kingdoms between 1310 to 1947 practised Matriarchy unlike the earlier Tamil dynasties Chera Dynasty Ay kingdom and Pandyan Kingdom. In Matriarchy some families practiced Polyandry. Property rights and lineage were established through mother. Their family units owned property jointly. Family units included brothers, sisters, the latter's children and their daughter's children. The oldest man was legal head of the group and he was respected as the Karnavar of the family or tharavad (homestead).

The disappearence of Naga customs
Matriarchy and Polyandry are not practised by Nagas of Kerala from the early 20th Century. Similarly Snake worship also has been disappearing while the Dravidian Gods such as Iyyappan, a Pandyan prince and Mariamman the Dravidian rain goddess are brought into prominence once again after the Dravidian resurgence in 1947.

61.1.233.246 ... reverted without any discussion
Could the editor please give his reasons for reverting back? Thanks.

Manjunatha (15 Sept 2006) Manju Should we encourage edits without discussion?? About sambandam. You can call it quasi legal marriage. The women is appreciated as the wife of The nampoothiri. The sons were legally recognised. eg Swathi thirunal was the son of a brahmin. but they did not have any claim on the paternal property. It's different from keeping concubines. I read in menon's book on Kerala history that nairs were permitted to keep mistresses from castes like Veluthedathu, Chakkala Nairs etc. RAKS (Sept 15, 2006)


 * Which edits you are talking about? Everything is being discussed here. And I have not read a single opposition for deleting four fold Varna system in Kerala.

--Manjunatha MANJU I was talking about the edit of the friend who reverted back to his own brand of classification with out discussion and not to yours. I personally thik the Chatur varna system does not apply much to kerala. This is more or less true of South India, in particular Tamil nad and Kerala RAKS

Hello The one thing evry historian points out about caste system in Kerala is the absence of indigenuous 'Vaishyas'. Read any book on Kerala History by Sreedhara menon's or Kerala through ages. Chettis are from Tamil nadu and exists so today. RAKS

vrathyas unsourced claim
Mr professer krishnamoorthi you we can discuss here about your claim on vrathyas here. I have never seen any reference in keralolpathy and keralamahatmyan, these both I have in my hand. No reference to warriors of kerala as vrathyas. You can give the reference, even these books are there in Wikipedia books as Malayalam. Also we historian even dont reply on keralalopathy nor keralamahatmyam, also on raj era sources. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.201.196.239 (talk) 06:46, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Reply here. R.C Outlander07@talk 14:15, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Nair Kshatriyahood
=> No Brahminhood and Kshatriyahood => Term Kshatriya was alien to kerala

2 points one question

Are Nair considered as in kshatriya varna?

The cited statement says only in Kerala did there appear warrior lineages approximate to the Kshatriya model doesn't mean they were of Kshatriya varna and already been discussed with Sitush. Please do not introduce unreliable Raj-era sources like LAK Iyer & Edgar Thurston here as you always do on Thiyya related pages. Do remember to sign your comments while using article talk pages. R.C Outlander07@talk 06:26, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Nair are shudra by varna. Varma in kerala is Kshatriya. Then why you want to claim them as Kshatriya hood? What is that? Kshatriya should wear sacred thread.

You can claim they engaged in war. If you see jharkhand there are also many tribal engaged in war.but they are not 'Kshatriya' or called as possession of a 'Kshatriyahood'

In nair wikipedia also 'brahmins considered all nair as Shudras'.

Not raj era source man, take any sources from 1200 ad onwards you can see all records state nair as shudras,not kshatriyas nor possession of a so called kshatriyahood

https://www.thehindu.com/society/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-child-of-an-intercaste-union-in-modern-india/article33757476.ece https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/shashi-tharoor-review-why-i-am-a-hindu-5109392/ https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/shudras-vision-new-path-ambedkarite-review-149484 https://sabrangindia.in/article/shudras-should-assert-their-rightful-control-sabarimala-temple https://www.amazon.com.au/Shudra-castes-Ravidasi-Pulayar-Chandala/dp/1234587165https://www.amazon.com.au/Shudra-castes-Ravidasi-Pulayar-Chandala/dp/1234587165 https://scroll.in/article/877435/if-cpi-m-really-believes-in-its-jai-bhim-lal-salaam-slogan-it-must-appoint-senior-dalit-leaders http://gluedideas.com/content-collection/cyclopedia-of-india-2/Travancore_P4.html https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150724/nation-current-affairs/article/veluthedath-nair-part-nair-community

These are from the leading newspaper in India published even at 2021, that too the indian court also stating Nair as the fourth varna ,shudra varna.

You can add engaged in war, ruled or whatever you want with proper sources, but not cherry-pick and use these 'Kshatriyahood' and all these claims.

You may be a nair caste funded guy, but never try to change the kerala history.

Then why should someone address the feudal subjects as Samantha Kshatriya, not Kshatriya even after wearing the sacred thread?. It is mentioned ''These warriors never lost their identity as Sudras. Nair Kshatriya hood is based on special ecological conditions''. There is no such caste or varna as "Varma" but a title of superior status. Can you agree with the Dutch Sources the accounts of governor Julius Stein van Gollenesse and the records from the Madras Govt Vol 13 cited by Manu S Pillai p 53-60 stating Marthanda Varma was a Nair and attained Samantha status by performing rituals like Hiranyagarbha?. Likewise we can't use the same in Wikipedia voice which is does not match the academic consensus. R.C Outlander07@talk 07:35, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Read WP:NPA also it is clear that you are a block evaded sock probably Adithya Kiran Chekavar as I can see the very same claims and caste-related promotional edits on numerous articles. R.C Outlander07@talk 07:41, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Samanth kshatriya are those who does the sacred bath called hiranygarba to become 'kshatriya'. The person who perform this become kshatriya and not his family members nor his all members in his caste. They adopt title verma and today varmas have their own caste organisation and not the part of NSS.

You can call attack me calling anything, I don't care

We donot rely too much on newspaper articles and blogs even one of them took sources from Wikipedia itself.WP:RS & WP:BLOGS R.C Outlander07@talk 07:46, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

These are just google search results. I have not provided anything from blogs but from times of India and other no1 newspapers from India. So are you saying that these newspapers simply take Wikipedia data and do their journalism? In the same news shared, kerala high court itself said ' Nair belonged to fourth varna, hence in shudras'. Are you saying kerala high court do their verdict using the Wikipedia pages you guys use for caste promotion ?

Have a look and get your facts, correct dude. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.201.196.239 (talk) 07:51, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

It is clearly visible from the aggressive behavior that you are not here for a healthy productive debate but to make an allegation against the editors who are against your propaganda. It is quite funny to see using the term cherry-picking of sources to compare scholarly work with newspaper & blog articles[] [] came up with the google search results. I'm not much interested in re-instating the reverted contradictory Kshatriya statement although it was referenced well. Do learn to sign your comments before leaving the talk page as you are failing to recall the simple wiki manners. Also I would like to remind you Wikipedia rely on written reliable sources rather than fact checks or point-of-views. R.C Outlander07@talk 08:10, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

O.K I have a couple of authentic sources that are not cherry-picked to support the Nair possession of so- called kshatriyahood published after 1200 AD.

'''The bulk of Inhabitants are Nairs... The lords of the country…guardians of the public weal;''' They wielded the distinctive privileges of the Kshatriya…These distinctive privileges …added to their close bond of union…point to their unmistakable pre-eminence. Robin Jeffrey p13

'''Of the four basic varnas or occupational catagories in Hindu-Caste system Brahmin (Priest), Ksatriya(warrior), Vaisya(businessman) and Sudra(service) '''Kshartiyas were rare and Vaisyas were non-existant. In Kerala Nairs took the place of Kshatriyas, although they were regarded as sudra by Nambudiri Brahmins.''' Nossiter T J p 25-26

'''the Nayars —whom they designated as Sudras but in reality, treated as Kshatriyas. Nevertheless, it is perfectly clear from the wording of the Syrians deed that the planters—the islanders—who are still the most numerous body of Hindus in the district, were originally an organized agricultural caste with a distinct function in the body politic. The real fact seems to have been that the Aryans who introduced the political system of caste into Malabar were unwilling to raise even the aboriginal ruling race to the dignity of the pure Kshatriya caste of Aryans.''' William Logan p 116

Nayars have a privileged position within the so called Kshatriya families as they are the favoured class amongst these. Burbosa page 33

In Southern India, only in Kerala did there appear warrior lineages approximate to the Kshatriya model.These warriors never lost their identity as sudras atleast as far as Bhrahmins were concerned Nair Kshatriyahood was based on special ecological conditions within the south Indian Macro-region,and it has been a case of enriched Sudra status. The Cambridge Economic History of India: Volume 1 p32.

The statement you removed never said Nayars were of Kshatriya varna and in turn you have to provide authentic sources for the claim Kerala Varma caste. Here a leading newspaper article says Varma are a part of Kerala Brahmin community. R.C Outlander07@talk 14:10, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Since no reply has been received yet, it is assumed that the statements provided above are enough to stand against your objections, and the reverted contents may re-instated accordingly. R.C Outlander07@talk 11:50, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

What reply man? You added this yesterday and telling that a consensus has been reached, who told this and giving no time to reply for him? Since you are a nair caste promoter you need to portray nair as Kshatriya. The sources you provided of logan and Barborosa are of raj era sources. And other 2 sources itself saying nair are sudras only clearly, but the took role of Kshatriya varna doesn't mean they are Kshatriya. The term nair has Kshatriya hood is mentioned only in ONE SINGLE source, that is cherry picked.

All the sources he provided and you provided repeated States nairs are shudra, but why haven't you added that in page anywhere? Because you are a nair promoter and need to pseudo claim nair as Kshatriya by step by step as you did previously

'Kerala Indian high court verdicts Nair come in fourth varna shudras recently'

Indian high court itself said in the verdict, you can see that in one of the source he provided.

'''“When he belongs to a sub-sect of the Nair community, he squarely falls within the category of the fourth ‘Varna’ namely ‘Shudra’. Hence he is a Savarna Hindu,” the court held.'''

- Indian High court (https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150724/nation-current-affairs/article/veluthedath-nair-part-nair-community)

Since no consensus has reached between you, 117.201.196.239 and me,let's wait for other senior moderators what they need to say.

I and 117.201.196.239 states that nair are shudras ( Indian high court verdict, look source he provided ) and there are people like who vandal and pseudo promote nair as Kshatriya by step by step. The term 'Kshatriyahood' appeared in ONLY ONE single source out of 1000 other sources available for Nair and other academic caste studies, so cherry picked to claims to promote nair as Kshatriya by step by step process are not allowed in wikipedia.

1.39.76.222 (talk)

Let the moderators make their remarks. I have no opinion that it was an indisputable statement for the article and is rationale in contrast to the Kerala academic consensus. You are deliberately pretending not to understand what I was said and there is no point in keeping the discussion in this way. If I chose to restore, I would have done it within no time using well-founded references and you will be reported for block evasion as I have known your tactics for a long time. Again don't try to fool us by impersonating through different IP accounts. R.C Outlander07@talk 16:44, 22 June 2021 (UTC)

Nairs were Vrathya Kshtriyas according to ancient texts like Kerala Mahatmyam and later texts like Keralolpathi. A Vrathya-Kshatriyas means a Kshtriya whose ritual rank has degraded because of their ancestors not undergoing Upanayana ceremony for many generations. Most Varmas in Kerala are Nairs who has adopted the proper Kshatriya surname and done Hirayagarba ritual to regain their Kshatriyahood and done Upanayan after that. And only a limited amount of rulers were allowed to upgrade. Prof.Krishnamoorthy (talk) 15:02, 14 June 2021 (UTC)