SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG

THE PIRAMALAI KALLARS

OF MADURAI DISTRICT

THESIS SUBMITTED TO
MANONMANIAM SUNDARANAR UNIVERSITY
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY

BY

P.M. JOTHI
REG. NO.2123

DEPARTMENT OF P.G. & RESEARCH CENTRE IN HISTORY,

NESAMONY MEMORIAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE,
MARTHANDAM.
OCTOBER, 2008.

Dr. C. SELVARAJ, M.A.(His.), M.A.(Ind. Cul.), M.Phil., Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer & Research Guide,
Research Centre in History,
Nesamony Memorial Christian College,
Marthandam.

CERTIFICATE

This thesis entitled "SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE

PIRAMALAI KALLARS OF MADURAI DISTRICT" submitted by

P.M. JOTHI for the award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is a record of bonafide research work done
by her and it has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma,
associateship, fellowship of any University or Institution.

Place: Marthandam
Date:

Signature of the Guide

Acknowledgement
The following pages are the fruits of research undertaken under
F.I.P., X Plan period of the U.G.C., in the Research Centre in History, Nesamony
Memorial Christian College, Marthandam during 2005-2007.
At the outset I thank the Lord Almighty for having blessed me to
undertake this venture and submit this thesis successfully.
I would like to extend my special and heartfelt thanks to my learned
guide Dr. C. Selvaraj of N.M.C. College for his valuable pieces of advice,
guidelines and corrections. But for him I could not have completed this work. His
cordial and prompt response deserves much appreciation.
I express my sincere gratitude to the University Grants Commission
as well as Manonmaniam Sundaranar University for having provided me with an
opportunity to pursue my studies. I also express my gratitude to the Principal and
the Head and other staff of the Research Centre in History, Nesamony Memorial
Christian College, Marthandam and also to the Principal and the staff of the
Department of History of Lekshmipuram College, Neyyoor.
I am deeply indebted to PHF. Dr. A.D. Shobanraj, former Principal
of our college, who left no stone unturned to get me this opportunity and proved to
be a driving force and also to Mr. N. Martin Daniel Dhas, the author of several
books on Church History settled at Nagercoil, for having been instrumental in

myself choosing this topic.

I am particularly grateful to Rev. D. Chellappa, himself a Piramalai
Kallar and also elder brother of Mr. D. Pandiyan, CPI(M) General Secretary, for
having provided me with valuable information regarding the community despite
his old age and ill health. I am also grateful to other pastors Rev. Kanagu
Nelson, Rev. Arthur Jeya Kumar, Rev. Daniel Monoharan, Rev. Duraisamy,
Rev. Fr. Anto, Rev. Sisters Chandra and Syria Pushpam, and Pastor Prabhakar for
their spontaneous and unhesitating response in providing much information about
the community under study.
I am quite obliged to the librarians of the TTS, Madurai
Rev. J.Augustine and Mr.John ; Mrs.Rita Wesley and Mr.Stanley of the UTC,
Bangalore, Mr. Stephenson Manuel of the SABC, Bangalore ; Mr. Yesan Sellan of
the SAIACS of Bangalore ; Prof. Thirumurugan of the Madurai Kamaraj
University ; Dr. M. Sundararaj and

Prof. M. Namasivayam of the Archives

Library Chennai, Mr. Manickavasagam of S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil and

Mr. Paulson of N.M.C.C. Marthandam and also the other librarians who were
intent to help me in the true sprit of their profession by providing me with the
needed records.

I am equally grateful to Mr. Chinnasamy Thevar, Mr. George

Virumandi, Mr. Navamony of Thevar Sinthanai Mantram, my erstwhile Student
Dr. N. Austin John Manohar, Dr. J.M. Chellappa and Lalitha Chellappa,
Mr.

Mathuram,

Correspondent

of

the

TELC

School

Usilampatti,

Mrs. Kanagavalli Asirvatham, the retired H.M. of the TELC School, Miss Krenapu Kalarani,
the present day H.M. of the same School, and also Rev. D. Justin Devadhasan, the
Presbyter and District Minister, C.S.I. Home Church, Neyyoor for their
magnanimity in getting me some valuable materials at their disposal. I also thank
all those who were kind enough to give interviews.
I am also grateful to late Mr. Cheembi Thomas and late Rev. Titus
Kadappaisamy for their friendly disposition and sincerity in getting me the needed
information and materials. Their untimely demise was a matter of great sorrow.
It will be a lapse on my part if I fail to recognise the valuable
services rendered by Dr. V. John of the Department of English, St. Xaviers
College, Palayamkottai and Mr.G. Haribaskar, my colleague, in giving this thesis a
proper shape.
For lack of space I have not mentioned many of the reputed
Institutions and Scholars who helped me in many ways in the completion of this
work. I acknowledge their services and thank them warmly.
I express my heartfelt thanks to our family friends Mrs. Merlin Lloyd
and family, Bangalore and Mrs. Joy and family, Nagercoil and

Dr. V.

Geetha of Madurai for their genuine affection and logistic support in my venture.
I am extremely thankful for the moral and logistic support provided
by my sister Mrs. Helen and my brother-in-law Mr. I. Dhanapaul and family, my
sister-in-law Mrs. Nalini and brother Chandra Sekaran and family, my cousin
Mr. P.M. Mani and family, my niece Mrs. Annie and her husband Vinoth, my
nephew Arasu and family and my relative Adv. Edward and Family which went a

long way in making this attempt a real success. I express my heartfelt gratitude to
them.
Last but not the least is the involvement of my husband Mr.T.Sam
Thilagaraj and my daughters Sylvia and Cynthia who stood by me through thick
and thin by extending immense moral support to achieve my goal.

P.M. Jothi

CONTENTS

Chapter
No

Title

Chapter I

Introduction

Chapter II

Historical background of the Kallar

community

Chapter III

Life of the Piramalai Kallar Prior to the

Introduction of Christianity

Page.
No
1
16

53

Chapter IV

Entry of Christian Missions into

Madurai

106

Chapter V

The Kallars and Christianity

143

Chapter VI

Impact of Christianity on the Piramalai

Kallars

220

Chapter VII

Conclusion

253

Bibliography
Annexure

ABBREVIATION

ABCFM

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

AG

Assemblies of God.

AMM

American Madura Mission.

CGMM

Church Growth Missionary Movement .

CHAI

Church History Association of India.

CLS

Christian Literature Society.

CMM

Catholic Madura Mission.

CMS

Church Missionary Society

CPM

Ceylon Pentecostal Mission.

CSI

Church of South India.

CSM

Church of Sweden Mission.

CTA

Criminal Tribes Act.

FELC

Federal Evangelical Lutheran Church.

H.S.S.

Higher Secondary School.

HM

Head Mistress.

ICHR

Indian Church History Review.

ICGM

India Church Growth Mission.

IPC

Indian Pentecostal Church

ISPCK

Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

LELM

Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran Mission.

LMS

London Missionary Society.

MNNR

Madras Native Newspaper Report.

NCCI

National Christian Council of India.

RC

Roman Catholic.

SDA

Seventh Day Adventist.

SPCK

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

SPG

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.

TELC

Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church.

TTS

Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary.

UTC

United Theological College.

YMCA

Young Men Christian Association

ABSTRACT
Title of the thesis: SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE PIRAMALAI

KALLARS OF MADURAI DISTRICT

Name & Address of the Scholar
P.M. JOTHI
S.G. Lecturer in History & Tourism,
Lekshmipuram college of Arts & Science,
Neyyoor.

Name & Address of the Guide

Dr. C. SELVARAJ, M.A. (His.), M.A. (Ind. Cul.), M. Phil., Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer & Research Guide,
Research Centre in History,
Nesamony Memorial Christian College,
Marthandam.
This thesis is an attempt to bring to light the unwritten pages of the history of a
valiant community living in large numbers in western part of Madurai in Tamil Nadu,
South India.
The main objective of this thesis is to unravel the reasons and causative
factors which led this untamable, aggressive and egoistic community towards
Christianity, a religion with a diametrically opposite philosophy. This topic has been
analyzed by following a methodology which is partly historical and partly analytical.
This thesis has been arranged in seven chapters including Introduction
and Conclusion. In the II and III chapters the historical background of the Kallar
community and their socio-economic, cultural and religious life prior to the
introduction of Christianity has been dealt with. While the IV chapter deals with the
entry of the Christian missions in to Madurai, the V chapter deals with the Kallars and
Christianity which forms the nucleus of the thesis and the VI chapter is about the
impact of Christianity on them.
This study has proved that they were attracted towards Christianity
mainly because they believed that the missionaries through education, a magic wand,
could show them a way for a better and a dignified life and not for bread and butter or
simply to escape the punitive measures of the Criminal Tribes Act. The missionaries
through their unstinted love, compassion and dedication and an agenda of social
reforms were able to win over them. Though the number is relatively small, the
impact of Christianity on their mind set and over all development is immeasurable.
With the service of the modern missionary organizations, the spread of Christianity
among them is an on-going process.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER - I

INTRODUCTION
Several new trends in historical thinking have emerged with the passage
of time. The entire spectrum of recent writings in history throws up a challenge to the
conventional methods where readymade corpus of sources is available. Retelling
history in a mere descriptive way has already been rendered an anachronism and has
been replaced with an analytical approach. History is anthropocentric and charm has
been added by Subaltern Study which gives much importance to the every day life of
the working masses. The German term subaltern as a theoretical concept describes the
identity of an oppressed and exploited group. Hence it has opened up new vistas of
exploration and has accelerated the growth of many a branch of study such as
Anthropology, Sociology, History, Economics and Politics.

In tune with this modern trend of increasing interest in subaltern studies,

this topic Spread of Christianity Among the Piramalai Kallars of Madurai
District, dealing with one of the early settlers in Madurai in TamilNadu, South India,
has been selected with a view to bring to light the dark pages of the history of a valiant
community which once enjoyed a time honoured status but later on was reduced to the
level of a despised community with the stigma of criminal tribe. The European
prejudices are deeply embedded in the history of the Kallars. Owing to the inherent

limitations of their attitude, distortions are very commonly found. Hence the need to
examine this old cultural complex dispassionately arises so that the community which
deserves a special place in Tamilnadu history could be rendered justice. This
community which could have been regarded as 'South Indian Rajputs' has been
relegated to the background in the history of Tamilnadu despite their important role
played during the South Indian rebellion and the Indian National movement. Hence an
unbiased probe into this dark area of Tamilnadu history becomes necessary to bring it
to light and this aspect makes this work unique in character. In fact the "Spread of
Christianity among the Piramalai Kallars of Madurai district" is perhaps the least
studied subject by any historian as such. Dr. Hugald Grafe, a present day church
historian, says that scholarly investigations on the openness of this community to
Christianity are still wanting. It is mainly because the available works on these Kallars
are either secular or non-Christian in character. Hence with the scope for a diligent
examination this topic has been selected for a pioneering rather maiden effort on this
religious aspect with historical and analytical approaches.

At the outset it should be kept in mind that even though Kallars are
called by different names like Esanattu Kallars, Visangunattu Kallars, Seruvasal
Kallars, Ambalakara Kallars, Piramalai Kallars etc. no special significance can be
attached to their names except for the regions they live in. In Madurai alone, the
Kallars are divided into two endogamous groups territorial in origin.

(i)

Kilnadu Kallars or the eastern country Kallars commonly known as

Melur Kallars.

(ii)

MelNadu Kallars or the western country Kallars commonly known as

Piramalai Kallars.

Hence in this Thesis the word Kallar would refer to the Piramalai Kallar as well.

Statement of Problem
A rare grafting, an incredible reality, but a true phenomenon that the
Kallars, known for their martial character, untamable nature and aggressive behaviour
with a flair for knives and sickles, had been attracted towards a religion with
diametrically opposite values and principles such as love, compassion, sacrifice,
forgiveness etc. These contradictory values and views of both Christianity and this
community which made them stand poles apart, kindled the curiosity in the researcher
to analyse the factors which were responsible for their conversion.

It is a common dictum that Christianity flourishes where there is

oppression, poverty or deprivation. But this does not seem to be too true with the
Kallars. The Kallars were / are known for their high sense of social superiority,
irrespective of their economic status, and pride in the dignity of their community
whose independence was tantamount to truculence in earlier times. Traditionally the

Kallars served the rulers in times of war as a corps of reconnaissance and harassment
and engaged themselves in cattle raid which was a conventionalized signal for
warfare. At other times they served them as spies and guerilla troopers. As skilled
vanguards, risking their lives for the sake of their masters, they commanded respect in
society so much so that the term Kallar was used in singular number honorifically.
During times of peace and settlement some of them were employed as kavalkarars
(village guards) of domestic and public property in villages. Thus they settled down in
society as semi-warriors and semi-agriculturists. They had organized themselves into
a village federation and were never in tune with the rulers of Madurai right from the
Nayak period to the British rule. The rulers including the British found it an arduous
task to subdue them and exact tribute from them. Thus they had never been a
suppressed lot.

In due course this community was reduced to poverty which

synchronized with the fall of the ruling dynasties. With their occupation as soldiers
gone the Kallars fell into evil days. Owing to the inhospitable nature of their land
agriculture was rendered insufficient for their maintenance and hence they felt
justified to employ their expertise to earn their livelihood. The recidivism of the
Kallars went on unabated and at times it appeared as though the British Raj was
powerless against the Kallar Raj. To bring these people to naught with calculated
moves the British cut across the very basis of their subsistence living through their
6

enforcement of denudation of arms and abolition of kaval system. Despite their

poverty stricken and hapless situation, this community which was exceedingly zealous
of rites, rituals and Hindu traditions was much averse to Christianity in view of the
persecutions which was sure to follow every conversion. They feared ostracism more
than death itself. Had they embraced Christianity for the sake of bread and butter,
there ought to have taken place a mass conversion. But on the contrary only a few
responded positively to the call of the missionaries in the beginning and only
gradually the number swelled. Hence it could very well be deduced that they had not
embraced Christianity just due to poverty.

The only factor left behind is deprivation. A few questions as to the

nature, causation and effect of deprivation may arise. These are some of the moot
questions to be analysed. There ought to have been a driving force that made this
setting of the Thames on fire possible. Hence a probe into the possible reasons and
motives behind becomes imperative and that forms the nucleus of this Thesis.

Review of literature
Louis Dumont, a French Sociologist, in his book A South Indian SubCaste: Social Organisation and Religion of the Piramalai Kallars, available in

many libraries, has made a professional and sophisticated analysis of their social
concept and has contributed much to a better understanding of their complex social
institutions. However its focal area is confined to just two villages of the Piramalai
Kallars and is out and out non- Christian in character.

C.N. Natarajan's, Piramalai Kallars of Tamilnadu - A study of their

Marriage, Kinship and Clan System, a Ph.D. Thesis of 1978 housed in Madurai
Kamaraj University Library, Madurai, is highly informative regarding their social
concepts since it has dealt with the subject from the sociological point of view.

A.Ganapathy's The History of the Kallars of Melur Region, a Ph.D.

Thesis of 1987, also available in Madurai Kamaraj University Library, Madurai, is a
wonderful piece of work but it deals mainly with the Melur Kallars and is also out and
out non-Christian in character. However with regard to the origin and etymology of
the Kallars in general, it gives substantial information.

The Piramalai Kallars - Their Social, Moral and Religious

Background and the Presentation of the Christian Gospel, is a B.D. Thesis by
Rev. G.J.R. Athistam, submitted in 1950 and housed in United Theological College
(UTC) Bangalore. This small work of less than 35 pages is very much general in
character giving much importance to the missiological aspect only. However its value
cannot be undermined as it does supply some useful pieces of information about the

life of the Kallars which have been incorporated and duly acknowledged in this
Thesis.

So also a recent work, an M.Th. Thesis in Missiology by P.Ramanathan

under the title Spiritual Warfare Among the Kallars, submitted in 2005 and housed
in South Asian Institute of Advanced Christian studies (SAIACS) Bangalore, is
nothing but a missional appraisal, giving importance to their vision and mission
among the Kallars.

Though all these works have supplied useful information, they are very
much limited and highly superficial and have no direct bearing with this topic is
concerned, thus adding to its uniqueness.

Sources of Information
Primary Sources
The Primary sources consist of the official documents of the
Government of Madras and the private accounts of the missionaries.

For the secular (non-Christian) aspect of the Kallar history, the official
records of the Madras Presidency form the most important source of information.
Preserved in the State Archives, Chennai, these records such as Gazetteers, Census
Reports, Manuals, Newspaper Reports, various Government Orders connected with

Criminal Tribes Act and Kallar Reclamation, Working Reports of the Criminal Tribes
Act, Administration Reports on Kallar Reclamation and Settlements, Assembly
Proceedings, Petitions and Telegrams prove to be of great help for the reconstruction
of the history of the Kallars prior to the introduction of Christianity among them.

For the ecclesiastical aspect, the Annual Reports of the AMM published
from Pasumalai, Madurai, for various years (1834 - 1921) housed in Tamilnadu
Theological Seminary Archives (TTS) at Arasaradi (Madurai); the Missionary Herald
published annually from Boston, available in American College Library, Madurai;
Minutes of the meetings of the AMM, Personal Letters of the missionaries, Comity
arrangement among Missions all kept preserved in the UTC archives, Bangalore;
Caritas, a family magazine of the Jesuit Order found in the Seminary at St. Joseph's
College, Trichy, and the Seminary at Arul Anandar College, Karumathur (Madurai)
all these furnish valuable information, though limited, on the activities of their
respective mission among the Kallars. Written in simple English, these records throw
profuse light not only on the religious activities of the missionaries but also on the
then socio-economic and political scenario in an interesting way. Undeniably the
accounts of the missionaries prove to be very reliable and valuable since corroborated
by official records.

Personal interviews with elders of the Kallar community and pastors

connected with the community also have helped in the reconstruction of this history.
10

These interviews provided extensive opportunities for interaction with people who
were eye witnesses and had direct contact with the missionaries as beneficiaries. In
fact it was nothing more than an attempt of rescuing from oblivion the information
possessed by living characters before it should be lost for ever. Since it is permissible
for any researcher to rely upon less important but equally compelling sources like
tradition, myth or even distorted information in the absence of written records all these
had been taken into account. However bias has been eliminated in order to arrive at
bare truths.

Secondary Sources
Many secondary sources are available in Tamil also for the study of the
life of the Kallars. Important among them are Venkatasamy Nattar's Kallar
Charithram, Muthu Thevar's Muvendra Kula Thevar Samuga Varalaru and
Sivanandi Servai's Muvendra Kula Charithai. All these furnish a good deal of
information about the origin, development and the life of the Kallar community.
However all these are very general in character and no trace of the Kallar contact with
Christianity could be seen in them. These books are available in so many libraries
such as Central Library, Madurai, Regal Talkies Library, Madurai, Thevar Sinthanai
Mantram, Madurai, and in the private collections of many Kallars.

11

There are ever so many published works in English to throw light on the
non-Christian side of the Kallar history. Important among them are Edgar Thurston's
Castes and Tribes of Southern India in 7 volumes which is a scholarly field work in
the history of social organization, available in S.T. Hindu College Library, Nagercoil
and Roy Burman & Co.s Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes and Castes in 24
volumes, available in Madurai Kamaraj University Library, Madurai. History of the
Madras Police Centenary 1859 1959, Mullaly's Notes on Criminal Classes of the
Madras Presidency, Muhammad Abdul Ghani's Notes on the Criminal Tribes of
the Madras Presidency all available with T.N. Archives Library, Chennai, explain
vividly Kallar crimes and their criminal activities.

For the study of the religious aspect a number of valuable books are
available. Important among them are History of Christianity in India from CHAI
Publication in 5 volumes, J.S. Chandler's Seventy Five Years in the Madura
Mission, J.J. Banninga's Notes on the American Madura Mission since its Seventy
Fifth Anniversary, Houpert C. Joseph's The Madura Manual, M.X. Miranda's The
Jesuit Experience in Tamilnadu, J.S. Ponniah's The Christian Community of
Madura, Ramnad and Tirunelveli, Fenger J. Ferd's History of the Tranquebar
Mission etc. These books, available in Tamilnadu State Archives Library, UTC
Library, TTS Library and Gurukul (TELC) Library at Purasawalkam, Chennai, supply

12

valuable information, though limited, about Christianity in connection with the Kallar
community and thus have a direct bearing with the topic.

Limitations
At the outset, it must be confessed that the search for original, often
unpublished sources, was not crowned with a grand success. The transition of the
Kallars from ferocity to a community has not been recorded properly and housed in
any of the archives. In spite of running from pillar to post enough of primary records
could not be obtained. There are many reasons for this.

The first and foremost reason is the lack of historical sense among the
Kallars. Recording of events had never been their practice. Even their cultural,
religious and clan-behaviour had been passed on from generation to generation
through oral transmission only. Even today they are not in the habit of recording their
panchayat proceedings. The tragicomedy is that most of them are not even aware of
the names of their fore fathers and the first converts of their family. So it is but natural
that they could not recall the names of the missionaries who were instrumental for the
conversion of their ancestors. The questionnaire supplied to them failed miserably as a
source of information since they had not taken it up seriously. This lapse on their part
made this study an arduous task entailing much research in libraries and archives.

13

Secondly the non-availability of adequate primary records was a major

handicap. The temporary closure of the Jesuit archives at Shenbaganur, one of the
probable places for scholars for getting Christian records about the Kallars, added to
the difficulty.

As far as TELC is concerned, the desperate search for records of their

missionary activities among the Kallars in their Seminary (Gurukul) at
Purasawakkam, Chennai, Tranquebar Bishop House at Trichy, T.B.M.L. College
Library at Poraiyar and TELC Higher Secondary School Library at Usilampatti
(Madurai) etc. ended in terrible disappointment. Except for some photographs of the
missionaries concerned no worth while record could be collected from those places.
This fact gets vouchsafed by an incident that took place when

Rev. Dr. D.

Winkler, a missionary cum professor of the LELM was asked to contribute some
materials to the Golden Jubilee Souvenir of the TELC. As nothing was available in
India he had to depend on a selection of records sent from Leipzig. Even among the
available Christian literature about the Kallars most of them are either in German or
Swedish thus making it unattainable. To make matters worse, most of the records are
in a dilapidated and brittle condition.

Even with the available Christian sources in English no adequate records

pertaining to different castes could be found. Moreover for the missionaries, Kallar or
Piramalai Kallar or Maravar all meant one and the same and were all referred to as
14

thief caste or robber caste only. Even in churches no caste wise records of the
members are available. Hence furnishing of precise statistics on the conversion of the
Piramalai Kallar could not be thought of.

Finally there was the problem of authenticity of information. Some of

the informers preferred to narrate what was good and pleasant for them rather than the
truth. Hence the researcher had to sift the grain from the chaff from the available
information.

In spite of some of these factors which proved to be stumbling blocks

for the reconstruction of a comprehensive and cogent history of the Kallars and
Christianity, with unflinching determination and perseverance a bold step has been
taken towards unveiling this aspect of the Kallar history which is otherwise likely to
be forgotten or not taken notice of.

Hence with the available materials this topic Spread of Christianity

among the Piramalai Kallars of Madurai District has been analyzed to the best of
ability by following a methodology which is partly historical and partly analytical not
out of any fascination for complexity but out of necessity. This Thesis is a sincere
attempt to research in the real sense of the term and present a continuous and
systematic account of the spread of Christianity among the Piramalai Kallars which
has not so far received the attention it deserves.

15

Chapterisation
This Thesis has been arranged in seven chapters including Introduction
and Conclusion.

In the Introductory chapter statement of problem, review of literature,

sources, limitations and methodology are analyzed.

The Second chapter Historical background of the Kallar community

deals with the different theories of origin of the Kallars, the etymology of the term
Kallar and their settlement in Madurai.

In the third chapter Life of the Piramalai Kallars prior to the

introduction of Christianity the socio-economic, cultural and religious background
of the Kallars has been described elaborately. The general traits of the Kallars, their
customs and tradition which were tied up with every stage of their life cycle such as
birth, puberty, marriage and death, their clan system, their crimes and their cults are
given due importance.

The fourth Chapter Entry of Christian Missions into Madurai is

mainly about the advent of Christianity and Christian Missions in India in general and
Madurai in particular. In this chapter the then prevailing socio-religious conditions at
Madurai as seen by the missionaries, the establishment of the three Missions

16

connected with the life of these Kallars and their services to the society in general are
dealt with elaborately.

The fifth Chapter the Kallars and Christianity forms the nucleus of the
Thesis. It focuses on the attitude of the Kallars towards Christianity in different stages,
the methodology adopted by the missionaries to win over them and their hardships,
analysis of the reasons for conversion, the persecutions the converts endured and the
various activities of the missions are explained vividly.

The sixth Chapter Impact of Christianity on the Piramalai Kallars

analyses the change in their attitude, mind-set and their over all development in
various walks of life.

In the concluding chapter the summary of the findings and suggestions

are included.

17

CHAPTER II

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
THE KALLAR COMMUNITY

16

CHAPTER - II

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE KALLAR

COMMUNITY

Situated principally between 70 571 and 110 101 of north latitude and
between 770 301 and 790 851 of east longitude, Madurai lies entirely within the
tropics.1It extends from the Western Ghats in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the
east. On the north, it was bounded by the state of Pudukkottai and the districts of
Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur and on the south by the district of
Tirunelveli.2

Because of hot climate, scanty and faulty rainfall, absence of

perennial rivers and irrigational facilities, poor productivity of the soil etc., the life
of the people of Madurai was becoming highly miserable. Dravidian by race,
people were divided in to numerous communities of whom the prominent were the
Mukkulathor and of the three the Kallar alone formed about 1/3 of the total
population of the district.3

1.

K. Rajayyan, History of Madurai (1736-1801), Madurai University Historical Series, No.1,Madurai,

1974, p. 18.

2.

Hamilton Walter, A Geographical, Statistical and Historical Description of Hindostan, vol. I, Delhi,
1971, p. 466.

3.

W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteer, Madurai, Govt. Press, Madras, 1906, p.88.

17

Many theories have been put forward with regard to the origin of the
Kallar community legendary, historical, analytical and logical. In this chapter an
overall view of the origin of the Mukkulathor, etymology and settlement of the
Kallars in general and the Piramalai Kallars in particular have been dealt with.
Mukkulathor4 is the common term to denote the cluster of three identical clans of
the Dravidian stock viz, Kallar, Maravar and Agamudaiyar. These three Tamilspeaking communities consider themselves as brethren and take pride in calling
themselves Mukkulathor in recent times. These people were one of the earliest
settlers in southern peninsula. They are known for their valour, courage and
independent nature. They are numerically strong in the southern districts of
Tamilnadu. They claim to be the offspring of same parents. The origin of the
Mukkulathor is mythologically traced to Lord Indra, the General of the Holy forces
in Heaven and Aghalia, the wife of Rishi Gautama.

F.S. Mullaly narrates the mythological origin in the following way.

Indra and Rishi Gautama were, among others, rival suitors for Aghalia. Somehow
Rishi Gautama was the successful one. This so incensed Indra that he was

4.

To exhibit the solidarity of the three clans was founded "All India Mukkulathor Sangam" on January
28th, 1934, under the Presidentship of Rajaram Pandiyan, the Sethupathy of Ramnad. Thence forth the
term Mukkulathor came into vogue.
P. Muthu Thevar , Muvendra Kula Thevar Samuga Varalaru, (Tamil) III ed.,R.K.K. & sons,
Thirumangalam, (Madurai) 1994, p. 309.

18

determined to win Aghalia at all hazards. By means of a cleverly devised ruse he

succeeded and Aghalia bore him three sons, who respectively took the names
Kalla, Marava and Ahamudya. The three castes have the agnomen Theva or God,
and claim to be descendants of Thevan (Indra).5

According to another version of the same legend, once upon a time,

Rishi Gautama left his house to go abroad on business. Devendra, taking
advantage of his absence, debauched his wife and three children were born. When
the Rishi returned, one of the three hid himself behind a door, and as he thus acted
like a thief, he was henceforth called Kallan. Another climbed on a tree and was
therefore called Maravan from maram, a tree whilst the third brazened it out and
stood his ground, thus earning for himself the name of Ahamudaiyan, or the
possessor of pride which name was corrupted into Ahambadiyan.6
According to another legend, quoted by Louis Dumont,7 the three
sons later went with their mother to meet their father Indra in order to obtain a
position for themselves. Since it was impossible to get them a share in the
heavenly institutions, Indra created village occupations for them so that they could

5.

F.S. Mullaly, Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency, Govt. Press, Madras, 1892, p. 85.

6.

Edgar Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol III, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi,
1987, p. 63.

7 . Louis Dumont, A South Indian Sub-Caste: Social Organisation and Religion of the Piramalai Kallar,
Oxford University Press, New York, 1986,p. 12.

19

dispense with justice and recover lost objects. He distributed them geographically the Kallar to the north, the Maravar in the centre and the Agambadiyar to the
south.

It would be sagacious to set aside all these, since mythological

concepts can have no currency in this world of science and technology. As
Ganapathy suspects,8 it might have been from the orthodox elite with a fertile
brain of invention to maintain their superiority over the native tribes by branding
them as immoral offshoots of Devendra.

Nevertheless almost all Mukkulathor have a belief in the concept of

their origin from Indra, the 'Warrior God', and hence they style themselves Indra
Kulathavar (People of the clan of Indra) and adorn their names with the common
agnomen Thevar (sons of God). There is a very close connection among the three
clans in their appearance, customs, manners, traditions and war like qualities.
According to tradition, these people formed the important and strategic sections of
the armies of the Tamil Kings and Chiefs in olden days when fighting was even
more an important profession than agriculture and supported a larger population.9
But at present all the three have taken up farming. In spite of the alleged common

8.

A. Ganapathy, History of the Kallars of Melur Region, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Madurai Kamaraj
University, Madurai, 1987, p. 33.

9.

A. Ramaswami, Gazetteer of India, Ramanathapuram District, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, 1972, pp. 137 138.

20

ancestry, these three classes in early times formed themselves in to distinct castes
and inter-marriage between the Kallars and the other two was not allowed.
However this trend has changed to a great extent in the twentieth century mainly
due to the concept of Mukkulathor.
It would be highly apt to deal with these three clans separately in a
nut shell.

The Maravars
The Maravars were found in the present Ramnad and Tirunelveli
districts and the Arantangi taluk of the present Pudukkottai district at the beginning
of the eighteenth century. The Ramnad district, then known as the Marava country,
was the place where the Maravas originally settled and from there they had
migrated to Tirunelveli country of the Nayak kingdom of Madura. The head of the
Maravas was the Sethupathi or the Raja of Ramnad.10 According to the traditional
stories the Maravas of the Ramnad region helped Sri Rama in his war against the
demon Ravana and as a token of gratitude for their services, Rama gratefully
exclaimed in Tamil Maraven (I will never forget) and that they have ever since
been called Maravans and thenceforth they were hailed as Deva or Theva meaning
gods.11

10. S. Kadhirvel, A History of the Maravas, Madurai Publishing House, Madurai, 1977, pp 6-7.
11. Ibid.,p. 6.

21

With more probability, the name may be connected with the word
maram which means killing, ferocity, bravery and the like as pointing to their
unpleasant profession of robbing and slaying their neighbours. Being noted for
their military prowess, they assisted the Pandyas and the Nayaks and were a
nightmare to the British.12 They were essentially a community doing military
service to the chiefs or were rendering police duties.13 To this class belonged most
of the poligars or feudal chieftains like the Marudu brothers. They did not evince
any interest in agriculture, trade or industry as they considered themselves superior
people whose solemn duty was to protect others and not to till or toil.14

As F.S. Mullaly writes," a Marava of today as a member of a

caste which is numerous and influential, as a man of superior physique and bold
independent spirit, thief and robber, village policeman and detective combined is
an immense power in the land."15

Agamudaiyars
The Agamudaiyars are found in Thanjavur, Madurai and Tirunelveli
districts. Since their profession is agriculture, they are found in most of the
12. B.K. Roy Burman, K.K. Misra, Buddhadeb Choudhuri and Subhadra , ed., Encyclopaedia of Indian
Tribes and Castes, Vol. XIV, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 2004, p. 4340.
13. S. Kadhirvel, Op. cit., p. 13.
14. Ibid.
15. Roy Burman, et al., Op. cit., Vol. XIV, p. 4342.

22

districts of Tamilnadu such as Chingelput, North Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore and

Trichirappalli. They are much less in number than they were some thirty years ago
may be due to the fact that they have risen in the social hierarchy and have
identified themselves as Vellalas. But in Thanjavur, the number has nearly doubled
due to the assumption of the name by the Maravans and Kallans. In their manners
and customs they closely follow the Vellalas.16

This fact has been corroborated by Dumont when he says that from
the point of view of typical customs, an Agamudaiyan is closer to an orthodox
Vellalan than to a Kallan.17 Of the three clans, the Agamudaiyars alone are said to
have been greatly influenced by contact with Brahmanism. They engage Brahmin
priests and perform their birth, marriage and death ceremonies like the Vellalas.18
The ordinary agnomen or titular name of an Agamudaiyar is Servaikkaran, but
many of them even call themselves Pillai, Adhigari and Mudaliar.19 Agamudaiyars
are not so ferocious and martial as the Maravars or Kallars. Because of their
economic prosperity, they have adopted a more respectable attitude to life. They
are comparatively a peace loving people.20

16. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 20.

17. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 10.
18. Roy Burman , et al., Op. cit., Vol .I, p. 21.
19. Ibid.
20. S. Kadhirvel , Op. cit., p. 14.

23

Kallars
The Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes and Castes describes the Kallars
as a dark race of small stature and of many distinctive peculiarities pointing them
out as having sprung from an aboriginal tribe.21 Here it would be more appropriate
to take into account the view of B.S. Guha regarding the term aborigines. He feels
that the term aboriginal population of India is not usually applied to the tribal
population of India, not in any derogatory sense but to indicate their being the
earliest among the present inhabitants of the country.22

The Kallars are known for the retention of their customs and
traditions. Hence they attract the attention of sociologists, anthropologists and
historians alike. According to Nelson, the Kallars are in many respects the most
remarkable of all the castes in the Madurai district and have played an important
part in history.23 The Kallars are numerically large and form the primary unit in
the jati-cluster of Mukkulathor. An estimate made by T.N.B.C. Commission in
1971 shows that the population of the Kallars was 9.75 lakh, the Maravars and the

21. Roy Burman , et al ., Op. cit., Vol. IX, p . 2765.

22. B.S. Guha , Indian Aborigines and Who They Are? Adi Vasis, In Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1960, p. 28.
23. J.H. Nelson, The Madura Country-A Manual, Part II, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1868,
p. 44.

24

Agamudaiyars were 8.31 lakh and 6.70 lakh respectively.24 In view of their
concentration in the districts of Thanjavur, Trichirappalli, Pudukkottai and
Madurai, this area is sometimes referred to as Kallarnadu or Kallaham. They are
also found settled in certain portions of Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli districts.

The life of the Kallars is principally governed by geographic and

economic factors. Because of the inflow of the river Cauvery, the districts of
Thanjavur and Trichirappalli are blessed with fertile soil and copious water. Hence
the Kallars of these wet land areas have mostly taken to agriculture and a settled
living whereas the Kallars of Madurai district where large portions of land remain
dry, have continued to remain with their primitive agriculture, subsistence living
and with no scope for socio-economic betterment.25

The following table shows the district wise distribution of the Kallars
in Tamil Nadu.

24. Backward Class Commission, Tamil Nadu Pirpattor Nalakkuzhu Arikkai, Part II, Govt. of Tamil Nadu,
1974. p. 5.
25. K. Bose, Forward Bloc, Tamil Nadu Academy of Political Science, Madras, 1988, p. 54.

25

District

Number of People

Percentage

Thanjavur

3,81,660

39.1

Madurai

3,43,157

35.2

1,44,327

14.8

Ramanathapuram

83,444

8.5

Tirunelveli

23,124

2.4

Trichirappalli
(including Pudukkottai)

Total

9,75,712

100.0

Source: T.N.B.C. Commission, Report, Part-II, Govt. of Tamilnadu, 1974, P.5.

The demographic constitution of Madurai is such that the Vellala

community constitutes nearly 12% and the Kallar community, about 10% of the
total population.26

Origin of the Kallars

H.A. Stuart is of strong opinion that the Kallars must have been one
of the first of the Dravidian tribes that penetrated into the southern peninsula, thus
were the oldest among the South Indian tribes. Hence the origin of this ancient
tribe poses to be a baffling question to the historians. Many theories have been

26. P.K. Nambiar, Census of India, 1961, District Census Hand Book, Madurai, Vol. IX, Govt. of Madras,
1966, p. 19.

26

advanced by learned historians, identifying them with so many tribes/clans. The

most important among them have been classified here below.

1. Naga theory
V. Kanagasabhai, a Tamil savant, identifies the Kallars as the
descendants of Eyinar or Vedar, the most lawless branch of the Naga tribe who
were a primitive people of the early Tamil land. His theory rests on the basis of the
commonality of their profession viz. cattle lifting, pillaging and murder and also of
their worship of the dreaded goddess Kali with animal sacrifices, to secure her
favour in their plundering raids and justifies that their descendants are now known
by the appropriate title of Kallars or thieves. He tries to adduce that one Dhirataran
Murti Eyinar, the great chief of Viramangalam, referred to in the Plates of Jatila
Varman, a Pandya King of the 12th century A.D., appears to have belonged to this
tribe.27
However linking a group with another on the basis of mere
semblance of profession and worship cannot be an astute derivation.

2. Kurumba theory
This theory is propounded by Gustav Oppert who links the Kallars
with the Kurumbas, the martial clan of Tondaimandalam, who were the very old
27. V. Kanagasabhai, The Tamils 1800 Years Ago, rpt., Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1979,
p. 43.

27

inhabitants of Tamilaham. He firmly believes that on the capture of

Tondaimandalam by Adonda Chola, they took to marauding and thereby earned
the notorious title Kallan or thief as a tribal appellation.28
Oppert cannot be wrong when he states that the Kurumbas must be
regarded as the very old inhabitants of this land who could contest with their
Dravidian kinsmen the priority of the occupation of the Indian soil. His view has
been ratified by one S. Radha Krishna Iyer who opines that the earliest settlers in
the Pudukkottai region must have been Kurumbars, the modern representatives of
the ancient Pallavas who were once so powerful in Southern India. They were
found in Tondaimandalam, the land of the Pallavas, in large numbers and must
have drifted to these parts from that tract or directly come over here from the
Canarese country through the Palani Hills.29 Moreover the relics of the Pallava
rule, found in Pudukkottai region which could be assigned to the 8th century A.D.,
has made Rev. Taylor surmise that the Kurumbars might have settled in the
Pudukkottai region in the earliest centuries of the Christian era, after driving out
the Veduvars or Vedars, the aborigines from there.30

28. Gustav Oppert , On the Original Inhabitants of Bharatvarsha or India, Oriental Publishers, Indian rpt.,
Delhi, 1972, pp. 257-258.
29. S. Radha Krishna Iyer, A General History of the Pudukkottai State, Brihadamba State Press,
Pudukkottai, 1916, p. 43.
30. William Taylor, Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts in the Tamil Language, trans., Vol. III, Madras,
1857-62, p. 409.

28

Hence it is proved beyond doubt that the Kurumbars were the very
old inhabitants of Tamil land. However, the validity of Oppert's findings is
objectionable when it comes to the question of identifying these Kurumbars with
the Kallars, on the basis of references of Kallars as Kurumbars in some documents
and the worship of the Kurumba goddess Viralakshmi by the Kallars of the
Pudukkottai district.31

After all, Tamil words are elastic and susceptible of diverse

interpretations. According to Tamil Lexicon the word Kurumban means a wicked
person. No wonder the Kallars who would have proved wicked to their neighbours
might have been referred to as Kurumbans. Regarding the worship of the goddess
of the Kurumbas, it would not have been a matter at all to the Kallars, since they
being poly-theistic in character.

Pallava theory
This theory is advanced by scholars, no less than the Tamil savant
N.M. Venkatasamy Nattar, A. Soma Sundaram and the eminent historian,
V.A. Smith. N.M.Venkatasamy Nattars History of the Kallars is based
essentially on the identification of a Kalvar Koman Pulli of Venkatagiri (modern
Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh) appeared in Sangam literature as a Kallar. He

31. Gustav Oppert , Op. cit., p. 257.

29

inclines to the view that the Kallars had a regal status in northern Tondaimandalam
from ancient times and were reduced to the status of feudatories when the Pallavas
conquered their territory. To him the similarity of the Pallava titles and those of
certain modern Kallar clans especially of the Kallars of Thanjavur district such as
Thondaiman, Pallavarayar, Kadavar, Sethibar etc. go a long way in proving the
link between the two.32 A. Somasundaram supplements it by his claim that on the
fall of the Pallava dynasty, their descendants lost their occupation as soldiers and
took to other occupations. While the fortunate settlers of the fertile areas took to
farming, their unfortunate brethrens who settled in dry and infertile areas took to
pillage, undeniably an easier means of livelihood.33

As far as V.A. Smith is concerned, he holds the view that the

Pallavas were a tribe, class or caste which was formed in the Northern part of the
existing Madras Presidency possibly in the Vengi country between the Krishna and
the Godavari. The persistent hostility of the Pallavas to the territorial Tamil states
and the fact that tradition does not assign any territorial limits to the Pallava
dominion are clear indications that the Pallavas were distinct in race from the
Tamils. According to constant tradition their rule was super-imposed upon that of

32. N.M. Venkatasamy Nattar, Kallar Charithram (Tamil), Nadukkaveri, Tiruchirappalli, 1923, pp. 20-42.
33. A. Soma Sundaram, Kallarum, Kallar Abhiviruthiyum (Tamil), Vittuvan A. Shanmuga Sundaram,
Thanjavur, 1956, pp. 8-9.

30

the Rajas of the Pandya, Chola and Chera countries, which covered the whole area
of the South. In the subsequent lines, the point Smith tries to drive home is that
the Pallavas were a mixed race of many predatory clans who governed and welded
them together into an aggressive force.34 Thus the Pallava race must have been
cosmopolitan in character just like the Rajput race which included all those who
had war as their profession i.e., the Kshatriyas. This hypothesis is testified by the
view of Sir Walter Elliot who feels that the Kallars, a predatory clan, with their
bold, indomitable and martial habits resembled more the ancient Pallavas in their
characteristics.35 Perhaps that could have been the reason for the cultural and
religious semblance between the Kallars and the other predatory clans such as the
Nagas, the Kurumbas, the Kalabhras etc. The Raja of Pudukkottai, a tributary
principality, who was the recognised head of the Kallars styled himself Raja
Pallava (Tondaman), claiming descent from the ancient royal family.36 Gradually
the Pallava power declined and the later Pallava Chiefs sank into the position of
mere feudatory nobles and officials in the service of the territorial kingdoms. By
the close of the 17th century, all traces of the Pallavas as a distinct race disappeared
and their blood is now merged in that of the Kallars, Palli, Vellalar castes.37

34. V.A. Smith, The Early History of India, IV ed., Oxford University Press, London, 1967, p. 466.
35. V.A. Smith, Op. cit., p. 492.
36. Ibid., p. 493.
37. Ibid.

31

The last sentiment partakes of the nature of an ex cathedra utterance

and Smith nowhere elucidates how he has arrived at that positive conclusion.
Regarding the foregoing, only two remarks seem necessary. Firstly the mere fact
that there had been persistent hostility between the Pallavas and the Tamil
Kingdoms need not necessarily connote different racial origins where there is no
other testimony on the point. Secondly it has not been shown of the Pudukkottai
Raja claiming lineal or racial descent from the Pallavas. But it would appear that
the name Pallava must have had its origin still further south than imagined by
Smith and implied a ruling dynasty and not a mere tribe or clan. It is difficult to
assert if the Vellalar or Kallar in South India claim any relationship with the
Pallavas.38

Chola theory
C. Sivanandi Servai39 and P. Muthu Thevar40 claim that the

Kallars are the descendants of the Cholas and hold that the Agambadiyars, Kallars
and Maravars who form the Mukkulathor jati-cluster, are the descendants of the
early Tamil Regal Trinity the Chera, Chola and Pandya respectively. But they

38. Indian Antiquarry, Vol. III ,The Journal of Oriental Research ,The Educational Societys press,
Bombay, 1923, p. 80.
39. C. Sivanandi Servai , Muvendra Kula Charithai (Tamil), Muvendra Kula Publishing House, Madurai,
1940, p. 31.
40. P. Muthu Thevar, Op. cit., pp. 104 - 106.

32

have failed to substantiate their claims with solid evidences and thereby making it
appear as a tall claim. However there is a possibility for the inference that it is the
Cholas who have been misnamed Kallar. It is pertinent and necessary to bring to
light that the foreign historians like William Taylor in Vol. I & II of Oriental
Historical Manuscripts and Robert Sewell in Vol.I of the Archaeological
Survey of Southern India have misspelt the word Chola and the word Cholan
transliterated as soren has been misinterpreted in its current meaning of Kallar or
thief. Contributory to the above misinterpretation is the name assigned to one of
the Chola kings, Kalvar Koman after whom the name Kalla in modified form must
have arisen. Further the General History of Pudukkottai State also adds strength
to the aforesaid hypothesis. It states that the Raja of Pudukkottai was the head of
the great Kalla and robber caste of South India, mentioned in the edicts of Asoka.
Confirmatory of the fact is the detail given in the same history of eleven more
tribes that settled there along with Tondaman whose cognomens, with very many
others, are in common use with this community, Tondaman being not a title or
rank but a family name, borne by many ryots of the Tondaman Stock.41

Kalabhra theory
This theory has been analysed by many historians who speak for and
against the Kallar Kalabhra identity. Learned Tamil

41. S. Radha Krishna Iyer , Op. cit., p. 117.

33

scholars like

M. Rajamanickam42 and Paramasivanantam43 trace the Kallar descent from the

Kalappirar (Kalabhras) who came from beyond the northern frontiers and ruled
the Tamil land for about three centuries, from the middle of the third century to the
end of the sixth century A.D. Thus they attribute non-Tamil identity to the
Kalappirar. But R. Gopalan, despite his positive note on the Kallar Kalabhra
descent, considers them as a set of Tamil speaking people living on the frontier of
the Tamil country, rather predatory in character accustomed to cattle-lifting and
thereby flourishing upon it as a profession and these people were Kalabhras in
Sanskrit and later Kallar in Tamil.44 Mayilai Sreeni Venkatasamy disagrees with
the view that Kallar and Kalappirars were one and the same. He identifies the
Kalappirars with the Vakatakas of Kannada region.45 Raghavaiyangar, another
Tamil scholar, agrees with the first part but holds that Kalappirar were Tamil
speaking population that lived by farming.46

42. M. Rajamanickam, Pallavar Varalaru (Tamil), Then Indiya Saiva Siddhanta Nur Padhippuk
Kazhagam, Tirunelveli, 1944, pp. 37, 43.
43. Paramasivanantam , Tamizhkkalai Varalaru (Tamil), Tamizhkkalai Padhippakam, Chennai, 1972,
p. 178.
44. R. Gopalan, Pallavas of Kanchi, Madras University, Madras, 1928, p. 28.
45. A. Ganapathy, Op. cit., p. 38.
46. Ibid.

34

S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar also subscribes to this theory and states

emphatically that the Kalabhras were none but the Kallars of old Tamil poetry. He
holds the view that the Kalvar or Kalavar flowed to the South under the Pallava
pressure, leaving their habitat in Tondaimandalam viz. Kanchipuram which was
converted into a Pallava territory, reached south Arcot and Tanjore and there
presumably putting an end to the Tamil Sangam civilisation as Kalabhra. Finally in
the anarchy, following the decline of the Cola State (Chola), they established
themselves in the frontier region between the Cola and Pandya Kingdoms
Pudukkottai whose Kallar sovereign assumed the title Tondaman or Tondaiman.47
He also tries to substantiate his theory by adding that the word Kallar is the
synonym of the term Kalvar. Kalvar was usually written in ancient manuscripts
without the dot on the head of l became Kalavar which turned into Kalabar,
Kalabara, Kalabhara and ultimately Kalabhra.48 This KallarKalabhra etymology
is strongly refuted by M. Arunachalam who has done an extensive research on
this subject. Since in Sanskrit the word Steya denotes 'Kalvar', the need to
Sanskritize the word is rendered unnecessary. He has also arrived at the conclusion
that the place of the origin of the Kalabhras was not Venkatam and they have not
descended from Pulli.49

47. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 13.

48. A. Ganapathy, Op. cit., p. 38.
49. M. Arunachalam, The Kalabhras in the Pandya Country and Their Impact on the Life and Letters
There, Madras University, Madras, 1979,pp. 26-27.

35

Though Nadana Kasinathan has identified Kalpappunadu, the

modern Shiravanabelagola in Karnataka State, as the original abode of the
Kalabhras, he identifies the Kalabhras with Kalvar in the strength of the inscription
at Ponnivadi in Coimbatore district.50

Amidst the divergent views on the origin of the Kallars, it is

impossible to arrive at an unassailable conclusion. This aspect is an enigmatic and
intricate one, worth dining into by a researcher who could focus attention on this
aspect alone.

Etymology of the term Kallar

Mystery continues as to how and when this Kallar community came

to be called so. Different interpretations of the derivation and meaning of the word
Kallar have been put forth.

Comale, a Tamil writer, opines that the word Kal means to collect
secretly. Since the Kallars had originally served the Tamil Kings as spies and
collected information secretly, they might have been called so.51 This view is
endorsed by the Ramanathapuram district gazetteer which says as advance guards

50. Nadana Kasinathan , Kalabhirar (Tamil), Publisher not traceable, 1981, p. 6.

51. Comale, Ramanathapuram Mavattam (Tamil), Pari Nilayam, Madras, 1972, p. 89.

36

and spies, the Kallars formed an important section of the armies of the Tamil
Kings and collected information about enemies secretly for their masters.52
Muthu Thevar claims that the Kallars originally lived in Marutham
or agricultural area and were called Kalamar meaning agriculturists which might
have got corrupted into Kallar subsequently.53 But Sivanandi Servai slightly
differs. To him, the word Kalamar is the derivation from the word Kalam meaning
battle-field. So in all probability, Kalamar were battle-field soldiers. In course of
time it would have been corrupted into Kallar.54
N.M. Venkatasamy Nattar feels that the Tamil word Kallan means
a dark person and also an enemy who seizes others property. In view of their dark
colour and hostile nature, the Aryans must have used the word Kallan to the
ancient Tamilians.55
But this kind of explanation of the meaning of the word is not
acceptable to some others who equate the word Kallan to thief. B.S. Baliga says
the name Kallan literally means a thief and there is ample evidence to show that
until recently they continued as professional robbers and thieves.56

52. A. Ramasamy, Op. cit., pp. 137 - 138.

53. P. Muthu Thevar, Op. cit., pp. 75-76.
54. C. Sivanandi Servai, Op. cit., p. 58.
55. N.M. Venkatasamy Nattar, Op. cit., p. 60.
56. B.S. Baliga, Madras District Gazetteers: Madurai, Govt. of Madras, 1960, p. 116.

37

N. Subramanian is of strong opinion that the Kallars were never

soldiers of an organised army. According to him the word Kallars literally means
robbers since they lived by banditry, under the pretext of their 'more hilly and less
fertile' lands.57 Gustav Oppert also expresses the same view. He strongly believes
that as the Kallars made themselves obnoxious by their theft and robberies, the
term Kallan (thief) was applied and stuck to them as a tribal appellation.58

M.A. Ghani also states that in view of their thieving habits, the
name is very justly applied to them.59

The idea of associating this community with thieves or robbers, as

meant by the word Kalla in several southern languages, is repudiated by Nelson in
his Madura District Manual wherein he says that they having been after fearful
struggle and bloody massacres, immigrants from Tondaimandalam and settlers
from southern parts from whom sprang a large community struggling for
independence and imbued with a bold independent spirit which they never failed to
evince.60

57. N. Subramanian, Sangam Polity : The Administration and Social Life of the Sangam Tamils, Asia
Publishing House, Bombay, 1966, p. 143.
58. Gustav Oppert , Op. cit., p. 257.
59. Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Notes on the Criminal Tribes of the Madras Presidency, Thompson & Co.,
Madras, 1915, p. 74.
60. J.H. Nelson, Op. cit., p. 44.

38

Sir Athelstane Baines feels that though it is probable that the

original meaning of the name Kallan was different, in view of the absence of any
other suitable alternative, the interpretation is unfortunately justified by the history
and habits of the caste.61

However according to Ganapathy, there is difference in meaning

between the words Kalvar and Kallar. The word Kalvar definitely means thief as it
is derived from the root word Kal meaning theft or robbery. But the word Kallar is
closely related to words found in Sangam works such as Kalam, Kalamar,
Kalathavar etc. which denotes one who is closely attached to the field. In the
Sangam age, under the Tamil Regal Trinity, there were many feudatories. One
among them was Pulli of Venkatam, a feudatory of the Chola. He was a bounteous
patron and was the chief of the Kallar clan. Apart from him, there were many other
chieftains and Zamindars among the Kallars. The Raja of Pudukkottai was a Kallar
chieftain of a later date. Such was the decency and decorum and hence the name
Kallar might not have represented a thieving caste.62

All the above interpretations, however plausible, do not convincingly

bring home how a community came to be named that way neither dignifying nor

61. Sir Athelstane Baines, ed., Ethnography (Castes and Tribes), Indian rpt., Concept Publication, Delhi,
1976,p. 47.
62. A. Ganapathy, Op. cit., p. 31.

39

relishing and susceptible of a debasing interpretation. The saying that tho;

tho;e;jhd;
nfl;lhy; tiu Nahl;Lf; fhfhd; is familiar to all meaning that a mud pot
worshipped and respectably carried on the priests head and used for divine
adulations is cast away as refuse when broken, implies all the heart rending
degradations, a subject class will be put to. It is to be borne in mind that what goes
by the name of diplomacy among fighting Rajas and Kings will be summarily
disposed of as rebellion, mutiny and theft in the case of clans or individuals.
Likewise, a community once served the Kings and Emperors as vanguards, risking
their lives came to be denounced as thieves, robbers, dacoits, culler, colleries etc.
At this juncture, it would be worthwhile to throw some light on the
nature of the duty of the different sections of the army. It is believed that the army
of the Pallava was divided into three sections kalla padei or a corps for
reconnaissance and harassment; the mara padei, the main body i.e., field soldiers
and the aga padei, the guard or garrison force. This arrangement was borrowed by
the Tamil Regal Trinity.63 In ancient India, when the chief wealth, even of the
kings consisted in the number of herds of cattle, many of the battles were fought
for the sake of cattle wealth. Thus cattle were synonymous with wealth in Vedic
society. In Rig Veda, the character of Indra has been depicted as that of an
unscrupulous war leader of the pastoral people, an ideal king of later times,

63. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 12.

40

plundering one district after another for the sake of cattle wealth.64 Consequently
cattle-lifting was celebrated as one of the popular themes of the early Tamil
literature such as Tolkappiyam, Ahananuru, Purananuru etc. It became so
popular that it was elevated to the level of science by grammarians who had
framed the modus operandi. From that it could be gleaned that the King sent his
vanguards to capture the cattle of his enemy before starting a major war.65 In
Purapporul Venbamalai, the process has been described vividly. While engaging
in cattle raids the raiders used to wear garland of vetchi flowers (Ixora Coccinia)
and so cattle raid was called Vetchippadalam. The rescue operation involved
attempts to recover or recapture the lost cattle and repel the raiders. Since the
rescuers used to wear garlands of Karantai flowers (a species of Basil), the
operation was called Karantaippadalam.66
Besides Tolkappiam and Purapporul Venbamalai, Purananuru and
Akananuru also contain many references of such cattle raids.67 From Akananuru it
is evident that lifting of cattle took place in the early hours of morning and the
rescuing operation during late night.

64. N.N. Bhattacharya, Ancient Indian Rituals and Their Social Contents, Publishers not traceable, Delhi,
1975, p. 28.
65 . Tolkappiam Purattinai, 2.
66. Purapporul Venbamalai Stanza 6.
67. Purananuru: 257 265; 269, 270, 279 etc.
Akananuru: 97, 105, 309, 338, 372, etc.

41

Thus cattle-raid was employed as a conventionalised signal for

warfare and for that purpose, a section of the Maravars i.e., the warrior class who
were known for maram meaning valour and agility were deployed. Since they had
to execute their operation stealthily, in all probability, they might have been
branded as kalla padei, originating from the root word kal meaning to collect
secretly. Later on with the fall of the kingdoms this community lost its occupation
as soldiers. And they fell into evil days. These victims of the situation had the
justification to employ their expertise to earn their livelihood, making many
interpretations

mentioned

above

justified.

However,

logically

speaking,

N.M.Venkatasamy Nattar is pretty right when he asserts the fact emphatically that
if the term Kallar is a derogatory one, no community on earth would have come
forward to assume it as their renowned title.

It will thus be seen that the word Kallar far from signifying felon,
will mean a class whose ways are inscrutable, the how and the wherefore whereof
will become unintelligible. Since the term, when shorn of its venom, becomes
dignifying and honorific so much so, that one of the Chola kings was called Kalvar
Koman and a Pandya as Kalvar Peruman Tennan.

What is more wondrous and funny is that a so called Tamil proverb,

not found in any old writings, - fs;
fs;s kwtd; mfk;gbad; nks;s nks;s

42

te;J nts;shsd; MdhN

MdhNd meaning a Kallan may come to be a Maravan. By
respectability, he may develop in to an Agamudaiyan and by slow and small
degrees become a Vellala, from which he may rise to be a Mudaliar68 has been
given currency as an indication of the social upward movement of the Kallars as an
affluent caste.

Owing to lack of proper knowledge about the position of the Kallars

who had never been inferior in status to the other two, the metamorphoses might
have been misinterpreted by the foreigners. With proper knowledge about the
community, it would not be wrong to interpret the social transformation thus a
thievish Maravan (Kallar vanguard) became a respectable Agamudiyan
(Kavalkarar) during times of peace and settlement, slowly and surely became a
Vellala, (agriculturist) denoting his agricultural status.

Settlement of the Kallars in Madurai District

There is a unanimous view among the historians that the Kallars
were not the natives of Madurai district but only settlers who came from the north.
But whence they came is still a matter of dispute.
N.M.Venkatasamy Nattar comes out with a view that Tiruvenkatam in
Tondaimandalam must have been the original abode of the Kallars, and from there

68. Edgar Thurston, Op. cit., p. 63.

43

they were brought down to the south by one Pandya king called Kalavar
Perumakan Tennan during the Sangam Age i.e., by the second century A.D.69
Gustav Oppert slightly differs from him. Though he accepts
Tiruvenkattam as their original abode, he opines that they left it because of a
famine and migrated to the south.70
Francis tries to establish that the Chola country or Tanjore was their
original abode and from there they migrated to the Pandya Kingdom following its
subjugation by the Cholas around 11th century A.D.71
Louis Dumont is making a reference to another version (on the basis
of census 1901) that a Cola (Chola) princess brought the reconnaissance section or
Kalla padei as dowry for her marriage with a Pandya. More modestly it is said that
the Kallars have spread out from the east to the west from Tanjore towards
Madurai and this could have been due to a victory of the Colas over the Pandyas.72
Nelson points out a tradition in Madurai district in which the pseudoPandyas, the sons of Abhirami, the dancing girl of Kalayar Kovil, brought a few
Kallars from the Chola country to operate against the Government. From then on
the Kallars migrated in waves and grew numerous in Madurai district.73

69. N.M. Venkatasamy Nattar, Op. cit., p. 44.

70. Gustav Oppert, Op. cit., pp. 258 - 260.
71. W. Francis, Census of India, 1901, Part I, Govt. Press, Madras, 1902, p. 158.
72. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 12.
73. J.H. Nelson, Op. cit., p. 48.

44

Turnbull gives out yet another account of the Kallar settlement in

Madurai. To him, the original abode of the Kallars was Vellanadu (Valanadu) near
Kancheepuram. On a hunting expedition, they came down to the south with a pack
of hounds. They were astounded at the fighting spirit displayed by a peacock and
took it as a clue for a fortunate land and settled in that place which they thought
was ideal for valiant hunters and served the Vellalas who were the Lords of the
soil. In due course, they grew mighty and gradually encroached on the prerogatives
of their masters and ousted them and also setup their own independent rule over
the newly acquired territory by the singular appellation of Tun Arasu Nadu i.e., a
country governed by themselves.74

Regarding the settlement of the Kallars on the western part of

Madurai district, Francis and Nelson put forth two different views. According to
Francis, a section of the Kallars of Melur travelled westward beyond the
Nagamalai and drove out the Vedars from there and settled. This section only
came to be known as Piramalai Kallars.75 But Nelson inclines to the view that
about the year 1640, the Madurai king Tirumalai Nayak appointed certain Kallars
of Melur as Kavalkarars and granted them the right to collect kaval fees from

74. T. Turnbull, "Account of Cullaries," Prefaced to B.S. Ward, Memoir of Madura and Dindigul, Vol. III,
Madurai Collectorate, 1895, p. 6.
75. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteer, Madurai, Govt. Press, 1906, pp. 93-94.

45

Tirumbur area near Madurai in consideration of their protecting it from robbery

and deeds of violence. Relying up on this grant, the recipients encroached in to the
district step by step until at last they and their descendants penetrated as far as the
village of Anaiyur and firmly established there. With the passage of time, they
grew isolated from the parent stock and were distinguished as Anaiyur or Mel
nadu Kallars.76

Another elucidation is forthcoming from Ganapathy as that the

Kallars, originally belonging to the Venkatam region, migrated southward through
Kanchipuram up to the south western region of Pudukkottai state and settled in and
around Ponnamaravathi area. From there the second stage of expansion took place,
one in the direction of Melur region and the other of Tanjore. From Melur further
expansion took place westward and it was the settlement of the Piramalai Kallars
on the western side of the city, Madurai. He also tries to substantiate it through the
relationship between the Melur Kallars and Anaiyur Kallars. The Piramalai Kallars
alias Anaiyur Kallars even today regard the Melur Kallars as their elders and give
respect to them in their Panchayats and other celebrations.77

In the absence of any other record for their settlement in Madurai,

these theories cannot be put to cavalier dismissal. It is suffice to conclude that a
76. J.H. Nelson, Op. cit., p. 47.
77. A. Ganapathy, Op. cit., p. 48.

46

section of the Kallars from the north came down to the south and settled in
Madurai district.

Sub-Castes among the Kallars

There are various sub-castes or sub-divisions with various names
among the Kallars. But no special significance can be attached to these names
except for the regions they live in. The following are the most important among
them.

Esa Nattu Kallars

The Kallars who live in the Thanjavur region are called Esa Nattu
Kallars. These people, blessed with fertile delta lands with copious water, have
thrived well economically. Also with their contacts with the Brahmins who lived
in large numbers in this region earlier, their outlook has undergone a drastic
change. They have become more conformists and refined and this has made them
look with scorn their Madurai brethren who are still unrefined and coarse in their
outlook.78 The Esa Nattu Kallars customs, rites and rituals have a Brahmanical or
Vellala semblance till date.

78. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 15.

47

Seruvasal Kallars
The Kallars of Pudukkottai region call themselves so.

Therkattiyar
The Kallars who live in Sivagangai region call themselves
Therkattiyar meaning people of the south.

Visangu Nattu Kallars

Those Kallars living in Trichirappalli go by the name Visangu Nattu
Kallars. They have many things in common with their brethren Esa Nattu Kallars.

Ambalakara Kallars
Kallars living in the Melur taluk of Madurai district are known as
Ambalakara Kallars or Melur Kallars.

Piramalai Kallars
These Kallars are mostly concentrated in the Usilampatti and
Thirumangalam taluks of Madurai district. Thus in Madurai alone the Kallars are
divided into two endogamous groups, territorial in origin.

(i)

Kilnadu Kallar or eastern country Kallars

Commonly known as Melur Kallars or Ambalakara Kallars, they

generally use the agnomen Ambalam and sometimes use the agnomens Servai and
Thevar also.
48

(ii)

Mel Nadu Kallars or western country Kallars

These Kallars are commonly called as Piramalai Kallars. In some old

records they are referred to as Anaiyur Kallars which place was the strong hold of
the Piramalai Kallars during the early years of their settlement.79 Invariably the
Piramalai Kallars use only one agnomen Thevar.

These territorial divisions were made with Nagamalai, a hill near

Madurai as the dividing line. Those Kallars who lived in the east of the Naga hills
were denominated the Kil nadu Kallars and those who lived in the west of the hills
Mel nadu Kallars or Piramalai Kallars. Earlier members of these divisions did not
inter-marry though it is not the case today.

Etymology of the term Piramalai Kallar

Divergent views have been advanced with regard to the derivation of

the name Piramalai Kallar.

Some Piramalai Kallars are of view that Piranmalai, (mountain of the

piran, Lord Venkatachalapathy of Venkatam region), a hill situated at 12
kilometres north of Singampunari in Ramanathapuram, was their original abode.
This hill, referred to as Parambumalai in the Sangam literature, reached the zenith
79. W. Francis, Op. cit., p. 93.

49

of its glory during the rule of its chieftain Pari, known for his munificence. So
catholic was the philanthropy of this patron that at the sight of a jasmine creeper
struggling hard for support, left his car at its proximity for the tendril to spread on
and walked back home. This Parambumalai of Pari in course of time got changed
into Piranmalai.80 It is also believed that during the westward movement the Melur
Kallars first settled at this place and so were known by this name.
However as Louis Dumont opines, it is unlikely, in view of the
location of this Piranmalai, i.e., 20 miles further east at the eastern edge of the
ambalakkarar area to be their original abode since the villages they left were very
close to Madurai.81
Another interpretation is forwarded by C. N. Natarajan, in his thesis
on the Marriage, Kinship and Clan system of the Piramalai Kallars, that the
word Piramalai is the distorted form of the word Puramalai which means
beyond the hill. As these people lived beyond (west of) the Nagamalai, were called
Puramalai Kallars, which again is colloquially, pronounced as Pramalai Kallars
or Pera malai Kallars.82
One more interpretation by an educated Piramalai Kallar is that since
the Melur Kallars claim Alagar hills which falls into their territory as their own,
80. Dhina Thanthi (Tamil), Madurai edition, December 3,2002.
81. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 16.
82. C.N. Natarajan, Piramalai Kallars of Tamil Nadu. A study of Their Marriage, Kinship, and Clan
System, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Madurai Kamaraj University, 1978, p. 32.

50

with a view to ascertain their ownership of the rest of the hills, other than Alagar
hills such as Nagamalai, Pasumalai, Puthurmalai etc., they might have called
themselves Piramalai Kallars.83

Of all the afore-said theories, the most logical, comprehensive and

sagacious one seems to be that of C.N. Natarajan since their settlement area is
distributed in and around Nagamalai hills, especially to the west of Nagamalai.

Habitat of the Piramalai Kallars

Muthu Thevar has defined the Piramalai Kallar territory as an area
extending from the Tiruparankpundram hills in the east to the Western Ghats in the
west and from the Nagamalai hills in the north to the river Guntar in the south.84

Sivanandi Servai has defined the Piramalai Nadu as a territory

which included 4 Tevars, 3 Gods, 8 Provinces and 24 secondary villages.85 Louis
Dumont has defined their territory thus - "The Kallar Nadu consists roughly of the
northern part of Tirumangalam taluk, one of the taluks making up Madurai district.
Its northern boundary is marked by a range of hills called Nagamalai, In fact the
Kallar overflow this boundary on to the northern slope of the hills, but do not reach

83. Personal interview with Prof. M. Namasivayam, aged around 55,a Piramalai Kallar and Librarian, T.N.
State Archives Library, Chennai, on February 20,2006, at Chennai.
84. P. Muthu Thevar, Op. cit., p. 148.
85. C. Sivanandi Servai, Op. cit., p.64.

51

the river From east to west, one enters Kallar country beyond a village called
Pudukkottai, about six miles from Madurai, To the south, the town of
Tirumangalam is beyond the border, but the Piramalai Kallar has spread widely to
the south west across the road from Thirumangalam to Usilampatti. Thus the
Kallar Nad is a rectangle about eighteen miles by ten, crossed by just three roads.
The east to west road from Madurai to Usilampatti; the south east-north west road
from Tirumangalam to Usilampatti, and the south-north road from Tirumangalam
to Colavandan, (Cholavandan) intersecting first at Chekkanurani. We could add a
rather marginal road in the west, running from Usilampatti south.86 This was their
traditional habitat.

Thus this Kallar Province or the area of the Piramalai Kallar did not
have a precise territorial definition and its boundaries were mostly blurred.87

Now the Piramalai Kallars are found chiefly in Usilampatti and

Thirumangalam taluks. As these two taluks represent the area of concentration of
the Piramalai Kallars, they form the focal area of the Piramalai Kallars habitat and
are deemed to constitute the Kallar Nadu. The Kallar Reclamation Section of the
Madurai district Collectorate has made a rough estimate of the number of the

86. Louis Dumont, Op. cit., pp. 16-18.

87. Ibid.

52

Piramalai Kallars for the year 1975 which works out about 3.5 lakh.88 However
subsequently it has estimated the Piramalai Kallar population as 7.85 lakh in
1993.89 A small number of them have spilled over to Srivilliputhur taluk of the
neighbouring Ramanathapuram district.

The other aspects of the community will be dealt with in detail in the
subsequent chapters.

88. Brief Notes on the Kallar Reclamation Scheme in Madurai, Collector's Office, Madurai, 1975, p. 1.
89. A Short Note on Kallar Reclamation Scheme in Madurai and Anna Districts, Kallar Reclamation
Office, Madurai, 1993, p. 1.

53

CHAPTER III

LIFE OF THE PIRAMALAI KALLAR

PRIOR TO THE INTRODUCTION
OF CHRISTIANITY

53

CHAPTER - III

LIFE OF THE PIRAMALAI KALLARS PRIOR TO

THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY

The Piramalai Kallars can be said to be the longest living human

tribe in India and one of the oldest in the world.* They were the most conservative
section of the Kallars and lovers of tradition. It is true in the sense that they had
been in love with tradition and had voluntarily anchored themselves to the ancients
so that with them custom had been a deity to worship and conservatism had been
their watchword. Independent in spirit they had retained their Dravidian customs,
unimpaired by contact with Brahmanism, to a great degree.1

Social and Cultural Life

Social life of the Piramalai Kallars

The Piramalai Kallars led a simple life. Living on dried out lands,
they could not afford to spend much on their diet. Hence they were poorly fed and
coarsely dressed and lived in utter misery. As a conservative, illiterate,

A recent anthropological research conducted by Dr. Spencer Wells (Oxford University) and Dr.
Pitchappan (Madurai Kamaraj University) has resulted in identifying an ancient DNA marker in the
blood of Piramalai Kallar which links them to the very first modern humans who migrated out of
Africa about 60,000 years ago and by travelling through the southern coastline of Asia had eventually
reached Australia and thus has substantiated the aforesaid statement. See Annexure- i.

1.

H.A. Stuart, Census of India, Vol. XIII, Govt. Press, Madras, 1891, p.215.

54

superstitious and custom-ridden group, they were caught in a vicious circle of

poverty and ignorance. They were superstitious to the extent that even before
starting on their depredatory excursions, they used to observe omens and consulted
their house hold gods through flowers. If white flower instead of red flower was
picked up by a child of tender years, they took it as a sign of success.2
A remarkable custom prevailed among the males and females in
olden days to have their ears bored and stretched by hanging heavy rings made of
lead so as to expand their ear-lobes down to their shoulders.3 (See plates I & II)
Formerly where a Kallar girl was deputed to guide a stranger safely through a
Kallar tract, if any of her caste people attempted to offer violence to her ward
despite her protests, that sacred guide immediately tore open one of her ear-lobes
and reported the matter to the chief and elders of the Nadu. Immediately a meeting
of the village council was held at mandei (common meeting place) and if the
violators were convicted, they were to have both their ear-lobes torn in expiation
of their crime or punished by fines.4 Altercations between women constantly led to
one or both parties having the ears violently pulled asunder and lobe-tearing
cases figured frequently in police records.5

2.

F.S. Mullaly, Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency, Govt. Press, Madras, 1892, p.90.

3.

Edgar Thurston, Castes and Tribes of South India, Vol. III, Asian Educational Services, New
Delhi,1987,p.55.

4.

F.S. Mullaly, Op. cit., P.87.

5.

Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Notes on the Criminal Tribes of the Madras Presidency, Thompson and
Co., Madras, 1915, p.76.

55

These Kallars had undoubtedly developed a healthy social life right

from the beginning when they settled down in Tamilnadu. They lived to a larger
extent as joint families in villages, inhabited by their own caste and therefore had
close clan feelings.6 Practically every member of the tribe was inter-related with
the other members either by blood or marriage. As Louis Dumont puts in, this
tendency toward local segregation and single caste settlement except for the
service castes is one of the reasons for considering the Kallar as a tribe.7 They
were a settled race from the beginning and did not like to be far away from their
homes even for purposes of crime. Rarely did they set out to other places such as
Salem, Coimbatore, Tanjore and South Arcot districts for depredations and thereby
proving their affinity towards the family and the clan.8

Forms of Marriage
To preserve the purity of the community, caste endogamy was
emphasised. They did not like to inter-marry with other divisions of the Kallars
and preferred to marry only among themselves, thus proving to be a sub-caste of
the Kallar caste. They preferred kin marriages since such marriages strengthened

6.

Note Showing the Settlement of Criminal Tribes in the Madras Presidency Upto September 1916,
Govt. Press, Madras, p.3.

7.

Louis Dumont, South Indian Sub-Caste: Social Organisation and Religion of the Piramalai Kallar,
Oxford University Press, New York, 1986, p.19.

8.

Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Op. cit., p.78.

56

the existing relation between the two groups and reinforced the integration
between them. Further as the relatives tend to take interest in the welfare of the
fellow relatives, affinal relations with them were preferred.

At the same time clan exogamy was observed. Almost all the young
people of a particular clan which is known as karai were classificatory sisters and
brothers and were forbidden as spouses.9 To them, a Piramalai Kallar boy
marrying a Piramalai Kallar girl alone was considered to be a regular union. If any
one of them happened to belong to a non-Piramalai Kallar community, such union
was denounced as irregular and they were abhorred as puzhukkai Kallars, a
derogatory term to denote their impurity. This social stigma would persist and
linger through all generations, thus encumbering their posterity too. Such impure
Kallar could have matrimonial ties only with those who were also branded like
themselves.10

Much importance was attached to chastity.

Kallar women were

generally chaste was the observation made by Ghani.11 Pre-marital as well as

extra-marital relationships were forbidden. What Louis Dumont observed at later
years was very much true in the past. A furtive smile of a girl at her lover, if
9.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 196.

10.

C.N. Natarajan, The Piramalai Kallars of Tamil Nadu. A study of Their Marriage, Kinship and Clan
System, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Madurai Kamaraj University, 1978, pp.204 206.

11.

Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Op. cit., p.78.

57

observed, was enough to take them before the village council. In case of denial of
the guilt by the boy, he had to undergo an ordeal with boiling butter.12 To avoid
such untoward happenings, girls were given in marriage immediately after puberty.

Pre-puberty marriage was rather a remote possibility. The usual

marriageable age for girls ranged between 15 and 17 whereas for boys between 18
and 20. Thus only adult marriages were practised. Child marriage was not
entertained by them. The reason was from the time of marriage till the birth of the
first child, prestations in the form of fowls, rice, goat, jaggery, plantains, betel,
turmeric, condiments etc. had to be made annually. With a view to shorten the
duration and thereby to lessen the expenditure, they preferred adult marriages.13

Usually the boys tended to marry girls younger to them though there
was no hard and fast rule for that. There were cases in which men had married
ladies older to them. Even in that case the wife had to pay due respect to him.
While choosing the spouse, it was customary to give importance to sudantra
pathiyathai i.e., rightful claim. Accordingly, the eldest son of a family (sudantra
mappilai) had rightful claims for the hand of his maternal uncles eldest daughter
the sudantra ponnu irrespective of their age disparity. Thus the system recognised

12.

Louis Dumont, Loc. cit.

13.

Personal Interview with Mrs. Soundari Mani, aged 50, a Piramalai Kallar, Teacher of a Middle School
at Nagamalai Pudukkottai, on 4th May, 2006, at Madurai.

58

only the first born to have the rights of sudantra pathiyathai. Even if the sudantra
ponnu was elder to the boy, if he was willing, he could marry her. If anyone of the
pair was unwilling to marry the sudantra person, they had to pay indemnity to the
other so as to get released from the sudantra pathiyathai. If at all a marriage was
negotiated by an alliance seeking party or so, it was mandatory to ascertain
whether the proposed bride or groom had been released from the sudantra
pathiyathai. Thus as a matter of right-cum-obligation, a Piramalai Kallar marries
his maternal uncles daughter and a Piramalai Kallathi, her paternal aunts son.
These facts have been corroborated by C.N. Natarajans findings.14
Though monogamy was practised as a routine affair, the Piramalai
Kallars were not against polygyny. If the first wife was barren, or chronically sick
or physically incapacitated to do domestic works, a second wife was taken. Under
such circumstances, it was usually done with the knowledge of the first wife. In
fact the first wife was apprised of it earlier, though not consulted. The second wife
was next in rank to the first wife. Even if she was older than the first wife, she was
referred to as eleya kudiya i.e., junior co-wife by the latter, who though younger,
as mutha kudiya i.e., senior co-wife by the former.
Usually if the first wife was barren, her sister was taken as a second
wife thus sororal polygyny was mostly preferred. However heterogeneous

14.

C.N. Natarajan, Op. cit., pp.220 231. It was corroborated by Dr.J.M.Chellappa, aged 62, a Piramalai
Kallar and a retired Professor, on 16th May, 2006, at Trichy.

59

polygyny wherein the wives were not related to each other was also prevalent with
some, under normal conditions, who considered it a status symbol.

However polyandry was not in vogue. It was strongly refuted by the

Piramalai Kallars during field study. Even Louis Dumont feels that Turnbull was
mistaken regarding the prevalence of that practice among the women of this
community.15 Francis also bears testimony in the Gazetteer, published in 1906, that
he never came across any trace of it. The custom of addressing the agnates as
father by the children of their lineage is quite common even today and this,
perhaps, might have been mistaken for polyandry.

Concubinage
Concubinage was very much a personal matter which did not require
the consent of the kin. It was quite common among village headmen who
considered it a status symbol. But no marriage ceremony was observed. A
concubine could replace a secondary wife but never a main wife. But the
intricacies involved were if the lady belonged to another caste, or if the sons of the
wife resisted it, a register marriage with her would lead to ostracism. To avoid
such unpleasant development, the person concerned used to forego a new marriage
but would keep her in a house and provided for her needs. Nevertheless a
15.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p.197.

60

concubine was looked down upon. Still she could get a share of her masters
possessions for her illegitimate children while he was alive or through his will.
Otherwise they had no right of inheritance.

Divorce
The Piramalai Kallars never considered marriage as an indissoluble
bond. Termination of conjugal union is quite easy among them even today.
Sterility was considered a great misfortune leading to divorce. Besides that the
chronic illness of the wife, husbands drunkenness, insufficient wedding gifts,
divorce in reprisal due to sister exchange, refusal to live in joint family, suspicion
on morality etc. were some of the reasons for divorce.

Divorce was termed as thirthukkattuthal meaning termination. Any

one of the pair, either male or female could opt for it. The case was submitted
before the mandei, the village council. The husband and a male member
representing the wifes side, usually her brother, were to stand with folded hands
and bare chest. The women were not expected to be present during the
proceedings. No valakku panam i.e., fees was collected for divorce cases. After
hearing the version of both sides, the village council would try its level best
through adjournments to settle the case amicably. If failed, it would pronounce
divorce as a last resort. Thereupon the husband would break a straw into two
61

pieces and give one to his wife or brother-in-law. This act was known as turumbu
killi podhuthal i.e., breaking the straw which implied that to the husband the
divorced wife was as worthless as straw and he had nothing to do with her.16
According to Baliga, to give a straw meant to divorce and to take a straw meant
acceptance to divorce.17 But for Francis giving a piece of straw expressed the
idea that this is all the fine ladys value demands.18

Divorce was invariably followed by the return of seervarisai, the

prestations, if both the parties opted for it. If not, the person who asked for divorce
when the other spouse did not acknowledge any fault, would lose their marriage
prestations and must reimburse them besides a compensation for their unilateral
decision. If the children of the divorced couple were small, the divorced woman
had to keep them with her and alimony was to be given either in the form of cash
or property by the divorced husband for the maintenance of his children and their
mother. If grown ups, they could opt for their stay with either of them.

Remarriage
Remarriage was also common among these people. Not only the
divorcees (both men and women) but also the widows were allowed to remarry. If
16.

Personal Interview with Mr .Chinnasamy Thevar aged 65, a Maravar and a retired teacher, on 8th May,
2006, at Madurai.

17.

B.S. Baliga , Madras District Gazetteers: Madurai, Part I , Govt. of Madras,1960,p.118.

18.

W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteer, Madura, Vol. I, Govt. of Madras, 1906, p.95.

62

the widow was childless she was given a small portion of her deceased husbands
property which went by the name aruppukkuli and allowed to remarry. But if she
had a child, she was expected to be the guardian of the child being the heirapparent for her husbands property.19 This is a crystal clear proof of the fact that
sati, the cruel custom of jumping into the funeral pyre of the husband, was not in
vogue among the Piramalai Kallars.

Position of women
The position of the Piramalai Kallar women was far superior to that
of the women of other castes. It is unbelievable to note that such a turbulent race
had given so much importance to its womenfolk. Most surprisingly women were
regarded as the leaders of the community. The name Ochchamma denoted
important women leader and Pappamma, idol of women lineage.20 When they got
married women were given much importance to. Financial management was
entrusted to them. Even though the male was dominant outside, at home he had the
tendency to abide by the words of his wife. Generally the Kallar women were
known for their hospitality, affection, frankness, sharp reaction to wrongs etc. as
recognised by the missionaries, though not by the historians like Mullaly,
19.

Personal Interview with Rev. Dr.D. Chellappa, an Octogenerian, a Piramalai Kallar, who is formerly
the principal of P.M.T. College, Usilampatti and a present day preacher on 17th May, 2006, at
Thanjavur.

20.

Ibid.

63

Turnbull, Francis, Thurston etc. who had exaggerated the furious nature of the
Kallar women. Very rare incidents of violent revenge were portrayed in a vivid
manner and given wide publicity.

Ceremonies
A Piramalai Kallar always believed that birth, growth, puberty,
marriage and death were the most important stages in a completed life cycle and
naturally tended to tie up those stages with elaborate ceremonies. This tendency
could be seen even today with their banners and cut-out culture. In all these
ceremonies the relatives were obliged to make prestations. The obligation was
more strenuous on the part of the maternal uncle. It is also obligatory to give back
the moi (gifts) to the donor on similar occasions in future.

Birth Ceremony
In the early times the Piramalai Kallars never attached any special
importance to the sex of the child since they believed that birth was not in their
hands. The marriage bond was strengthened only with the birth of the first child.
Up to that period marriages could break up at any time. In the initial phase of
marriage, the jewels were to be kept by the wife and the husband had no right to
dispose them. But after the birth of the child the wife could not refuse her husband

64

the jewels. Hence child birth was considered an important event and so elaborate
ceremonies were observed with feasts and festivities.21

The first delivery invariably took place in the womans parents

house. Only complicated cases were taken to the nearby health centre. When a
child was born the entire family had to observe pollution for 30 days. The first
born female child was christened on the seventh day of its birth followed by the
ear-boring ceremony.22 For every girl child ear-boring ceremony had to take place
before she attained puberty and thereafter the stretching was continued by hanging
leaden rings from the hole. The ear passage thus became finally the most
bejewelled part of a womans person.

Puberty Ceremony
Girls puberty was called ruduway or rusuway which was determined
purely by nature. The ceremony was called sadangu. It was individual and purely a
family function and the girl was secluded for sixteen days in view of hygiene in a
separate hut, a temporary shelter, erected specially for this purpose by the maternal
uncles side. Except dhobi and barber, all others kept themselves away from the
family of that girl. On the 16th day the temporary shed, usually a thatched hut, was
21.

Personal interview with Mr. George Virumandi, aged around 65, a Piramalai Kallar, on 4th May, 2006,
at Madurai.

22.

B.S. Baliga, Op. cit., p.118.

65

burnt by the people of the maternal uncle and thereby ending the quarantine.
Through a ceremony called sadangu kalithal the girl and her family could become
free from pollution. It was observed on a grand scale and relatives, mainly
maternal uncle, used to make prestations. In fact the maternal uncle was obliged to
meet the expenses incurred during this ceremony since he had a rightful claim on
the girl as a bride for his son. The Piramalai Kallar girls, on their maturity, wore
black threads round their necks.

Circumcision ceremony
It is a curious fact that the Piramalai Kallars practised circumcision
which was called seepu kalyanam or marga kalyanam imitating the Muslims. The
origin of the custom is uncertain. Nelson attributes it to a hypothetical forced
conversion to Islam of a section of the Kurumbar who fled northwards on the
downfall of their kingdom.23 But Francis inclines to the view that it was a custom
borrowed from the Muslims or a measure imposed by them.24 However it was a
custom more social than religious in nature. It was carried out to all the adolescent
boys of the village on a particular day fixed by the village council. The boys who
were to be circumcised were carried on the shoulders of his maternal uncle to the

23.

J.H. Nelson, The Madura CountryA Manual, PartII, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1868,
p.55.

24.

W. Francis, Op. cit., Vol. I, p. 94.

66

mandei, the seat of the village council, with great formalities of singing and
dancing by his relatives and from there taken to a grove where barber-surgeon
carried out the operation and dressing. En route to the selected site and through out
the ceremony, conch shell was blown. The circumcised boys were considered
impure and so were secluded outside the houses. On the 30th day a general
purification was done, followed by a ritual for the god Malaichami and kinship
prestations. The expenses connected with this ceremony was borne by the boys
paternal aunt whose daughter he had a rightful claim in marriage.

Marriage
Marriage occupied a very significant place in the socio-cultural
system of this community. The consent of the maternal uncle of the girl to her
marriage was essential. For fixing the marriage, at first one or two elders from the
side of the boy would approach the parents of the girl to know their willingness for
the alliance. If they were interested, a day would be fixed for the engagement
ceremony called parisam podhuthal. It was customary on the part of the boys
maternal uncle to fix up the girl by offering her parents gold or cash depending
upon their socio-economic status, for getting the boy an asset of their family. Thus
in the past, there was no dowry system as such but other way round. Nevertheless
the brides parents would give her the necessary household articles and gold, as a

67

reserve for the upbringing of her children in the form of prestations. If the parisam
amount was accepted that was tantamount to the acceptance of the contract. The
wedding date was written on two rolls of palm leaf, dyed with turmeric and were
exchanged between the maternal uncles. In case of any breach of it, the concerned
party had to pay the caste fine, tirvai, imposed by the village council.

Till last century marriage was designated by the term kudhireiyeri

kalyanam since the groom mounted on a horse with an umbrella in his hand and
was accompanied by a best man and torch bearers and it resembled more a
wedding of the Muslims. Moreover, like the Muslims, the Piramalai Kallars also
observed ceremonies connected with their marriages during night and groom tied
the tali immediately before day break.25 The Brahmin priests had no role to play in
all these ceremonies.

Mullaly has noted down a peculiar custom of these Kallars,

according to which the bridegrooms sister tied some horse-hair called
karakkayiru round the brides neck and took her to the grooms house where a
grand feast was prepared with meat and liquor. After that the ceremony of an

25.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p.250. Where he quotes a legend which tells how the gods instituted the
marriage of the first Kallar. According to it tali was tied at the hour when the ascetics woke up using a
formula (mantra) taught by the gods themselves and hence there was no need for the Brahmins.

68

exchange of vallarithadis or boomerangs between them was solemnly performed.26

During the first twelve months after marriage, it was customary for the brides
parents to invite the couple to stay with them on certain occasions such as the first
Adi, Deepavali, Karthigai, Pongal and Sivarathiri and on their return they were
given gifts of ram and rice.

Female infanticide
Thus right from the birth prestations had to be made to the girl
children which would reach its culmination during their wedding and postwedding period. These elaborate customs with a passage of time became an
economic burden on the girls parents. As a result the birth of another female child
was not at all entertained. Hence they began to follow the inhuman practice of
female infanticide. In fact this cruel practice is still in vogue in the taluk of
Usilampatti, poverty being the basic reason for it. Unfortunately this taluk, one of
the strongholds of the Piramalai Kallars, had all along been neglected and no
substantial developmental activities had been carried out for some decades
together. Continuous droughts had played much havoc on the economy of
Usilmapatti.27

26.
27.

F.S. Mullaly, Op. cit., p.92.

Female Infanticide, The Hindu, May 6,1988,P.21. It is estimated that female infanticide has run into
thousands over years. (Editorial, India Today, Vol.II, No.2, June 1 15, 1986, p.5).

69

Death Ceremony
The Kallars usually buried the dead. The Piramalai Kallar either
buried or cremated them. Usually they burnt the dead. Here again an elaborate and
noisy ceremony with mind captivating music was observed. Funeral palanquin
was prepared with flowers since they considered it the most respectable way of
bidding farewell to the dead. Accompanied by music the corpse was taken to the
cemetery.28 In principle the mourner was invariably a male either a deceased mans
younger son or a deceased womans elder son. In the absence of male children, the
mourner could be the womans husband or a brothers son for a man. In case of
cremation the afore-said eligible mourner lit the funeral pyre.

If a pregnant woman died, the child was taken out and a bloody mark
was made in its ears with a knife so as to prevent any misuse of the body through
any witchcraft and then placed along side of its mothers funeral pyre.29

The dead were mourned for 30 days. Until then meat-eating, temple
entry etc. by the mourners was prohibited. The end of mourning was marked
mostly by the ceremony called urumalkattu (tying of the turban). The most
important funeral prestations were the gifts of food in the beginning and the gifts

28.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 272.

29.

Personal interview with Mr.Mani, aged 55, a Piramalai Kallar, on 5th May, 2006, at Madurai.

70

of clothes and turbans at the end of mourning. These gifts were noted down so as
to give return gifts in future in case of a death in the donors family.

However lepers or people who died in epidemics were buried

without ceremony. Cases of suicide were also burnt without ceremony. Children
were buried in different ways depending on their age without ceremony. The dead
were buried with their faces laid in the north since they came from the north
originally.

Inheritance
In the event of the death of a man (father) his property was inherited
by his sons or his younger brothers, if he was issueless. As per traditional law,
women did not have a right for inheritance of property except for some personal
objects. In the case of widows, they were entitled for a share for their maintenance
and in case of unmarried sisters a share was kept aside to meet her wedding
expenditure. In principle all the sons inherited familys assets and liabilities
equally.

Amusements
The Piramalai Kallars were fond of adu puli attam a game more or
less like chess. Right from their childhood, they were trained in martial arts such as

71

silambam, madu, boxing, wrestling etc. and thus trained to be valiant. Their manly
sport of jallikattu which was also known as manjivirattu, or bull-baiting, would
speak for itself as to their intrepidity and invulnerability. The game was to make an
endeavour to let loose the cloths, tied to the horns of the bulls. This required
fleetness of foot and considerable pluck and those who were successful were the
heroes of the hour while cuts and bruises were the reward of those who were less
skilful. The keenness of the Kallars in this game was extra-ordinary and bulls
were bred and reared specially for it. The maiden chose her husband the person
who had safely untied and brought to her the cloth tied to the horn of the fiercest
bull. The Kallars considered it a great disgrace to be injured while chasing the bull.
Fatal knockdowns were also numerous.

Cock-fight was also another favourite pass time for them. Victory
was celebrated in a grand manner and to commemorate its victory, the wife of the
victor used to decorate the inside roof of her hut with the tail feathers of the
defeated cock.

Similarities between the Kallars and the Muslims

It is highly curious to note the similarity of customs between the
Piramalai Kallars and the Muslims in the past.

72

(i)

Besides circumcision, the practices of kudhireiyeri kalyam, night marriage,

polygamy etc. were also common between the two.

(ii)

The Kallars alone, of all the castes of Madurai used to call the Muslims
mappillais30 (bridegrooms). It is highly doubtful how far the maman,
machchan relationship of affinal kin category, was true in spirit.

(iii)

Further till date the Piramalai Kallars use the term vahaiyera to denote
agnatic lineage which is of Urdu origin meaning, others of the same
sort.31

(iv)

Moreover the Piramalai Kallars alone used to call their maternal grandpa
shian which is perhaps from the root word Shia, a Muslim sect, though
logically it cannot be accepted.

(iv)

The Piramalai Kalar women used karuhumani, a kind of black beads around
the neck in the place of the horse hair karakkayiru previously. In Sirugudi
Nadu (one of the Melur Kallar Nadus) it was common among the married
Kallar women to wear tali on which a crescent and a star (the symbol of
Islam) were engraved.

30.

J.H. Nelson, Op. cit., p.55.

31.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p.185.

73

Regarding the supposed similarities between the Kallars and the

Muslims, an elite informant came out with an ingenious hypothesis. Accordingly
during Malik Kafurs South Indian expedition, he came down to Madurai and
imprisoned many Hindu Princesses and forcibly converted them to Islam. Incensed
by this the local villagers turned against the Muslim soldiers and the Kallars took
the lead to redeem them. In the fight ensued, the local villagers met with a heavy
loss in men and materials. A panchayat was held at Kallamadam in which
judgement was pronounced against the Kallars. Since they were accused of having
redeemed the new converts, as a punishment, they were forced to compensate the
number by themselves becoming Muslims.32

The authenticity of the episode could not be cross checked in the absence of
any recorded evidence.

Clan system and Territorial divisions

The Piramalai Kallars clan system had a complex organisational
structure. Each clan had an affiliation with a group which was territory based and
temple-oriented,33 known by terms like Vaguppu and Vahaiyera. In fact for
purposes of caste and communal discipline and organisation, the whole Piramalai
32.

Personal Interview with Prof. M. Namasivayam, aged around 55, a Piramalai Kallar, Librarian, Tamil
Nadu Archives, Chennai, on February 20, 2006, at Chennai.

33.

C.N. Natarajan , Op. cit., p. 150.

74

Kallar community was divided into eight major divisions called Nadus or
Provinces and twenty four minor divisions called Upagramas or secondary
villages and two intermediary divisions called Rajadanis or villages of royal status.

The eight provinces of the Kallar Nadu in the order of precedence were as
follows

(1) Tidyen (2) Valandur, (3) Puttur (4) Karumattur, (5) Pappapatti, (6) Kokkulam,
(7) Veppanuttu and (8) Tummakkundu. Each province comprised a cluster of
villages.

The two Rajadanis were Urappanur and Mudalaikkulam. Each was a

cluster of villages stood in between Nadu and Upagrama in rank.

The Upagrama was a single village of secondary importance. There

were many such Upagamas. They were(1) Vikramangalam (2) Nattar-Mangalam
(3) Ayyanarkulam (4) Panniyan (5) Tarapatti (6) Melakkal (7) Kadupatti (8)
Kodikkulam (9) Vagurarani (10) Allikkundam (11) Manutu (12) Perungamanallur
(13) Kalappanpatti (14) Pusanadhipuram also called as Pusalappuram (15)
Madhippanur (16) Sattangudi (17) Punkankulam (18) Chakkiliyapatti (19)
Thoppur

(20)

Menadu

Chettikulam

(21)

(23)Vadivelkkarai and (24) Suda Puliyankulam.

75

Kappalur

(22)

Vilacheri

Each territorial unit or province was under the rule of a chief called
Talaivar or Adhipathi. These chiefs were endowed with unfettered rights to
administer their respective units. Collection of taxes and maintenance of law and
order were attended to by them. As custodians of the customs and traditions of the
community, they were empowered to ostracise as well as to readmit any Piramalai
Kallar accused of the violation of customs like caste endogamy and clan exogamy.
The chiefs of the Upagramas also enjoyed more or less same amount of power in
their villages.

Caste Panchayat
For the whole of the Piramalai Kallar community, there was a
common ruling council called caste panchayat with one chief, one vice-chief and
two or three members. The office of the chief was held by Tirumala Pinna
Thevar. The council was in charge of law and order in the territory. It acted as an
appellate tribunal and heard the appeals of the aggrieved parties of the territorial
units. Its verdict was final and binding on all concerned.34

Under a more monarchical rule, the hereditary headman called

Tirumala Pinna Thevar decided most caste matters. It is recorded in the Madurai
34.

P. Muthu Thevar, Op. cit., p.153 155.

The first Chief Tirumala Pinna Thevar was instituted and his assistants, named by the Nayak king
Tirumala of Madurai Kingdom through a royal charter. Ibid., pp. 215 218.

76

district Gazetteer that if anyone declined to abide by his decision,

excommunication was pronounced by the ceremony of placing the thorn which
consisted in laying a thorny branch across the threshold of the recalcitrant partys
house, to signify that for his contumacy, his property would go to ruin and be
overrun with jungle. The removal of the thorn and the restitution of the sinner to
Kallar society could only be procured by abject apologies to Pinna Thevar.

35

The village square

The residential cluster was marked as a community by a common
temple and by the village square with its stone platform, a shady tree and the
standing stone of a God. The village square was designated by the term mandei
which might have been derived from the word mantram which consisted of elders
from the caste. Being the meeting place of the village assembly it became so
important that all decisions concerning the entire village usually the community
matters were taken only there. In all functions religious, circumcision and even
funeral, mandei occupied an important place. The word ambalam was synonym for
mandei and the ambalakkarar, meant the village headman. Originally it meant the
older brother of the Piramalai Kallar (Melur Kallar) who had the right to
administer justice. It normally met every Sunday and whenever situations
warranted, it turned to be the village court of justice dealing with private affairs.
35.

Roy Burman, et al., Op. cit., Vol. IX, p.2780.

77

Sabai or podhu- kuttam meant common assembly which met rarely.

All adult males, owning a house there, were members by right but women, though
allowed to attend it from a distance, were not supposed to speak out. The
Assembly was summoned by a municipal drum beater. Direction of the common
cult and the management of common fund were its responsibility. At times of
community festivals it was empowered to impose a special collection on the
villagers.

Thus these Kallars had their own system of local government, their
own indigenous judicial proceedings and other features of common wealth form of
government and recognised neither the authority of the rulers who ruled from
Madurai city nor submitted themselves to it.

Economic life of the Piramalai Kallars

It is a pragmatic dictum that geography governs history. The choice

of occupations on the part of the individuals and their physical and mental make up
are decided purely by the geographical features of their land of dwelling. The
impact of geography goes a long way in moulding the human factor itself. It was
true in the case of the Kallars in general.

78

Traditionally the Kallars engaged themselves in martial activities,

lending their services as mercenaries to kings, chieftains, poligars and anybody
who required them. Under the early Tamil Kingdoms of the Chera, Chola and
Pandya they were advance guards, spies and guerrilla troopers, as seen earlier.
During the time of peace and settlement, the Tamil kings employed them as
kavalkarars or guards for the protection of domestic property and public places in
villages. Thus kaval became their traditional occupation.36 With the decline of the
Tamil Kingdoms, they were thrown out of employment and were trapped into evil days.

Sathianathaiyar has traced these Kallars as semi-agricultural and

semi-warrior group living in marginal lands during the 17th century.37 It is
significant to note that the Kallars were listed among the other agricultural castes
of Madras province in the first census of 1871. A percentage wise breakdown
reveals that 90% of the Kallars had been classified as cultivators.

Unfortunately the land they had occupied was infertile and at the
mercy of Rain God as they were bereft of any systematic irrigation channels. Their
land holdings were diminutive and scattered, thereby rendering the application of
improved methods of agriculture almost impossible.
36.

S.H. Blackburn, The Kallars:A Tamil Criminal Tribe Reconsidered , Journal of South Asian
Studies, Vol. I., March 1971, p.45.

37.

R. Sathianathaiyar, Tamilaham in the Seventeenth Century, University of Madras, Madras, 1956,

p.136.

79

Finding agriculture insufficient for their maintenance some had to

resort to alternative means of earning their livelihood. They were left with three
options beg, borrow or steal. Daring by nature and with independent disposition
and a high sense of self-respect, they could not stoop down to the level of begging.
They could not borrow because there was none to lend them a helping hand. The
only option left out was to steal and so they took to robbery for additional income.
Hence they organised themselves into a village federation and were never in tune
with the successive Nayak rulers of Madurai and their military officers, the
poligars. They disowned the suzerainty of the Nayaks and whenever tribute was
demanded, the Kallars retorted, it seems, saying that the heavens supplied earth
with rain, their cattle ploughed the land and they cultivated it and therfore there
was no possible reason why they should pay anything.38 Their strained relationship
could be gleaned from the copper plates of Viswanatha Nayak, Jesuit letters and
folklores such as Ramappaiyan Ammanai and Madurai Veeran Kathai
Padal. Despite this Tirumala Nayak deployed them in driving out the Muslim
forces from Madurai since they were amiable to anybody who would seek their
help.39

38 . F.S. Mullay, Op. cit., p.85.

39.

B.S. Baliga, Op. cit., p.55.

80

Kaval System
Unable neither to tolerate the lawless activities of the Kallars, nor to
overawe them, Tirumala Nayak decided to bring about socio-religious
identification with the rebellious Kallars so as to enlist their co-operation through
royal titles and grants. Accordingly Tirumala Nayak granted in 1640 to some
Melur Kallars some maniams and also the right of collecting kaval fees in the
Tirumbur district near Madurai.40 A grant given in 1645, established the Kallar
rights to kaval among the Konars of Madurai.41 In 1655 a copper plate grant was
issued to one Pinna Thevar of the Aneiyur Kallar (Piramalai Kallar) conferring on
him the title of Tirumala and investing him with various royal regalia a blanket,
a spittoon and sandals and also granting him lands in two villages near Aneiyur.42
Through another grant in 1656 the same Pinna Thevar and also a Kavuntar were
granted certain rights in a village.43 Thus 'kaval' was granted a royal sanction
resulting in a contractual agreement for the Kallars police service. To all intents
and purposes, Tirumala Nayak set a thief to catch a thief. While they performed
kaval duties in exchange of certain privileges, they retained their judicial, political
and military autonomy.
40.

J.H. Nelson, Op. cit., p.47.

41.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit.,p.138.

42.

Ibid., p.139.

43.

Ibid.

81

Evidence from a folk ballad Madurai Veeran Kathai Padal shows that Tirumala Nayak used the Kallars to drive away the local dacoits. With
that hike in status as kavalkarars the Kallars gave up their thieving habits and
became a more responsible lot. The Kallars had their own kaval system in defiance
of that of the Poligars.44 In Kallarnadu the office of the Kavalkarars was
hereditary. As Kavalkarars they kept watch at night, observed the movements of
strangers, reported the suspects to Ambalakarar and traced the culprits keeping
track of their foot prints.
The role of kavalkarar seemed to have been a point of honour among
them and they prided themselves on their system of safely escorting travellers
through their lands and providing material security to villagers. If any theft
occurred during their watch they had to recover the stolen property or else had to
compensate for the loss. Thus a principle of equity which is not found even in the
modern police system prevailed. They were entitled for a kaval fee paid either in
cash or in kind and at times free lands too. In the event of violation of the rules of
the system, the persons concerned whoever it might be, were dealt with severely.45
The integrity of the Kallar kaval could be understood from the episode of their stiff
resistance to the Nayak viceroy of Trichinopoly who came down to Madurai to
harass Christian missionaries who were in the Kallar kaval area.46

44.

Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series, Madura, Part II,1908, p.235.

45.

N.M. Venkatasamy Nattar, Op. cit., p.114.

46.

K. Rajayyan, Administration and Society in the Carnatic, Sri Venkateswara University Publications,
Tirupathi, 1966, p.94.

82

During the 18th century when the Nayak rulers became weak, the
poligars fished in troubled waters and enhanced their powers at the cost of the
kavalkarar. Thrown out of employment many kavalkarars had no other alternative
but to become plunderers. The collapse of the kaval system could not be attributed
to socio-economic factors alone. In fact the British played a canny role in stripping
the poligars as well as the kavalkarars off their powers through calculated moves.
Because when the British acquired the district of Madurai in 1801 they realised
that they had to deal with these refractory Kallars.47 The feeble rule of the Nawab
of Arcot provided them with a free hand in depredations. The Kallars had
repeatedly attacked the British troops sent against them and declared a sort of
independence setting all authority at naught. It is on the record that during the
Trichinopoly war the horses of Stringer Lawrence and Robert Clive were stolen
by two Kallan brothers.48 On another occasion, another Kallan succeeded in
stealing from Samuel Johnston, Pay Master of Madura, the silver casket.49 The
rulers of Madurai whether the Afghans or the Mughals or the Marathas or the
Wallajahs, or the Nayaks or the British found it an arduous task to subdue the

47.

K. Gowri, Madurai under the English East India Company (1801 1857),Raj Publishers, Madurai,
1987, p.9.

48.

Robert Orme, History of Indoston, Vol. I, London, 1764, p.381.

49.

W. Francis, Op. cit., p. 263.

83

Kallar chiefs50 and never succeeded in exacting tributes from them. As lovers of
challenges, they tried their mischief with Tirumala Nayak even, when he boasted
of his achievement of ensuring the safety and security of the city of Madurai from
the Kallars by the erection of strong fortresses and a deep moat. Taking it as a
challenge, one Kari Pinna Thevan along with some companions bore a hole on
the massive roof of the sleeping apartment of Tirumala Nayak, swarm down the
chains of the cot hung from the roof and stole the royal jewel which was
subsequently restored to him through the Head of the KallarsPinna Thevar. For
this he was honoured and invested with the title Tirumala (thence forth Tirumala
Pinna Thevar) and was recognised as the independent chieftain of the Kallars and
the skilful robbers were enlisted in the royal espionage system.51

Moreover whenever the Nayak regime took strong measures to

subjugate and collect taxes from them, the Kallars in retaliation attacked the royal
troops, plundered the government stores and indulged in all sorts of violence.
When all the efforts were in vain, ultimately the government had to condescend
and recognise their independent state and permitted them to have their own system
of Chieftainship.52 With the spirit of independence they proved to be a thorn in the

50.

K. Rajayyan, History of Madurai, 1736 1801, Madurai University, Historical Series 1, Madurai,
1974, p.34.

51.

P. Muthu Thevar, Op. cit., pp. 212 216.

52.

W. Francis, Op. cit., p.94.

84

flesh of the British too. They ambushed Col. Herons expedition, undertaken to
collect arrears of tribute from the poligars of Madurai and Tinnevely on behalf of
Nawab Muhmad Ali, in the Natham pass in 1755 and cut off his men. Further they
gave a great deal of trouble to Yusuf Khan who held Madurai for three years in
defiance of the Nawab and the British (1756-64) which in turn forced him to deal
with the Kallars ruthlessly.53 The British army passing Kallarnadu was harried so
much. They even defied five battalions of sepoys and 1500 cavalry sent against
them by the British under Captain Rumley in 1764 and had eventually submitted
only after having been rounded up and their villages set on fire and around 3000 of
them were put to sword.54 Their continued suspicion of the foreigners resulted in
the murder of 10 survey peons. In reprisal Rumley slaughtered 2000 more Kallars
and became a terror to the Kallars. Thereafter open rebellions ceased but dacoities
and theft continued.55 All these convinced the British of the necessity of taking
some drastic step against the Kallars. Hence through the strict enforcement of
denudation of arms since 1799 they cut across the very basis of the Kallars
subsistence living.56 In addition they concluded a treaty with the Nawab in 1800
which declared the collection of kaval fee illegal.57

53.

B.S. Baliga, Op. cit., Vol. II, p.326.

54.

B.S. Ward, Geographical and Statistical Memoirs of the Provinces of Madurai and Dindugul, Vol.
III, Madurai Collectorate press, Madurai 1895,p. 8.

55.

I.G. of Police, History of the Madras Police Centenary 1859 1959, Madras,1959, p.531.

56.

K. Rajayyan, Rise and Fall of the Poligars of Tamil Nadu, University of Madras, Chennai, 1974,
pp.95 96.

57.

I.G.of Police, Op. cit., p.212.

85

At this juncture the South Indian Rebellion erupted. The Kallars who
were the inveterate enemies of the British East India Company for generations,
readily joined hands with the leaders of the rebellion58 and were utilised to carry
secret messages even to the Mysore country.59 The Kallars looted the companys
arms and ammunition and buried them in their fields, so as to be readily available
in times of emergency. They even established a factory for the manufacture of
weapons in the jungle of Melur and terrorised the companys officials.60
Dr. Rajayyan had well established the fact that the Kallars played a major role in
this rebellion.61Hence with a view to bring them to naught the British government
through subsequent regulations in 1816 and in 1839 abolished the kaval system
totally.62 As Blackburn rightly puts in, in this annihilation of the natives, largely
Kallar resistance to the British rule, lies the origin of later administrative policy
towards the Kallars.. any attempt to defend ones village, family and way of life
against the foreign invader was taken to indicate the savagery of the defenders, and
was the very justification for conquering them".63

58.

Revenue Consultations, Madura Council, December 6, 1799, Vol. 99 , p.3321.

59.

Perumalswami Pillai, A Declaration, Board of Revenue , Proceedings , March 16, 1799, Vol.223,
pp. 2748 -2753.

60.

Board of Revenue, Proceedings, December28, 1801, Vol. 305, PP. 15350 15355.

61.

K . Rajayyan, South Indian Rebellion, Rao and Ragahavan Publishers, Mysore, 1971, pp. 230 272.

62 . I.G. of Police, Op. cit., p.249.

63.

S.H. Blackburn , Op. cit.,p.43.

86

The abolition of kaval system threw the Kallars into frenzy. Having
been reduced to abject poverty, some among them indulged in arson, looting,
plunder, cattle-stealing, burglary, highway robbery etc.64 in order to exhibit their
enemical attitude to the British on the one hand and to make their living on the
other. Thenceforth crime was considered an honourable profession. Thus a warrior
clan was forced to turn notorious thieves and robbers.

Kudi kaval System

In defiance of the British authority they perverted the kaval system in
to a blackmail called kudikaval system. In the words of Louis Dumont actually
both watching and thieving seem to have been used by the Kallars in order to levy
a 'tithe' on the productive castes.65 Accordingly the Kallar kavalkarars imposed
themselves on the villagers so that their village was exempt from Kallar crime
which resembled more or less the levy of the Chauth 66 by the Marathas. In case of
theft during their watch, stolen property was either recovered or compensated. But
if the crime was reported to the police, no portion of any property was ever
recovered or compensated. For fear of the Kallars, the villagers refrained from

64.

S.H. Mullaly, Op. cit., p.83.

65.

Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p.14.

66.

Chauth According to J.N.Sarkar, the payment of Chauth saved a place from the unwelcome
presence of the Maratha soldiers and thus only a means of buying off one robber.
V. D. Mahajan, India Since 1526, Chand and Co., New Delhi, 1964, p. 180.

87

reporting and that enabled the Kallars to get a free hand. The Kallars had got the
upper hand over the police and at times it appeared as though the British Raj was
powerless and meek against the Kallar Raj.67

Gradually

the

kudikaval

system

deteriorated

involving

no

responsibility with regard to residence or patrolling in the localities. No guarantee

of immunity of crime or compensation of stolen property was given by the
kavalkarars.68 Sometimes two different sets of Kallars claimed kaval right for one
particular village and attributed crimes to the other group thus making the life of
the villagers quite miserable. Matters got still worsened as arrears of payment were
reflected in the form of cattle-theft and 'accidental' fires in houses. Whenever the
villagers rejected the Kallar kavalkarars more and more cases of cattle-theft
occurred.

The Kallars were adept in the 'technique' of manipulating the trachea

of the cud-chewing animals (sangu odhukkuthal) in such a way that they became
mute while stolen. With amazing and mind-boggling speed, they were carried
away to distant places and hidden. Cattle were returned to their owners only
through a Kallar intermediary who was invariably a close associate of the thief, on

67.

E.B. Loveluck, The Kallar Problem, The Police Magazine, Journal for Publicity Bureau, September,
1921, p. 90.

68.

F.S. Mullay, Op. cit., p.79.

88

payment of tuppu-coolie or clue-hire which was about half the value of the stolen
cattle.69 If tuppu-coolie was paid, the Kallars were 'honest enough' to return the
stolen ones. But if reported to the police, no Kallar would ever help the owner to
recover his lost animals and the police would be of no avail in this regard. Thus the
Kallar kavalkarars derived their additional income from theft as well as protection
against theft. The people who suffered most at the hands of the Kallar kavalkarars
were the shepherds i.e., Konars or Ideiyars whose sheep and goat fell an easy prey
to the Kallar raids.70 They were lifted usually for kaval fees, alleged to be overdue
and restored on payment of tuppu-coolie. Thus their recidivism went on unabated
that culminated in the anti-Kallar agitation, started by one Ammayappa Kone and
lasted from 1893-1896 in which many lives were lost and villages burnt on both
sides. Disorder lingered on until the British Government took effective police
vigilance to curb it. From around 1900 onwards, suspected tuppu agents were
arrested and punished. Still crimes continued challenging the police.

Cattle branding system

The Police magazine gives a vivid picture about this. It states that to
prevent cattle-lifting by the Kallars, a novel system was introduced in 1909 by the

69.

Roy Burman et al., Op. cit., Vol. IX, p. 2771.

70.

Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Op. cit., p.75.

89

then District Superintendent of Police71 which involved branding of cattle with

particular letters or numbers. The aim was to make it difficult for the Kallars to
dispose of those identified animals. Even possession of those identified animals
was a cognizable offence. This system was in vogue for more than a decade but
had to be given up owing to several reasons.

First of all this system of branding the cattle failed in its principal
aim of deterring the Kallars from lifting them. Instead the elusive and crafty
Kallars invented new methods of cattle lifting and began extracting more ransom
money (tuppu-coolie) by hiding the branded animals in non-traceable places.
Moreover they had their own way of deterring the villagers from having their
animals branded by slaughtering the branded ones and thereby leaving the owners
at a total loss. The message they tried to convey to the villagers was simple and
explicit had they not branded their cattle, they could have at least recovered the
cattle at half of its value. Besides, the villagers believed that branding of the cattle
spoiled the skin of their cattle due to the application of strong chemicals. Further
branding technique involved onerous and repetitive process which was painful not
only to the cattle but also to their owners due to the expenditure involved. Hence
the villagers, despite police persuasion, allowed only 1/5 of their cattle branded

71.

E.B. Loveluck, Op. cit., pp. 88-90.

90

and that too only unhealthy and old animals, that no 'self-respecting' Kallar would
ever demean himself by stealing those thrown out junk.

The failure of this branding system made the Government realise that
even if the Kallars were prevented from lifting the cattle they would indulge in
some other nefarious activities. Convictions and imprisonments had no deterrent
effect on this community at all because the Kallars considered committing crimes
as adventurous as well as rewarding deeds. The enormity of this clan made it
impossible for the Government to have any proper settlement with them and to
mend their habitual misdemeanour. Even agricultural settlements proved futile.
The crime rate was on the increase especially in the Piramalai Kallar dominated
areas of the presidency thus rendering the Government helpless.

Other Kallar Crimes

The crimes and criminal methods of the Kallars have been dealt with
in a very descriptive manner by Mullaly. They were usually armed with vellari
thadis or clubs and occasionally with knives of Malabar pattern. Their method of
house breaking was to make a breach in the wall under the door with an instrument
called kannakol and a lad would creep in and open the doors for the elders. Jewels
worn by sleepers were seldom touched. The booty which was hidden somewhere
for sometime would be returned to the owner on receipt of tuppu-coolie, or else
91

were disposed off through Mangapotto and Nattukottai Chettis in the case of
costly items and through vendors of arrack and toddy in case of petty things.72 The
womenfolk seldom joined them in crimes but assisted them in their dealings with
the Chettis.73 Disguises were not adopted by them. But whenever crimes were
committed in places near their native place they used to muffle up their faces.
Signals were exchanged either by whistling or by scribbling on the ground. Names
were never mentioned at the time of committing the crime. Instead ambiguous
terms like perusu (big one) sirusu (little one) were used to baffle all attempts
towards identification. Attempts of capture were thwarted by the free use of slings
and pelting of stones. They never hesitated to attack the bandis (carts) of
Government officers no matter whether they were Europeans or Indians. 74

Another audacious type of cattle-lifting was also practised. During

nights when the bandy drivers were fast asleep, two of the Kallars would unyoke
and drag the bandy to some distance so as to lull the suspicion of the driver and
place the yoke on a stone to maintain the height and then would drive away the
bulls to a far off place and disfigure them to thwart any attempts of identification.
They were also adept in grain thefts especially from the bandis travelling on the

72.

F.S. Mullaly, Op. cit., pp. 89- 90.

73.

Ibid., p.90.

74.

Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Op. cit., p.79.

92

roads at nights. Thus all kinds of crimes like house lifting, burglary, highway and
field robbery etc. were carried out with uncanny success.75

Unfortunately their success in robbery in due course made them feel

that it was not wrong to commit such crimes. The successful criminal was regarded
as a hero and a most eligible and sought after life partner by the girls of his village.
Any Kallar convicted three or four times became a martyr. Naturally with a sense
of emulation even boys of well-to-do families indulged in crimes just to prove that
he was inferior to none.76 Nelson was perhaps right with his observation. He states
the boyhood of every Kallan is supposed to be passed in acquiring the rudiments
of the only profession for which he can naturally be adapted, namely, that of a
thief and robber.77

Thus right from the unsettled times prior to the advent of the British
rule in Madurai District and during a considerable portion of the British rule, the
Kallars had earned bad name as dacoits, thieves and cattle-lifters.78 Hence the
British were intent upon finding out ways and means to intimidate these Kallars on
a permanent basis and the result was the imposition of the Criminal Tribes Act on
them.
75.

Ibid., p.80.

76.

E.B. Loveluck, Op. cit., p.88.

77.

J.H. Nelson, Op. cit., p.55.

78.

The Hindu, Madurai edition, dated November 25, 1915.

93

However it should be borne in mind that the Kallars were deprived of

any welfare measure by the then British Government which considered them as
thorn in its flesh. When reduced to abject misery and beggary the instinct of
survival forced them to have recourse to the act for which they had been trained
traditionally. Here it would be apt to quote Tannenbaum -"crime is the web and
woof of society . The amount, the character and the kind of crime are socially
conditioned".79 P.K. Rao also inclines to the view that, "criminal behaviour as
such is a reaction of human nature and human experience to the total situations
such as social, economic and political". He further adds that "crime is the product
of a combination of various causative factors such as nationality, race,
geographical characteristics, social and communal hatreds and psychological
aberration".80 These comments are self-explanatory. After all, all the Kallars were
not born criminals. They became criminals only when they were deprived of the
bare necessities of life. During the settlement period, the Kallars were pushed
down and not allowed to come up. This made them feel insecure and
under privileged and so they turned violent and indulged in various nefarious
activities. In fact values are only relative and not relevant always. Sati, once
considered a noble deed, was later condemned as a crime. Similarly so many other
practices such as Temple prostitution and courtesanship which had the royal
79.

F. Tananbaum, Crime and The Criminality, Glencoe, Illinois,1968, p. 7.

80.

P. Kamalakara Rao, Professional crime in India, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 1983, p.4.

94

patronage were later denounced and made cognizable offences. Likewise,

undoubtedly the Kallars profession once considered an exemplary one and an act
of valour came to be condemned as a crime when it was directed against innocent
civilians. No one with a sense of justice could ever tolerate or justify their
debasing atrocities. The Kallars after the passage of time ought to have changed
their life-style and refrained from committing such barbarous activities. But they
had failed to change themselves according to changing times. Hence they were
branded as criminals and looked down upon even by their own brethren settled in
other places.81
Nevertheless it must be understood that they fell an easy prey to the
evil designs of the British who had driven these people to such abject criminality
of supporting themselves at the cost of the poor and innocent people through the
'industry' or 'trade' well known to them traditionally i.e., a prolific source of Kallar
crime as caste custom approves. Blackburn has substantiated the fact that wild
collerie and 'criminal' images were nothing but wanton creation of the British82
who had the established policy of maligning their victims before they did away
with them.83

81.

Louis Dumont, Op .cit., p.15.

82.

S.H. Blackburn, Op. cit., pp. 38-51.

83.

K. Rajayyan, Op. cit., p.22.

95

Religious life of the Piramalai Kallar

It is very difficult to define the religious life of the Piramalai Kallars.
In fact it is/was a combination of so many concepts such as poly-theism, ancestor
worship, animism, demonolatry, totem worship etc.

In the opinion of H.A. Stuart, they were nominally Saivites but in

reality, the essence of their religious belief was devil worship.84 However Francis,
the author of the Madurai gazetteer differs. According to him though they put on
sacred ashes like the Saivites on festive occasions, they were to all intents and
purposes Vaishnavites.85 M.A.Ghani also shares the same view since he considers
AlagarsamiKalla Alagar as their chief deity.86 Perhaps Alagar was their principal
deity while they were residing in Melur i.e., prior to their westward movement but
now is worshipped once a year during Chithrai festival.

Poly-theism
Whoever might be their prime god, it is true that they were polytheistic in character. They never risked offending any god or goddess either
wantonly or unwittingly which caused them to repose their faith in the plurality of

84.

Roy Burman et al., Op. cit., Vol. IX, p.2777.

85.

Edgar Thurston, Op. cit., p.82.

86.

Muhammad Abdul Ghani, Op. cit., p.77.

96

gods and goddesses. This pluralism got widened so much so they admitted even
alien gods whom they came across during their marauding expeditions in to their
fold. However they never seemed to be religious bigots because they attached
more importance only to rituals, feasts and festivals than to religion as such.

It is quite interesting to note that they had no fear for their own
village gods with whom they had a 'strong bond' so as to come to a sort of
agreement87 to get them a share of their booty in the event of their assistance in
their enterprise and the Kallars were 'honest enough' to keep up their word of
promise. Moreover they had taken so much of privileges with their gods that they
never hesitated to steal a god or dig up the coins or jewels generally buried under
an idol.88

Nevertheless they strongly believed that their lives could be

controlled and directed by some super natural powers with whom they were not
ready to fight with. They also considered that the supreme value was to live a long,
happy and prosperous life and hence were intent on propitiating their gods.

Ghost Cult
It is highly paradoxical that the brave Kallars feared the spirits or
ghosts. To them premature death in any form whether it was a case of suicide or
87.

Ibid.

88.

Ibid.

97

accident or disease was a curse from god and they believed that the souls which
failed to lead fulfilled lives could harm others as bad spirits or ghosts. It was
feared that such spirits bore hatred against the living and were very much fond of
mischief and blood and would cause damage to crops and even deaths especially
of the youth. They also believed that the spirits were capable of influencing the
welfare of the living in a mysterious way. Further they strongly believed that even
malevolent spirit could become tutelary, if provided with a cult. Hence in order to
appease them, they were deified. As Durrant suspects, perhaps this type of ghost
cult would have gradually transformed in to ancestor worship.89
Ancestor spirits were also worshipped perhaps out of admiration or
fear. To invoke their blessings and to propitiate them, the children were named
after their ancestors. They believed that their ancestors continued their existence as
spirits and had power over their childrens lives. To keep them happy, ceremonies
with offerings of cooked food of their usual preference, banana, coconut etc. were
observed by members of the family or lineage.
The Kallars had deified women especially the deceased ones like
Silakkariamman of Chellampatti,90 Sivandammal of Tideyanad91 and a few others.

89.

Will Durrant, Our Orient Heritage, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1954, p.63.

90.

Silakkari was a priests daughter who was killed by the god. She is worshipped as a secondary deity in
the temple of her lineage and as main deity in the lineage of her son who was miraculously saved by
the god at the time of his mothers death. Louis Dumont , Op. cit., p.435.

91.

Sivandammals fiance Pichan went to Madurai to buy jewels for his marriage with Sivandammal. But he was
arrested by the police and put to death. His fiance Sivandammal killed herself by fire. Ibid., p.437.

98

Moreover hero worship was also a common feature. They respected those who
were shot dead or hanged by the government while fighting for their freedom by
erecting memorials with citation and even stone images were made for them and
worshipped as deities. Even today, besides ancestor worship, the Kallars tend to
worship their community leaders like Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar,
Mookaiya Thevar and others by erecting statues in their villages.
As a natural sequence demonolatry was also very common. The
spiritual beings who were not contained in temples and who did not receive a
regular cult were called demons.92 They feared that the malice of the demons
would cause them heavy loss of lives and properties. Many children used to wear
iron rings on their ankles even at present so that demons might not attack them. To
appease them, animal sacrifices were offered.

Totem worship was also common among them. The Kallar temples
till date have housed statues of dogs and horses as to help the deities to protect
people from demons.

Undeniably they were animists. Sun was considered as the Father

and the Moon as the governor of fertility. Women worshipped her as a protecting
deity. Since they believed trees, mountains and water sources as abodes of sprits,

92.

Ibid., p.449.

99

they were all worshipped. Even some of the stone tablets, marking the old
boundaries in villages had become deities and were worshipped as Ellai Amman
and Ellaichamy. Even today people have the same belief.

Classification of the Cults

Three kinds of cult were prevalent among these Kallars namely,
Lineage cult, Village cult and Nadu cult. The general social characteristics of the
cults were Maniyam (tax-free land tenure),Governing council of the temple and
Mudalmei or Primacy, i.e., distribution of honours.

Lineage Cult
If the families of a particular lineage contributed, to the exclusion of
others, it became a sonda kovil or private or lineage temple. A lineage temple was
richer and more elaborate than the village temple, found in the residential cluster
and it could be duplicated. Usually only during annual festival it came to life. The
priests and kodangis (shaman) were exclusively Kallars with rare exception.

Each temple had a pantheon of 21 gods. Shiva, Iswari, Iyer,

Sarugayi, Ulagayi, Chokkan, Idumban, Ladatavasi, Ganesh, Veerapathran,
Thokkili, Chinnan, Palani Andi, Pappathi, Mayandi, Avadi, Padalai, Drum, Bull,
Ancestor (Male), Ancestor (Female) and Lamp. Out of these 21 gods, one was the

100

god of primacy, 10 were vegetarian (suddha or pure) gods and 10 meat eating
(asuddha or impure) gods who stand outside the sanctuary as watchmen.
Worshippers of a certain deity claimed to be agnates and marriages were forbidden
among them. Usually they sought marriage alliance with the worshippers of
another deity who were affines.93 Karumathur, the religious capital of the
Piramalai Kallar Nadu, is famous for lineage temples. Among these Kallars,
membership in a clan was demonstrated and also asserted by the performance of
certain rituals during the festivals, organized in lineage temples. The people who
had migrated from their original territory used to retain their affiliation and contact
with the original temple. While migrating they used to take a sod of earth from the
original temple and enshrine it in the place of their new home. 94 Even if the shrine
became well established in course of time, the families used to recognize the
original temple and maintain contacts with it.

Village Cult
Each village had a common temple called pothu kovil with a
presiding deity either male or female and was called after that deity. Village gods
and goddesses were worshipped to protect the respective villages from epidemics
and natural calamities. Hence the worship was occasional. In most of the villages
93.

Ibid., p.370.

94.

C.N. Natarajan, Op. cit., 174.

101

the guardian deity was a female one in the name of Mariamman, Ochchandamman
etc. These temples could not be duplicated. Each family or each house in a village
contributed a sum of money prescribed by the members of the governing council,
designated as Thevars, to celebrate the cult in the village temple and also for its
maintenance. Non-Kallar castes could also be priests here.

The goddess of the village square was Mandaiamman, referred to as

Mariamman or Kaliamman. Her temple was invariably seen on the southern side
of every village behind a tree. It consisted of a small square cell made of stone. Oil
was burnt there on all Fridays. In the month of September or October an annual
festival common to all including the non-Piramalai Kallar communities of the
concerned village was celebrated.

Another cult was that of Karuppasamy (Black god) whose temple

was located to the north of the village. It consisted of a stone lamp. (See Plate III)
Plantains were offered to him and lamp was lit during festivals. When puja was
offered to Karuppasamy, the caste god, the worshippers used to turn to the north.

Another god, Aiyyanar whose temple was situated on the bank of the
tank, was concerned with the prosperity of the village.

102

Na d u Cu l t
Each province had a common temple with a presiding deity and was
called after that deity. It was the location of the chief temples that entitled the
respective places to be the capitals of the territorial units. The following were the
chief deities of the 8 Kallar Nadus.

1.

Sonai Muthaiah and Nalluthu Karuppasami

Tideyan

2.

Angaleshwari and Kalyana Karuppasami

Valandur

3.

Moonusami (Kaluvanadan, Angala Iswaran

Karumathur

& Nalla Kurmbaiyar) and Ochchandamman

4.

Perumal Malairaman

Puthur

5.

Mayandisamy and Ochchandamman

Pappapatti

6.

Pekama Karuppasamy and Chinnasamy

Kokkulam

7.

Malaichami alias Perumal

Veppanuthu

8.

Ochchandamman

Tummakkundu

However the temples were not reserved for the Piramalai Kallars
only but were open to the people of all castes, living in the concerned province,
royal village or secondary villages.

103

The Nadu cults had a dual nature. On one hand they were lineage
cults or local cults which the Piramalai Kallar community inherited and on the
other, they represented the union of the lineages. For instance Moonusami Koil at
Karumathur was originally a lineage temple of the Kallars and later it was
developed into a Nadu temple for all the caste people of the region and was the
most important place of worship for all the Piramalai Kallars. Karuppasami was
their prominent deity and there were numerous shrines for him all over Kallarnadu
and his priests were either Kallars or Kosavars (Potters). For the local god
Peykaman, a meat eating demon, Harijan was the priest. There were no regular
daily pujas in the temples except on Tuesday and Friday. But on festive
occasions such as Tamil New Years day, Adi Padhinettu, Periya Karthigai,
Sivaratri, Pongal etc. elaborate pujas took place. No animal sacrifice was made.
But once in 3 or 4 years, Sivaratri festival was celebrated in the month of Maci
with great pomp and show for 3 days. Sacrifice of a goat by each family was one
among the principal items of the festival. They strongly believed that their sins
would be forgiven through animal sacrifices. Each family set apart a he-goat and
on the appointed day of the festival, the goats were led to the temple where saffron
water was poured on them and when they shook the water out, it was interpreted as
gods acceptance of their offering. The son-in-law of the family should cut it with
a single stroke and the head was given to the pujari (priest) as his share and the
body was consumed by the family.

104

Every temple had its own shaman and pujari who formed the totality
of clergy. Pujari had to perform worship, rituals, cure ailments, protect one from
evil spirits and officiate at their life cycle rituals. He contacted the ancestors and
spirits on behalf of his own people and discerned what powers were being used
against them. Nowhere a Brahman priest was employed. Kodangi or Shamans
function was that of an Oracle. Kodangi means incarnated the god and was
supposed to be the one who was possessed by the deity. He divined the fortunes
and misfortunes ahead of the people. Since he was believed to be directed by the
deity, his words were taken as the words of the deity and obeyed in toto. He also
enjoyed the privilege of choosing a successor to pujari on his demise. A group of
dancing kodangis was a general feature of festivals.
A peculiar feature of their religion was the sacred boxes95 which all
important deities of the Piramalai Kallars had. The jewels, silk cloth of the deities,
models of eye balls, eye brows and a sacred thread made of gold were kept in it.
Pujari was the custodian of that box which was kept in a sacred place. Once a year
during Mahasivaratri, the sacred boxes of all the temples were carried from temple
to temple by the second pujari. Kodangis and the pujaris of the temples used to go
dancing before the sacred boxes to the accompaniment of music.
95.

This sacred box resembles the Ark of Covenant of the Israelites which contained the Ten
Commandments of the Lord and carried wherever they went.

105

Every temple was governed by a Council of Chiefs called Thevars.

Almost all the temples had two or three Thevars on their governing councils.
These councils were in charge of the maintenance and upkeep of the temple they
governed. They acted as the financial custodians of the temples and also as
organizers of the festivals.

Thus in the realm of their religious life, fear was all dominant. Fear
of the evil spirit, fear of the departed spirit of ancestors, fear of the evil powers
playing with human life in times of disease and death proved to be the inner
reason for many an unreasonable illogical action. Held and paralyzed by it, the
common mind was seldom able to reason from cause to effect.

106

CHAPTER IV

ENTRY OF CHRISTIAN
MISSIONS INTO MADURAI

106

CHAPTER IV

ENTRY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS INTO MADURAI

Entry of Christian Missions into India
Christianity, a historical religion, emerged as a result of the birth,
ministry, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Palestine, on the south
eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the first century A.D. It spread far and
wide and churches were established across the globe. It made its entry into India
also. India, a country with diverse cultures, was always receptive to other faiths
and beliefs. Hence the foreign missionaries were accorded a warm welcome and
permission was granted to them to live and propagate their religion among the
natives. In India, the history of the Church may be divided into four periods viz.,
the Syrian period, the Roman Catholic period, the Lutheran period and the Modern
period.1

The Syrian period

The credit for introducing Christianity into India goes to St. Thomas,
one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. Obeying the last injunction of his

1.

V.S. Azariah, Introductory Lessons on India and Missions, CLS, Madras, 1910, p.71.

107

Master, Go, preach the gospel2 to every creature, St. Thomas3 came down to
India in the middle of the first century A.D. Thus Indian Christianity is as ancient
as Christianity itself. There are ever so many traditions revolving round this
apostle (messenger) though there is no historical evidence as such to prove his
presence here. However, strong traditions, prevailing in the east4 and the west5
corroborate his arrival in our country. Moreover the living tradition of the
community of St. Thomas Christians who are also called Syrian Christians, the
existence of the churches established by him and the folk songs of St. Thomas
Christians bear a strong testimony to his presence and ministry. His preaching
which might have drawn a lot of hostility finally resulted in his martyrdom at
Mylapore, a suburb of the Madras city, around 72 A.D.6

2.

Gospel means Good News. Gospel is the disclosure of Jesus Christ as Gods son and our Lord by His
Resurrection from the dead. The Holy Bible - St. Paul in Romans 1:4-5.

3.

According to one version, another apostle Bartholomew accompanied St. Thomas to India.
A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India, vol. I, CHAI, Bangalore, rpt. 1989, p.21.

4.

According to the eastern tradition St. Thomas came to India by sea and landed at Cranganore in the
Malabar Coast in 52 A.D. and started converting the high caste Hindus there and setup churches in
the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. A. M. Mundadan, Sixteenth century Traditions of St. Thomas
Christians, CHAI, Bangalore, 1970,

5.

pp. 83-67.

As per the western tradition, following the well established trade routes St. Thomas reached India and
his apostolate is supposed to have begun in the kingdom of an Indo-Parthian ruler Gondophernus and
succeeded in converting him and his family. E. R. Hambye, St. Thomas and India,
The Clergy Monthly, 16(1952), p. 368.

6.

A.M. Mundaden, History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, CHAI, Bangalore, 1989, p.29. There is yet another story that
one Maya Tevan, a petty ruler of Mylapore, then a part of the Chola kingdom ordered for the murder of the apostle on
account of the conversion of his own wife Dershia to Christianity by the latter. (C.M. Agur, Church
History of Travancore, SPS press, Madras, 1903, p.10. But its authenticity is questionable.

108

The apostle was contended with the introduction of the New

Religion to the Syrian Christians and never insisted on the change of their age
long customs and practices. Hence the converts remained attached to their Hindu
way of living.7 This influential community even obtained a political status from
the native ruler in the eighth century A.D.8But a change of fortune took place with
the rise of the Portuguese, a Catholic power of Europe, who succeeded in placing
these Christians under the suzerainty of their religious head the Pope.9 However
the down fall of the Portuguese to the Dutch placed them under the Patriarch of
Antioch. Nevertheless a large number still clung to Roman Catholicism who came
to be known as Romo-Syrian Christians. With the despatch of the Church
Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries in 1816 the leavening of this ancient
community was started through their educational institutions.10

Roman Catholic Period

This period synchronised with the rise of the Portuguese as a
maritime power in India in the second half of the fifteenth century. Just before the
arrival of the Portuguese, Christianity was practically confined to Kerala where the

7.

Paul Thenyan., Missionary consciousness of St. Thomas Christians, Indian Church History Review,
Vol.X, Bangalore 1989, p.17.

8.

V.S. Azariah, Op. cit., p.72.

9.

Ibid.

10.

Ibid.

109

presence of the Christians along with the co-existence of Hindus, Muslims and
Jews brought about a cultural symbiosis.11 Since the advent of St. Thomas,
Christians were found in the coastal regions of peninsular India without
established churches and baptism. The real beginning of Christianity was marked
by the advent of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. The Portuguese, after
establishing themselves in Goa which they captured from the Sultan of Bijapur in
1510, wanted to propagate their religion too. Since they had the three G s Gold,
Glory and Gospel as their motives, they brought with them missionaries with the
approval of the then Pope Alexander VI.12 Accordingly many Religious Orders
such as Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, Jesuits, Carmelites, Capuchins
and others made their way to India and carried on the propagation of Christianity
relentlessly in different parts of India.13 Nearly for two hundred years, Catholicism
held sway over a large portion of South India and penetrated even in to the court of
Akbar. According to the census in 1901 the Roman Catholics were 42% of the
entire native Christian community.14 Through their invaluable services towards the
cause of education, till date, they exercise profound influence.

11.

A.M. Mundaden , Op. cit., p.58.

12.

C.B. Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History, CLS, Madras, 1961, pp.50-51.

13.

Joseph Thekkadath, History of Christianity in India, Vol. II, CHAI, Bangalore, 1988, pp. 6-7.

14

V.S. Azariah, Op. cit., p.74.

110

The Lutheran Period

In the words of Isaiah Azariah, The story of the growth of
Protestantism in South India is one of incorrigible obstinacy in the eyes of the
caste Hindus and heroic perseverance in the eyes of the Christians.15 The
Protestant activity began with the founding of the Lutheran Missionary Centre at
Tranquebar in 1706.16 Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau,
two godly Germans of the Halle University who were the products of the pietist17
movement, became the spiritual envoys of the then Danish king Frederick IV who
desired to preach the Gospel in the Danish possessions in India.18 They landed at
Tranquebar on July 7, 1706, with a clear and well thought out plan to learn the
local language and launch an evangelical movement. But the Danish officials due
to misconception that missionary enterprise would endanger their commercial
activities opposed their missionary enterprise.19 Despite these hurdles they carried
on their missionary work and were joined by a noble group of missionaries later
on. The Tranquebar Mission which was working in Tamilnadu for a little more
15.

Isaiah Azariah, The protestant Missions, A History of the Christian Missions in South India , ed.,
B. Sobhanan, Kerala Historical Society, Trivandrum, 1996, p.113.

16.

E. Lehmann Arno, It Began At Tranquebar, A History of the First Protestant Mission in India,
CLS,Madras, 1956, p.12.

17.

Pietism was a revival movement in the Lutheran Church in Germany and the University of Halle
became its important centre. S. Manickam, Studies in Missionary History, CLS, Madras, 1988, p.135.

18.

E.R. Hambye, History of Christianity in India, Vol. III, CHAI, Bangalore, 1997, p.118.

19.

Ibid.

111

than hundred years extended its work to a number of places such as

Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Madras and in the south to Tirunelveli.20 At
Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur C.F. Schwartz and in Madras Benjamin Schultze
and F.Ph. Fabricius and their colleagues did yeomen service to Christianity and
Tamil language. Since these Lutheran missionaries received encouragement and
financial sustenance from the royal family of Denmark this Danish-Halle Mission
was called the Royal Mission.21 At the close of the eighteenth century the
Christians at Tranquebar numbered around 20,000 souls.22 Unfortunately
degeneration set in and the mission fell in to decay. In 1820 all its congregations
except Tranquebar were handed over to the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge (SPCK). However after five years, it was again transferred to the
Society for the Propagation of the gospel (SPG) and the Lutherans became
Anglicans.23 The Lutheran missionaries often acted as Chaplains of the British and
hence their activities under the patronage of the British East India Company came
to be called as the English Mission.24 During the whole of the eighteenth
century, the Lutherans were the only Protestant missionaries in India and it was
20.

E. Lehmann Arno, Op. cit., pp. 171-179.

21.

Ibid., pp. 31-39.

22.

Richter, Julius, A History of Missions in India. trans., Oliphant Anderson and Ferrier, London, 1908,
p. 127.

23.

S. Estborn , The Church Among Tamils and Telugus, The National Christian Council of India, IMC,
Study Series on the Churches in India, Nagpur, 1961, p.14.

24.

Hambye, Op. cit., p.122.

112

called the Lutheran period. In fact the entry of Christianity into India was made
through the countrys three sea ports.25 The apostle St. Thomas, is believed to have
arrived in the port of Musiris (Cranganore), the Catholics followed the Portuguese
in to the port of Goa and the Protestant German Mission, on the east coast. Thus
right from the beginning, South India proved to be a better place for evangelism
than North India.26

Modern Period
It comprises two phases Pre-mutiny phase and Post-mutiny phase.
During the former period, most of the protestant missions had their beginnings
while the latter period witnessed their growth and development.
In the pre-mutiny period the progress of the mission work was very
slow mainly because of the suspicious and unsympathetic attitude of the British
East India Company. The British, the rough-riding merchant class, had a lovehate relationship with India. To them, bringing civilization to India was the
Whitemans burden.27 Still as a good will gesture of a Christian concern, the
company gave some concessions to the Christian missionaries such as free
transportation of missionaries in their companys ships, deliverance of their letters

25.

N. Money, The Advent of Christianity in to India, The History of St. Marys Tope, ed., N. Money,
and G.V.I. Shama, Caussanal Publishing House, Palayamkottai, 1977, p.18.

26.

Stephen Neill, The story of the Christian Church in India and Pakistan, CLS, Madras, 1972, p.174.

27.

Samuel G. Thomas, Christianity and Indian Christians, Samaritan Endeavour, Chennai, 2005, p. 243.

113

to and fro free of cost and allocation of lands for the establishment of the churches,
schools etc.28 But the whole situation underwent a drastic change when the
company, originally traders turned into a ruling power. Thenceforth they
concentrated on the consolidation of their power in India and so did not want to
take up any risk in the name of their pro-Christian policy towards the people
whose hatred would endanger their position in India. Hence the home authorities
of the company were opposed not only to free trade but also to Christian
missionaries in India because both were regarded as potential menace to their
power in the country. To avoid even the appearance of interference in religious
matters they not only protested against the entry of Christian missions but also
helped the religious conservatism29 of the natives. Hence the British declared their
neutrality on religious matters. Further restrictions on missionary activities were
also enforced. Hence no new missionary was allowed to land in their territories. It
was in accordance with this rule that William Carey, the first missionary from
England, was refused permission to land at Madras in 1793 and so he landed at
Calcutta and was there for six years under the guise of an indigo planter.30
Nevertheless that indifferent attitude of the British was compelled to change by the

28.
29.
30.

Frank Penny, Church in Madras in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Smith Elder, London,
1904, p.198.
Jawaharlal Nehru , Glimpses of World History, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2004, p.500.
Stock Eugene, The History of the Church Missionary Society: Its Environment, Its Men and Its Work,
Vol. I, CMS, London, 1899, p.96.

114

political pressure31 and also the public desire in England which succeeded in
getting additional clauses inserted in the Charter Act of 1813. It was tantamount to
a declaration that missionary work in India would be patronised.32 As a result
many British missions and missionaries came to India in rapid succession such as
London Missionary Society, Church of Scotland Missions, Wesleyan Missionary
Society etc. However the Charter Act of 1833 threw open India to all Missionary
Societies irrespective of nationality and denomination. The post-Mutiny period
witnessed a rapid growth of the various missions in India because the Mutiny of
1857 sounded the knell of the companys power in India and caused the change of
power from the company to the Crown. Queen Victorias proclamation of 1858
avowed the principle of religious liberty and this enabled the older Societies to
advance in every direction. Many new missions also came into being. In 1902
altogether there were 91 Societies with 3,095 missionaries excluding wives and
25,727 Indian workers engaged in the Christian activities in India. In these figures
are included 226 medical missionaries, working through 313 hospitals and
dispensaries, healing the sick and preaching the Gospel.33 Despite many obstacles
which the missionaries encountered, they became the torchbearers of western
culture and education in to India from the sixteenth century onwards. Their
31.

William Wilberforce, a most enlightened M.P. and also the leader of the Anti-Slave Trade Movement
in England was responsible for the inclusion of a clause in the Charter Act of 1813 which allowed
entry to the missionaries from the UK to carry on missionary activities in the companys settlements
in India, after securing license from the Board of Directors.

32.

C.B. Firth, Op. cit., p. 154.

33.

V.S. Azariah, Op. cit., p.84.

115

activities dominated the Indian scene for many centuries to come and played a
vital role in the moulding of the destiny of our nation. But unfortunately most of
the Missionary Societies were denominational in character with great fascination
for mass movements.34 The mania of presenting a good statistics of increase in
conversion was a very common feature among them. Towards the close of the
nineteenth century when a good many Missionary Societies established themselves
in South India, comity arrangements were made among themselves so as to let a
Society concentrate its missionary efforts on its successful area.35 Moreover, the
Missionary Societies drew closer to one another in an alien atmosphere to discuss
common problems in the mission fields so as to arrive at solutions36 which
subsequently led to missionary co-operation in many a ways.

Introduction of Christianity into Madurai

The name Madurai is said to have been derived from the word
Madhuram meaning sweetness. According to a mythology, quoted in Madurai
Sthala Puranas, as a sign of blessing and purification, God Shiva sprinkled from
his locks drops of amirtam (nectar) all over the city when it was first built by the
king Kulasekhara Pandya and thence forth the city came to be called Madurai.37 It
is true that the city was unique in the sense that it was one of the oldest cities in
34.

Lionel Caplan, Religion and Power, CLS, Madras, 1989, p.4.

35.

C.B. Firth, Op. cit., p.162.

36.

H. Gulliford, The Future of Churches and Missions in India, The International Review of
Missions, Vol. XXVI, no. 103, London, July 1937, p.354.

37.

D. Deva Kunjari, Madurai, Society for Archaeological Historical and Epigraphical Research,
Madras, 1975, p.26.

116

South India which enjoyed a continuous political history as the capital under the
Pandyas who ruled from the beginning to the 14th century of the Christian era. It
was unique culturally as a seat of Tamil culture and civilization, which earned the
city the epithet Athens of South India38. This was justified by the fact that as the
seat of Tamil Academy, the Sangam, it did much for fostering Tamil language and
literature. Moreover the city had sheltered generations of saints, statesmen,
scholars, poets, artists, craftsmen and merchants.39 Economically it was unique
since from time immemorial, it had been a centre for flourishing trade and had
commercial contacts with the countries of both the east and the west.40 Among the
different commodities textile products of Madurai were greatly valued besides
pearls, fish and vegetables from the coastal areas. Religiously also it was unique
being a flourishing centre for various religions41 such as the two prominent sects of
Hinduism Saivism and Vaishnavism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam and was
abounded with numerous monuments especially temples.
In these circumstances Christianity made its entry into the Madura
country.42

In fact Christianity was first introduced in to the Madurai country by

the Portuguese through the Jesuit missionaries, patronised by them. The

38.

Ibid., p. 2.

39.

N. Subramanian, History of South India, Ancient Period, Vol. I, New Delhi, 1979, pp. 38-39.

40.

K. Rajayyan, History of Madurai (1736-1801), Madurai University Historical Series, No.1,

Madurai, 1974, p.18.

41.

K. Gowri, Madurai Under the English East India Company (1801 1857),Raj Publishers, Madurai,
1987, p. 4.

42.

The then Madurai Country comprised Madurai, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai
Zamindaries and the tribal territories of Melur and Natham K. Gowri, Op. cit., p. 16.

117

Portuguese in Goa were responsible for the en masse conversion of the Paravas of
the Fishery coast.43 The Portuguese helped the latter to come out of the clutches of
the Arab exploitation and mulctary. In return the Paravas embraced Christianity.
These converts, over 20,000 in number, thenceforth came under the protectorate of
the Portuguese and thereby indirectly brought under the suzerainty of the king of
Portugal.44 To cater to their spiritual needs, John III, the king of Portugal appealed
to the then Pope Alexander VI to authorise a priest from the Society of Jesus to
South India.45 Accordingly Francis Xavier was deputed to South India.

Francis Xavier
Hailing from a Spanish aristocratic family, Francis Xavier came
down to South India in 1548 as a spiritual and political agent of the Portuguese
through Padroado or Patronage system. Since his mission work centred on the
Paravas he was considered the Apostle of the untouchables.46 Most of his
untouchable conversions were in the South Travancore State. Since the then
Christians were ignorant of any thing of Christianity due to the unintelligible
Portuguese language he instructed them in the Christian faith and with the help of

43.

Fishery Coast was the name given to the littoral of the Tirunelveli and Ramanathapuram districts by
the early Jesuits, who were the members of the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, a
solider turned priest. This Society was approved by Pope Paul III as an effective Counter
Reformation Agency in 1540. This Society had two definite aims - Evangelisation and Education.
N. Money and G.V.I. Shama, ed., Op. cit., p.22.

44.

Robert Caldwell, A Political and General History of the District of Tirunelvelly, Govt. Press, Madras,
1881, p.71.

45.

Charles Henry Robinson, History of Christian Missions, T.T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1915, p.70.

46.

N. Money and G.V.I. Shama, ed., Op. cit., p.23.

118

some elite, translated a small catechism and sermon and thus organised a Christian
way of life for them, which could be identified as the Indian Mission47 and
started many schools in the coastal villages. The catechists, nominated and trained
by him to carry on the spiritual work, received stipends from the Portuguese
Government.48 He had a very early death in 1552 and hence was called the Saint
in a hurry,49 though his stay in India was transient, his impact has outlived the
passage of time.
It was true that the cordial relationship that existed between the
Portuguese and Vijayanagar Empire in the 16th century ensured a safe and easy
passage for the Jesuit missionaries into South India. However, Fr. Antony
Criminalli who was detailed for evangelisation in the fishery coast by Xavier fell
in 1549 along with his catechists to tribal arrows on the east coast of Ramnad
district50 and became the first Jesuit martyr in India. Thus even during the time of
Xavier, opposition to Christianity in the form of assassinations and destructive
episodes was common. But still the Jesuits continued their mission with vigour
even after the decline of their patrons, the Portuguese, and gained momentum
which resulted in the founding of a Mission at Madurai.

47.

Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, Vol. I, Public Instruction, Part II, Madras,
1885, p.626.

48.

C.B. Firth, Op. cit., pp. 60-61.

49.

John Morrison., Missionary Efforts at the time of Reformation, Vol. I., Fisher and Son & Co.,
London, 1943, pp.56-57.

50.

N. Money, and G.V.I. Shama, Op. cit., p. 25.

119

The earliest Jesuit missionary to visit Madurai was a Portuguese,

named Fr. Goncalo Fernandez51 in 1592. His congregation consisted of the
paravas whose forefathers were converted by Francis Xavier and the Portuguese
Christians. With the aim of securing conversion from the higher strata of society in
1592 he sought the permission of Virappa Nayakka,52 the ruler of Madurai, in
whose court he acted as the interpreter of the Portuguese Government and started a
Mission at Madurai with a church, hospital, school and a mission house. But his
untiring work to achieve converts from the upper classes for fourteen years bore no
fruit.53 Because the Indians considered the Portuguese whom they called Parangis
on par with the lower caste and this made them shun the creed itself. They
considered Christianity as a religion meant for knaves or fools. With the arrival of
Robert de Nobili to Madurai, the status of Christianity in India rose to sublime
heights.

Robert De Nobili
Nobili is considered as the real founder of the Catholic Madura
Mission.54 He was the first Jesuit to work under the Archbishop of Cranganore.55
An Italian Jesuit of aristocratic parentage, Nobili reached Madurai which was the
centre of Tamil culture, along with Fernandez in 1606. Madurai was then under the
51.

Joseph Thekkadath , Op. cit., p. 211.

52.

D. Deva Kunjari, Op. cit., p. 204.

53.

R. Sathianathaiar, History of the Nayaks of Madura, University of Madras, Madras, 1924, p. 68.

54.

Jean Castets, The Madura Mission, St. Josephs Industrial School Press, Trichinopoly, 1924, p.41.

55.

D. Deva Kunjari, Op. cit., p. 205.

120

Nayak ruler Muthu Krishnappa whose reign saw the beginnings of Nobilis
endeavours for the cause of Christianity. Within six months, he acquired
proficiency in the Classical and Literary Tamil and even held discussions with the
elite who called on him. His main aim was to raise the status of Christianity in the
eyes of the natives by converting the leaders of Hinduism (Brahmins) and there by
the whole of the Hindu society in India.56 He considered Madurai as a place where
the hope of spreading the faith was so inviting. He disassociated himself from
Fernandez who was a Parangi in the eyes of the Indians and declared himself a
Roman Brahmin, regulated his diet and dress and also renounced the world and
its carnal pleasures.57 By the adoption of the life of the missionary to that of the
people (the Brahmins), the appropriation of harmless (Hindu) customs and
ceremonies for Christian use and the thorough study of vernaculars and Sanskrit,
the language of the sacred books of Hinduism,58 he attempted to indigenise
Christianity. His adaptation method, coupled with his altered life style, earned him
respect from the local Hindus and resulted in conversions of some high caste
Hindus.59 Nevertheless he was so careful as not to offend them in any way. Hence
to appease them, he instituted two kinds of priests. One was Sanyasi, a high caste
priest, to cater to the spiritual needs of the high caste and the other was
56.

N. Money, and G.V.I. Shama, Op. cit., p. 26.

57.

Robert De Nobilis Letter to Pope Paul V, c.1619 A .D., Indian Church History Review, Vol. II,
No.2, Dec. 1988, pp. 84 -96.

58.

J.S. Chandler, The History of the Jesuit Mission in Madura, South India in the 17th & 18th Centuries,
CLS, Madras 1909, p.35.

59.

R. Sathianathaiar, Op. cit., p. 68.

121

Pandaraswami, priest for lower caste. This differentiation was condemned by

many as too much concessions to caste feeling.60 However his efforts bore fruits in
the form of 200 converts from several castes within two years and within five
years he baptised 108 Brahmins.61 Thus he opened the portals of the church to
prince, pauper, Brahmin and low caste. Encouraged by the first fruits of his labour,
Nobili built a new church in 1610.62

Nevertheless his adaptation method led to

opposition even from his co-workers63 and ecclesiastical authorities and nearly
landed him into the jaws of the Inquisition. However Pope Gregory XV took
decisions in favour of his methods in 1623.64 As far as Madurai was concerned,
this controversy resulted in a loss of prestige to Nobili. He was convinced that this
ancient seat of Hinduism was not congenial for conversion. His assistant Antonio
Vico also felt that one would never encounter obstacles anywhere as great as in
Madurai despite the fact that Tirumala Nayak of Madurai was sympathetic towards
the missionaries. Since his experiment met with failure in Madurai, Nobili turned
his attention towards the north.65 In 1623 he set out on a long journey through the
Salem district and the Trichinopoly where the converts were mainly of low castes.

60.

Vincent Cronin, A Pearl to India, Butler and Tanner Ltd., London, 1959, p.178.

61.

Joseph C. Houpert , Madura Mission Manual, St. Josephs Industrial School Press , Tiruchirappalli,
1917, p.60.

62.

R. Sathianathaiar, Op. cit., p.79.

63.

The alleged charge from Fernandez was that Nobilis religion was a monstrous combination of
Paganism and Christianity. R. Sathianathaiar, Op. cit., p.79.

64.

M.K. Kuriakose, Comp., History of Christianity in India, Source Materials, No. 45, ISPCK, Delhi,
1999, p.52.

65.

R. Sathianathaiyar, Op. cit., p.80.

122

Persecutions, hardship, insults and even imprisonment were experienced by him.

After an arduous service of 42 years he retired to Mylapore, nearly blind and died
in obscurity.

John De Britto
The most outstanding follower of De Nobili, a greater intellectual
and zealot than Nobili himself, was John De Britto, the son of the Viceroy of
Brazil. He came to India in 1673 and joined the Madura Mission in the following
year. He started his work in Kuttur in Thanjavur kingdom then shifted it to the
Marava country66 (Ramnad) which was a tributary to the Madurai Nayak
kingdom.67 To begin with conversion took place only among the low caste Hindus
but gradually it spread among the Maravas and made its head way in to the palace
and armed forces. Britto was for group conversions in rural castes and intent on its
realisation. This rapid growth of Christianity resulted in his deportation by the then
ruler of RamnadRaghu Natha Thevar alias Kizhavan Sethupathi.68
After a lapse of two years, Britto came back to Ramnad and
succeeded in converting nearly 4000 Maravas including one Tadia Thevar, a
prince of Maravan and a supposed heir to the throne of Ramnad. In accordance
with the Christian doctrine, he divorced his all wives except the first one. This
landed Britto in trouble since the youngest wife of Tadia Thevar happened to be

66.

Stephen Neill, Op. cit., p.44.

67.

S. Kadhirvel, Op. cit., p.21.

68.

Ibid., pp. 39-41.

123

the niece of Kizhavan Sethupathi who was awaiting an opportunity to do away

with the missionary. Because he believed that the safety of his crown and the
interest of his kingdom necessitated a stern step. Despite representations from
Tadia Thevar, Rani Mangammal of Madurai, and others on February 4, 1693,
Britto was beheaded outside a village of Oriyur69 However before his tragic end he
had converted more than 12,000 Maravas. Thus he became the second martyr in
the Tamil country. Nelson truly remarks the murder of John de Britto so far from
injuring the cause of Christianity appears to have advanced it very considerably70
However Christianity enjoyed much freedom in Madurai where Rani Mangammal
followed an enlightened religious policy.

Joseph Constantine Beschi

The outstanding Jesuit of the 18th century was Beschi, a gifted
linguist and a successful missionary who followed the footprints of De Nobili in
his adaptation and accommodation policies but in a showy way.71 While Robert de
Nobili Indianised the apostolate, Beschi Tamilicised it. Though he served at
Kamanayakanpatti and Kaittar in Tiruneveli, Madurai, the Marava country and

69.

Madras District Gazetteer, South Arcot, Vol. I, Madras 1906, p.81.

70.

J.H. Nelson, The Madura Country- A Manual, Part-II, Asian Educational Service, New Delhi, 1868,
pp.217-225.

71.

In his personal life Beschi was an ascetic, but for impressing the people he adopted a showy way.
He travelled in ivory Palanquin, surrounded by a number of disciples. A silk umbrella, the insignia
of royalty was carried before the Palanquin. He reclined on superb couches and his attendants fanned
him with the fly whisk of peacock feathers. N. Money , The Society of Jesus in the Tamil Area,
ed., Op. cit., p.27.

124

Trichy, his principal mission station was Yella Kurichi,72 on the north bank of the
Kollidam river where he had built a church. He too had his over share of hardship
and danger in the early years of his service when the rulers were often hostile.
However he was able to win the confidence of Chanda Sahib, the ruler of
Trichinopoly, who appointed Beschi his Dewan and assigned to him four villages
in Trichinopoly district, fetching an annual revenue of 12,000 rupees.73 His
contribution to Tamil Literature was unparalleled and earned him the title Veera
Mamunivar (the great valiant hermit). In fact the Madurai Mission reached its
zenith of glory during his time following his relentless missionary work. But after
his death in 1742 the Madura Mission began to decline.

End of the Madura Mission

The adaptation method, disliked by many, resulted in the expulsion
of the Jesuits from Portugal and its colonies. Owing to various representations
from Christian kings to the Pope, the Society of Jesus itself was suppressed in
1773 by Pope Clement XIV and thus the Madura Mission came to an end.74 Hence
much of its previous work was undone and the converts relapsed into Hinduism.
With the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, Madurai lost its prominence
as a flourishing Christian centre. On the whole Catholicism was at its lowest ebb
between 1800 and 1830 a period that was characterised by law-suits, ignorance
72.

R. Caldwell, Op. cit., p.238.

73.

N. Money, Op. cit., p.27.

74.

Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, Vol. I, Ecclesiastical, 1885, p. 626.

125

and corruption.75 From the languished Catholic community many were won over
to Protestantism.76 While some relapsed to Hinduism some were forcibly
converted to Islam by Tipu Sultan.77
At this juncture a change took place in the political scene in the form
of the fall of the Portuguese which synchronised with the rise of the British power
in India. As Portugal was not disposed to help the missions in India with men or
money, Rome decided to make the Indian missions independent of Portugal.
Through a Bull of Pius VI issued in 1778 Madura Mission was brought into the
fold of the French Foreign Mission of Paris established at Pondicherry in 1776/7.78
The bull was resented to by the Portuguese who claimed Padroado79 rights over all
the Indian missions. Because of this the notorious jurisdiction struggle started
between the Portuguese Goan Priests and the Fathers of the Foreign Mission of
Paris. This proved to be a stumbling block for the spread of Christianity.80
However the Society of Jesus was restored by Pope Gregory XVI in

75.

R. Hull Ernest, Bombay Mission History with a Special Study of the Padroado Question, Vol.I,
Examiner Press, Bombay, 1927, p.284.

76.

Joseph C. Houpert, Op. cit., p.66.

77.

N. Money, Op. cit., p.28.

78.

V.M. Gnanapragasam , A pearl of Great Price, Nobili Publications, Madurai, 1988, p.8.

79.

Padroado is Portuguese for Patronage which was tantamount to the monopoly of the Madurai
Mission under the Portuguese king. Accordingly appointment of Bishops, stipends to missionaries,
maintenance of the churches etc. became the privilege of the Portuguese.
Anand Amaladoss, Commemorative Volume on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the New
Madura Mission, 1838-1988, Satya Nilayam, Anand, (Gujarat) 1988, pp.311-312.

80.

Hugald Grafe, Op. cit., p. 38.

126

1814 as the result of many representations from the Catholics of Ramnad,

Tirunelveli and the Fishery Coast to Pope, clamouring for missionaries.81 In the
meantime in 1811 the new seminary at Pondicherry started to produce Indian
priests and in addition to this after the Napoleonic wars, large number of priests
came from France too in 1815.82 When the missions were reorganised in 1836 the
territories in the southern most part of the Old Madura Mission were entrusted to
the French Jesuits of Toulouse in 1838.83 Thus the Madura Mission was reestablished in 1838 which could be identified as the New Madura Mission.

The establishment of the American Madura Mission (AMM)

The most important and far reaching mission in the province of
Madurai was that of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission
(ABCFM) founded in 1810.84 The ABCFM despatched its first set of missionaries
who landed at Calcutta in 1812 and carried on evangelical work through the
establishment of churches, educational and technical institutions, hospitals etc. in
South India.85 However the political rivalry and the bitter experiences of the War

81.

R. Hull Earnest, Loc. cit.

82.

A.S. Colas, Some Notes on the Province of Pondicherry and Particularly on the Archdiocese of
Pondicherry and Cuddalore, Mission Press, Pondicherry, 1954, p.4.

83.
84.
85.

L. Sundaram, The Second Madura Mission A General Survey, Jubilee Memorial Volume, Madurai,
1988, p.9.
Stephen Neill, Geral, B. Anderson and John Goodwin ed., Concise Dictionary of the Christian
World Mission, London, 1956, p.18.
B. Sobhanan, ed., The American Madura Mission, A History of the Christian Missions in India,
Kerala Historical Society, Trivandrum, 1996, p.140.

127

of 1812 made the British expel even the American missionaries from their
settlements in India.86 Hence the American missionaries had to retire to the nonBritish settlements in India. With the renewal of the British East India Companys
charter in 1813, the British Government made it mandatory on the part of the
company to recognise the duty of introducing useful knowledge and religious and
moral improvement among the Indians for which purpose a sum of Rs. One lakh
per annum was set aside.87 Thus the British missionary activity in India began
with the approval of the British Government. However permission was denied to
the American missionaries. Charles Grant, an enlightened M.P. and a religious
enthusiast was instrumental in securing the official sanction of the British
Parliament for the American missionaries to settle down at Bombay by 1815.88 In
response to the political pressure and public opinion, through the Charter Act of
1833, India was thrown open to all missionary activities irrespective of nationality
and denomination. Hence the ABCFM again sent its missionaries to India.89
The beginning of the AMM in Madurai must be traced to the Island
of Ceylon lying off the south east coast of India where the missionaries of the
American Board started the Jaffna Mission in 1816. Following their success there,

86.

K. Rajayyan , A History of the United States, Chandar Publications, Madurai, 1977, pp. 74-76.

87.

Hugald Grafe, pp. 189 - 190.

88.

Anderson Rufus, History of the Mission of ABCFM in India, Congregational Publication Society,
Boston, 1874, pp. 43-44.

89.

C.B Firth, Op. cit., pp. 160-161.

128

they wanted to extend their missionary activities to South India also.90 Hence in
1834 they deputed one of the American missionaries from Jaffna - Levi Spaulding
to visit India so as to find out whether there was any opening to begin their
Mission in India.91
Accordingly Spaulding toured areas such as Ramnad, Palayamkottai,
Nagercoil and Madurai and found out that the Church Missionary Society (CMS)
was already at work in and around Palayamkottai, the London Missionary Society
(LMS) had occupied the Nagercoil field, Ramnad was far off to the extreme end of
Madurai district while the Madurai country was a large field of virgin soil, all
unoccupied. Consequently Madurai was chosen as the most appropriate place for
their new Mission.92
In the meantime the business world of America was caught up into
the jaws of economic depression which had a telling effect on the American
Mission too.93 Since many candidates could not be sponsored the Board resolved
that the Mission in Ceylon be instructed to depute two of its own members to
Madurai for commencing the Mission.94
With this understanding Mr. Woodward, an American missionary,
met Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor General of India and Sir Frederick
90.

J.S. Chandler, Seventy Five Years in the Madura Mission, Lawrence Asylum Press, Madras, n.d.,
p.36.

91.

Ibid.

92.

Sixty-Sixth Annual Report of the AMM, 1901, p.92.

93.

J.S. Chandler, Loc. cit.

94.

Ibid., p.38.

129

Adams, the then Governor of Madras at Nilgris.95 On securing an official

permission from the Madras Government with difficulty on June 5, 1834, William
Todd and his wife Lucy Brownell Todd and Henry R. Hoisington along with three
Jaffna Tamil helpers arrived in Madurai on the 31st of July 1834 and founded the
AMM.96 Since the pioneers of this Mission were put up in Jaffna for over 18 years
where Tamil was the common language they had already acquired the language
and so straight away they started preaching in vernacular. In addition to the
Madura Mission, the missionaries started the Madras Mission in 1837 and Arcot
Mission in 1851, but both were turned over to the SPCK and Dutch Reformed
Church respectively. Hence the ABCFM in South India concentrated only in the
Madurai district. Moreover the SPG which had been pursuing missionary activities
in Madurai, after a comity arrangement in 1857, withdrew from Madurai and
confined its work to the Ramnad Zamindary97 and hence the AMM was to have the
remainder. The Deputation which visited the Mission in 1855 remarked. God
has given us this fine Madura district to cultivate with the general consent of
Protestant Christendom that we have it all to ourselves.98
Thus the AMM which had a humble beginning since then covered
the entire province with a network of stations. The pioneer missionaries were soon
95.

ABCFM Report for the year 1834, Boston, 1835, p.16.

96.

J.J. Banninga, Notes on the AMM Since Its Seventy Fifth Anniversary, Boston, 1944, p.8.

97.

J.A. Sharrock, South Indian Missions, Containing Glimpses into the Lives and Customs of the Tamil
People, SPG, Westminster 1910, p.58.

98.

Annual Report of the AMM for the year 1856, p. 4.

130

joined by reinforcements from the home land now and then and finally the number
rose to 200 who did zealous service in the educational, medical and social fields.

The establishment of the New Madurai Mission

Henceforth referred to as (CMM)
With the restoration in 1814 the Society of Jesus arose once again
like phoenix from its ashes. When the missions were re-organised, the territories to
the south of the Cauvery and Fishery coast were assigned to the New Catholic
Madurai Mission (CMM). Hence it had jurisdiction over part of the districts of
Tanjore, Trichiropoly, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Rammad and the kingdom of
Pudukkottai.99 For administrative purposes, this CMM was divided into three
districts the North, Central and South with Trichirappalli, Madurai and
Palayamkottai as their respective head quarters.100
Father General John Roothan, the Head of the Restored Society,
entrusted the responsibility of the re-establishment of the Mission in the Madurai
Province to four missionaries.101 They were Fr. Louis Du Ranquet, Fr. Alexander
Martin, Fr. Joseph Bertrand (leader of the team) and Fr.Louis Garnier De Falton,
all from France. The prime concern of these missionaries was the revival and
99.

V.M. Gnanapragasam , Op. cit., p.9.

100. M.X. Miranda, The Jesuit Experience in Tamil Nadu - The New Madura Mission 1838-1938,
Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Madras, 1982, p.3.
101. N. Money and G.V.I. Shama, Op. cit., p.30.

131

continuance of the work left undone by the Old Madura Mission and also of the
up bringing of an indigenous clergy. No sooner had they landed in Madurai than
they realised the gravity of the situation and the magnitude of their uphill task.
Though they were determined to stick on to the policy of adaptation of Nobili they
had to put up a stiff fight against the challenging situation.
The exclusive and peculiar padroado problem threatened the very
existence of the CMM. Moreover the Protestant Missions which had encroached
upon their missionary fields during the lacuna between the suppression and the
subsequent restoration of the Society of Jesus had to be overcome. The persecution
which had engulfed the Catholic churches in Trichirappalli and Tirunelveli made
them consider Protestantism as Cave Adullam.102 It is on the record that nearly
500 members each of the churches turned to be Protestants.103 In the northern
region of the CMM with its headquarters at Trichy, Fr. Garnier achieved
tremendous success104 which led even to an unsuccessful attempt on his life by his
enemies. In the central region which included the Marava Country (Ramnad and
Sivaganga) with Madurai as headquarters, Frs. Martin, Ranquet and Bertrand took
over their old churches in the city in quick succession but were eventually evicted
from there by the Goanese priests. Fr. Bertrand, driven from Madurai, stationed at
102. 'Cave Adullam' David to escape the wrath of Saul, the king of Israel, took refuge in Cave Adullam
where he was joined by the oppressed and suppressed. Thenceforth it has become an epithet of a
sheltering place of the distressed. (The Holy Bible: I Samuel, 22: 1&2)
103. Hugald Grafe, Op. cit., p. 37.
104. The Madras Catholic Expositor, Vol. IV, No. XII, Feb. 1845, p.450.

132

Calladithidal in the Marava country and took possession of some 50 churches

there but subsequently had to return to the Goan party.105 The then collector of
Madurai, Mr. Blackburn, played an active role in the eviction of the Jesuits.106
Though they had to retire to some obscure villages they soon moved in to their
respective missionary centres. In 1842, Fr. Bertrand bought a land near the present
palace of Tirumala Nayak and raised an impressive modern church there.107
The toils and hardships endured by the missionaries cost their lives
prematurely. Of the four, three died of disease and Fr. Bertrand suffered due to
food poison and left for France for good. During the first decade of the CMM,
(1837-1847) 21 priests died out of 64 and most of them were below the age of 35.
These heavy losses in man power necessitated the acceleration of raising up of an
indigenous clergy.108 This was the ultimate goal and it was achieved in a
progressive manner.
The year 1847 was conspicuous for two important events.
(i)

The Madura Mission was made a Vicariate Apostolic.

(ii)

The opening of the first Noviciate at Trichirappalli with six Indians.

Thus a bold step towards Indianisation of the Mission was taken. In

105. M.X. Miranda, Op. cit., p.57.

106. Ibid ., p.90.
107. J. Pujo, The New Madura Mission, Caritas, July 1977, p.10; Cf. W. Francis, Madras District.
Gazetteers, Madura, Vol. I, 1906, p.77.
108. A Hundred Years Ago, Caritas, November 1942, p.201.

133

1887 the Vicariate Apostolic of Madurai became the Diocese of Trichi as

suffragan to the Metropolitan See of Bombay. In 1938 the Diocese was again
divided in to two Trichirappalli Diocese and Madura Diocese. In 1952 the
Madura Mission became an Independent Jesuit province under the Indian
Assistancy.109 In 1953 Madura became the Archdiocese. Out of the Archdiocese of
Madura two more Dioceses were carved out Diocese of Palayamkottai in 1973
and of Sivaganga in 1987. In due course Nobilis adaptation method was done
away with and in the name of modernization Christianity was presented to the
Indians in its western garb i.e., use of western costumes, Biblical names and the
adoption of the customs of the Westerners were also encouraged among the
converts.110 As agents of social change the two important dimensions social
services and social concern were given importance by the Jesuits. Thus while the
old Madura Mission was much concerned about evangelisation, the CMM
concentrated more in various other fields.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF SWEDEN

MISSION (CSM)/ TAMIL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN
CHURCH (TELC)
109. Assistancies are territorial groups into which the Society of Jesus is divided for administrative
purposes. Provinces, Vice-provinces and Missions are the sub-divisions of an Assitancy.
110. Extracts from the Diary of Fr. Jean A., Caritas, March 1942, pp. 50-51.

134

The Danish-Halle Mission which flourished in Tranquebar extended

its mission work to other places also such as Thanjavur, Trichirappalli, Cuddalore,
Madras and in the south to Tirunelveli.111 From Trichirappalli were sent native
preachers, though occasionally, to the province of Madurai whose labour bore fruit
in the form of a small Christian community found scattered from the capital to
Ramnad.112 Towards the close of the eighteenth century degeneration engulfed the
Tranquebar Mission.
Tranquebar Mission which was considered as the Mother of the
Missions from whom the missionaries of other Societies used to acquire their first
knowledge of Tamil and Tamil Christianity, was given a helping hand by many a
Missionary Societies.113 But still the position of the Danish Mission was not stable.
Hence all churches except Tranquebar were handed over to the SPCK in 1820
including Madurai. As stated earlier on the inability of the Society to provide them
with the needed aid these Christian communities were transferred to the SPG. Thus
the Lutherans became Anglicans.
After the collapse of the Tranquebar Mission, the Dresden (Leipzig)
Evangelical Lutheran Mission (LELM) of Germany which was the product of the
111.

S. Estborn, Op. cit., p.13.

112. M.A. Sherring, The History of Protestant Missions in India, From Their Commencement in
1706-1881, The Religious Tract Society, London, 1884, p. 371.
113. Hugald Grafe, Op. cit., p. 34.

135

pietistic - orthodox revival in Germany114 sent its missionaries to Tranquebar. This

Leipzig Mission started its work in India in 1841 and took over the congregation at
Tranquebar. It alone had the Lutheran character then and thus claimed to be the
legitimate heir of the Tranquebar Mission. Starting from Tranquebar work spread
over Tamil Nadu from Madras in the north down to Virudhunagar in the south
along the Coromandel coast and in to the interior district of Coimbatore and the
native state of Pudukottai and Mysore.115

In the mean time Sweden which had already been in the service of
the Tranquebar Mission right from 1740116 became interested in the affairs of the
Tranquebar Mission. Consequent to the great missionary awakening taking place
in England during the close of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th
century many Mission Societies were formed in Sweden including the Lunds
Mission Society in 1845.117 This Society which got merged in to the Church of
Sweden Mission Board eventually extended its co-operation to the LELM in 1852.

In 1869 a new epoch in the history of the Swedish Mission started

114. Ibid., p.47.

115. V.S. Azariah, Op. cit., pp.204-205.
116. J. Fenger Ferd, History of the Tranquebar Mission, Worked out from the Original Papers, II ed.,
M.E.Press, Madras, 1906, p.184.
117. S. Estborn, Op. cit., p.123.

136

with the joining of C.J. Sandegren in the Mission.118 He exercised profound

influence on both the Missions. In Madurai he built a new church, a mission
bungalow at Ponnagaram and a school for girls on the outskirts of the town.
Reinforcements in the form of men and money came mainly from Sweden.

Owing to the initiative taken by Sandegren the collegium of the

LELM consented to hand over three stations to the church of Sweden119 such as
Madurai, Pattukkottai and Anaikkadu in 1901 under the official name Swedish
Diocese of the LELM. From Madurai the evangelical activity extended up to
Virudhunagar in the south and even stretched up to Ceylon. With its growth the
collegium of the LELM recognised the independence of the Swedish Mission with
a new name Church of Sweden Mission in India.120 Nevertheless both the
Missions had agreed to co-operate for the building up of the Tamil Evangelical
Lutheran Church (TELC). But before the ratification of the new agreement the
First World War broke out. The unexpected political situation made the LELM
hand over its work and property with full authority and ownership to the Church of
Sweden.121 The atmosphere was not very congenial to the Swedes since due to
their former bond with LELM of Germany they too were suspected pro-Germans

118. Ibid., p.128, Rev. C.J. Sandegran had married Theodora Kremmer, a daugher of one of the prominent
German missionaries at Madurai. So his family was 50% German and 50% Swedish.
119. C.H. Swavely, ed., The Lutheran Enterprise in India, F.E.L.C., Madras, 1952, pp.122-142.
120. Ibid.
121. G.O.No.369, Public, dated Feb. 28, 1916; G. O. No. 1147, Public, dated June 14, 1916; G. O. No.
1465, Public, dated August 10, 1916.

137

and put to much hardship. This crisis, coupled with their genuine desire to
establish an Indian Lutheran Church in the Tamil Country, resulted in the
formation of the TELC.122
The congregations that were built up hitherto were united in the
Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which at its historic session held at Thanjavur
on January 14, 1919 declared itself a self- governing body with full authority over
its work and functions.123 With a very few missionaries, the entire missionary
activity was manned by the Indian leaders. To regulate relationship of the church
and the mission, episcopacy was introduced. Accordingly Bishop of Tranquebar
was appointed the Head of the hierarchy.124

Madurai, in the eyes of the Foreign Missionaries

The past glory and uniqueness of the Madurai country, which the
missionaries had heard much about, had already become a forgotten story. The
ground reality was diametrically opposite.
In Madurai, as elsewhere in India, there was an almost intolerable
poverty. Empty stomach was the greatest obstacle to progress. Picketts view about
Indias poverty was very much true in the case of Madurai also. Neither

122. S. Estborn , The Church of Sweden Mission in India, Op. cit., ed., C.H. Swavely, p.133.
123. V.S. Azariah, Op. cit., p. 204.
124. Ibid., p.205.

138

Government nor caste, neither religion nor custom rules the daily life of the rural
masses in this sub-continent more surely than poverty does.125 As stated earlier
Madurai, being a rain shadow region, rainfall is scanty and irregular and is about
only 30 inches a year.126 The life-line river of Madurai- the Vaigai is not a
perennial one but is a rain fed river system. In those days, vast areas of this region
were covered with thick jungles and thorny shrubs. Lying entirely within the
tropics, the temperature is fairly high for the major part of the year. The scattered
and diminutive land holdings rendered the application of improved technology
impossible. Natural calamities such as recurrent droughts, famine and epidemics
shook the very foundations of the social fabric.127 No outside help or governmental
welfare measure was available. People died, children were sold, some migrated
and the surviving masses fed on wild fruits, herbs and roots.128 As has been well
said, an Indian farmer is born in debt, lives in debt, and dies in debt, the Madurai
farmers also remained under debt from generation to generation. Illiteracy was
colossal. Though the Tamils were not indifferent to education, it was characterised
by exclusiveness. A Brahmin received religious education whereas a Kshatriya
was trained in martial arts and the Vaishyas and Vellalas were given vocational
education in their respective trades. The Sudras were excluded from higher

125. J.W. Pickett, Christian Mass Movements in India, Lucknow Publishing house, Lucknow, 1933, p. 86.
126. C. Benson and N.E. Marjoribanks, A Statistical Atlas of the Madras Presidency, Madras, 1908,
p. 548.
127. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., pp. 26 - 27.
128. E.R. Hambye, Op. cit., pp. 116-117.

139

education, though relaxed at times.129 In villages, there were pial (verandah)

schools or elementary schools run by individuals in the vestibules of temples or
under the shade of trees or in sheds or in their houses.130 The curriculum included
reading, writing and the composition of letters, elementary arithmetic and
accounting. Oral instruction which trained the memory of the students played an
important part. To begin with, writing was performed on sand with finger then on
dried and seasoned Palmyra leaves with the aid of pointed stylus.131 The temples
and mutts encouraged advanced learning. Gurukula was a residential college
which flourished in different parts of the country and even Salais provided
education and boarding to students where besides Vedas, Grammar, Logic,
Astronomy, Astrology, Medicine etc. were also taught.132
Despite all these, degeneration set in which in due course resulted in
wide spread of illiteracy. Even the British who carried culture and civilization with
them cared a jot for the promotion of learning until 1813. Female education was
thoroughly neglected for fear that an educated woman would bring in disaster and
disgrace to the family.133 The worst part of it was the parents themselves believed
that if their daughters were sent to school, they were sure to turn prostitutes since
129. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The Culture and History of the Tamils, Publisher not traceable, Calcutta, 1964,
pp. 97-98.
130. Ibid., p. 98.
131. K.K. Pillay, A Social History of the Tamils, Vol. I, University of Madras, Madras, 1975, p. 339.
132. History of Higher Education in India, Vol. I, University of Madras, Madras, 1957, pp. 1-2.
133. White Head and K.K. Henry, Indian Problems in Religion, Education and Politics, Constable and
Co. Ltd., London, 1924, p. 28.

140

the then general notion was education was meant only for the courtesans and
dancing girls.134
In the absence of learning and enlightenment society was immersed
in ignorance, conservatism and superstition.135 Even absurd stories and rumours
circulated far and wide. The attitude of the villagers towards inoculation has been
recorded by the American missionaries. They believed that through inoculation,
the British were trying to secure some 3,00,000 human lives so as to prolong the
life of Queen Victoria who was growing feeble with age. They even mistook the
Governmental measures of reconstruction of the famine stricken areas as efforts
with vested interest The fatter the body, the fitter the sacrifice.136 The
ignorance of the people in medical sciences and the exorcism of the devil baffled
them which could be understood from the words of Chandler, an American
missionary. He gives an account of the prescription by the Indian physician
Tigers claws, Turtles shell, sharks teeth, Hedge hogs quills, breast bone of the
cock, silver all to be ground up together and mixed in honey was one that was
warranted to cure anything.137 In case of illness many tried to get cured through
recourse to the gods.
To the early missionaries another problem of an extreme intricate

134. The Missionary Herald, Boston, 1840, p. 145.

135. S.S. Dikshit, Nationalism and Indian Education, Sterling Publishers, Jullender, 1966, p.14.
136. Annual Report of the AMM, for 1898, p. 7.
137. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., p. 133.

141

nature was the caste system. It was more than a crossword puzzle for them and
beyond their power of comprehension. Sad! Sad! Is the strength of this viperous
grasp was the lamentation of Chandler.138 According to Neill, the caste system
had divided up the country itself into infinity of water tight compartments thereby
postponing national unity and hindering national efficiency.139
In fact caste, the Achilles heel of Hinduism,140 posed a serious
threat to the intrusion of Christianity. Though the British had brought with them a
casteless culture and a literature full of thoughts on individual liberty, they never
seemed to have taken any step to discard it.141 Unfortunately even the early
missionaries the Jesuits, the Danish, and the German, chose to make caste a
friend rather than a foe so as to facilitate conversions.142 Hence the
missionaries, irrespective of their denominations, could neither agree upon the
nature nor the way of tackling it unanimously. In the words of a Jesuit priest, in
India four demons stalked over the land Disease, Darkness, Drink and Debt, in
other words, Infirmities, Ignorance, Intemperance and Indebtedness.143 So also in
Madurai, besides poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, many social evils such as

138. Ibid., p. 139.

139. Stephen Neill, Op. cit., p. 19.
140. Duncan, B. Forrester, Caste and Christianity: Attitudes and Policies on Caste of Anglo-Saxon
Protestant Missions in India, Centre of South Asian Studies, University of London, 1980, p. 270.
141. G.S. Ghurye, Caste and Race in India, V ed., Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1969,pp. 2-20.
142. M.A. Sherring, Op. cit., p. 57.
143. Joseph C Houpert, A South Indian Mission, The Madura Catholic Mission from 1535 to 1935,
St. Joesph's Industrial Press, Trichinopoly, 1937, p. 209.

142

female infanticide, child marriage, liquor and narcotics, gambling, temple

prostitution, extravagance, city demoralisation, rural backwardness etc. were prevalent.
Hence the missionaries had a clear cut vision of their mission.
Though evangelism was their principal aim they felt constrained by the love of
Jesus Christ to alleviate human suffering and misery by providing better facilities
of life as their prime concern. Consequently they charted out an agenda of social
reforms for the benefit of the natives of Madurai.

143

CHAPTER V

THE KALLARS AND

CHRISTIANITY

143

CH AP T E R - V

THE KALLARS AND CHRISTIANITY

As a citadel of Hinduism and a centre of religious life and
enthusiasm, Madurai was inferior to no other place in South India. Hence when the
missionaries landed in Madurai and concentrated on evangelism, the response was
not that much rewarding. To gather an audience, the chief method adopted by the
missionaries was preaching in vernacular since language is the gateway of
reaching out to hearts. Hearing foreigners speaking in their own language worked
wonders and wherever they went they were sure of an audience. To attract the
crowd, a vigorous singing of Christian lyrics1 was made use of. True to their
expectations, the very novelty attracted the people and made them very curious to
know what was all about. Then short addresses with singing interspersed and even
interjected into the addresses2 were made to keep them spellbound. At the end of
the meetings tracts were distributed. But many being illiterate and superstitious did
not like to receive them thinking them as plague passports.3 In fact the largest
portion of the listeners was simply indifferent while a smaller portion was highly
antagonistic and still a smaller number were curious but friendly disposed.4

1.

J. P. Jones, Christian Work at the Madurai Festival, Harvest Field, Missionary Magazine, III series,
Vol. I, Madras, 1890, p. 5.

2.

Ibid.

3.

Annual Report of the AMM for 1910, p. 11.

4.

Annual Report of the AMM for 1906, p. 11.

144

Of the three Missions connected with Madurai, namely, American

Madura Mission*(AMM), Catholic Madura Mission and the Swedish Mission, the
AMM has done a major work among the Piramalai Kallars** of Madurai. A
cursory reading of the mission reports and correspondences of the missionaries
would reveal how much effort and time the missionaries had put in to win over a
single soul from this community. From the available sources of information
especially of the AMM such as the Annual Reports printed from the AMM press
(the Lenox press, Pasumalai, Madurai), and The Missionary Herald printed by the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) from Thomas
Todd and Co. printers, Boston, the attitude of these Kallars towards Christianity at
different stages has been reconstructed.

Antagonistic attitude
As far as the Kallars were concerned they were violently opposed to
Christianity in the beginning. It has been proved from the words of Rev. Zumbro
that once a missionary was assaulted in open day light and roughly handled in the
streets of Melur.5 The meetings of the missionaries were broken up by throwing
eggs and stones; lands were denied to the erection of houses of worship and were

* American Madura Mission henceforth referred to as AMM.

** Piramalai Kallars herein after referred to as Kallars only.
5.

Sixty-sixth Annual Report of the AMM, 1901, p. 163.

145

in fact driven off with violence.6 False cases were filed against the missionaries
and the converts.7 During distribution of tracts, they were assaulted by the Hindus
and the Muslims.
Thirumangalam area, the abode of the Piramalai Kallars, proved to
be one of the hardest places for evangelism. It is plainly shown in the Annual
Report of 1839 that distrust and suspicion were reigning in the minds of the
Kallars and that they even refrained from sending their children to the mission
schools except for a very few. The situation got worsened with the organisation of
the churches numbering five in Madurai and one among them in their own place
Thirumangalam which was enough to kindle alarm and anxiety in the minds of the
Kallars.8 To add to their distrust, there was a rumour that the school masters,
monitors and the children connected with the mission would be made to drink a
magic potion and thereby all would be made Christians.9 The parents also feared
that their children would be made slaves after conversion and transported beyond
the seas.10 Consequently even the small number who had the guts to send their
children to mission schools took them away under one pretext or the other.11

6.

Annual Report of the AMM for 1894, p. 20.

7.

The Missionary Herald for 1846, p. 354.

8.

J.S. Chandler, Seventy-Five Years in the Madura Mission, Lawrence Asylum Press, Madras, n.d , p.
72.

9.

Ibid.

10. Rufus Anderson, The History of the Missions, Boston, 1874, p. 200.
11. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., p. 73.

146

A shrewd analysis of the then prevailing conditions could very well

lead to the reasons for the antagonistic attitude of the Kallars towards the
missionaries.

i.

Owing to the misdeeds of the British officials who were all Christians, the
missionaries suffered much odium and the Kallars and the natives at large saw
behind them the shadow of a strong, aggressive foreign power. In fact this fear
was in the air not only in the Madurai region but all over India. First comes
the missionary, then comes the Resident, last comes the regiment, says
Brahmabandhu Upadhyaya12 which resembles the words of Nelson Mandela
who said that when the Europeans came to Africa the land was in the hands of
the natives and Bible was in theirs; after some decades Bible was in the hands
of the natives and the land was in the hands of the Europeans. Hence when
they saw that their people deserting and breaking their social ties to put
themselves under the spiritual and material domination of foreigners they
became highly antagonistic.13

ii. The role of the missionaries as champions of the depressed classes was enough
for the Kallars to harass them. Known for their high sense of social superiority,
12. Brahmabandhu Upadhyaya was censored by the R.C. Authorities in 1899 for writing such things.
Kaj Baago, Book Review on "Stephen Neill's Colonialism and Christian Missions", ICHR, Vol. I,
No.2, Dec. 1967.
13. Annual Report of the AMM for 1893, pp. 11-12.

147

they could not tolerate the uplift of the depressed classes whom they held as
service castes. The vehement opposition to this attempt of the missionaries
could be gleaned from the following account given by Dr. Jones. At Shempatty
in Tirumangalam taluk, since the congregation was constituted entirely by the
depressed class, the Kallars set fire to the churches and the majority of the
houses of congregation. When they tried to save the church they were stoned;
their crops and cattle were stolen off and on, thus putting the converts of the
depressed class to much hardship.14 In course of time though they wanted to
send their children to mission schools on realising the overall development of
the children of other castes, they could not digest the very thought of their
children being treated on par with the so called untouchables. The love
feasts in which all, irrespective of caste and creed, were made to dine together
with a view to break caste barriers was too much for them to tolerate.15

iii. Caste as a social aspect was another factor that kept the Kallars far away from
Christianity. For a Kallar caste was more sacred than anything else. In the
Hindu society at large the individual was subject to the family and the family to
the caste. The family system denied any one of the rights of conscience and
action upon his own personal responsibility. It was a very common feature in
14. Annual Report of the AMM for 1892, p. 4.
15. The Missionary Herald for 1844, pp. 90-91.

148

India, as Pickett views that a villager had been trained to sub-ordinate personal
initiative to the guidance of the caste group and had been more controlled by
the judgement and desire of his group.16 The Kallars being a caste ridden group
feared ostracism more than death itself. If any body became a convert that
person was considered to have fallen from their dignified caste. Not only his
own family oppressed him in innumerable ways but also their caste group
which would make the family suffer because of the action of that particular
individual. That convert was looked down upon as an outcaste by his own kith
and kin and was reduced to an object of ridicule. Hence conversion was thought
of as a great dishonour done to the family and also to the clan at large. Hence
they preferred death than to become a Christian.

Further they had hypochondriacal nightmares about the persecution

that was sure to follow, whenever mental ascent to the truth led to an open
confession of Christ. Rev. Perkins, a missionary at the Thirumangalam station,
bears a testimony to this when he writes about the Mandapasalai congregation.17

16. J.W. Pickett, Christian Mass Movements in India, Lucknow Publishing House, Lucknow, 1933, p. 26.
17. Annual Report of the AMM for 1893, p. 13.

149

i.

The converts were excommunicated from the community.

ii. Washer man was forbidden to wash their clothes.

iii. Barber was forbidden to attend to them.

iv. Many of their fowls, cattle, young paddy etc. were stolen.

v. Their lands were occupied by some rich land lords, and thereby landing the
converts in expensive law suits.

vi.

Their jobs were taken away from them. Even public notice was given that
nobody should engage them for any work. If at all anybody wanted to work
in the harvest field, it was necessary for him to relinquish his new religion.

vii. They were completely boycotted and even burial grounds were refused and
false charges were levelled against them.18

viii. Above all they were disowned by their own family members and friends,
deprived of their inheritance and obliged to leave the place of their birth and
wander in search of work.19

ix. Even the children if came under the influence of Christianity in their school
atmosphere, were administered the most powerful drugs, to make
18. The Missionary Herald for 1846, pp. 352 353.
19. Hoole, Elijah, Personal Narrative of a Mission to the South of India, 1820 1828, London, 1829,
p. 213.

150

them throw up as so much poison, the religious influence they had exerted
upon them. If they were adamant they were driven out of their home and
treated as the vilest outcastes by their own parents who seemed to have lost
every parental feeling.20 The affronts and insults to which the converts were
exposed were too much for them to accept Christianity.

Thus caste proved to be so strong and vindictive and the members

were so dependent on each other for livelihood and maintenance.21 Hence when
the missionaries especially the Americans made an attempt to do away with it, it
excited a great tumult in Pasumalai in which Mrs. Tracy was knocked down and
Rev. Tracy himself sustained injuries.22 They were awaiting pretexts to pick up
quarrels with the missionaries. In 1846 when Rev. Tracy got the ground dug up for
the erection of some new buildings at Pasumalai, he found out some cists and that
led to a wide spread of rumour that already thirteen victims had been sacrificed in
order to obtain the buried treasure and with four more victims, they would
succeed. This caused much chaos and confusion which finally ended with the
intervention of the District Collector.23 The missionaries wondered not at the
invention of such rumours but at the rapidity with which it spread and at the
20. Edward Chester in his letter to his friends in the U.S.A, dated July 16, 1859, UTC Archives,
Bangalore, Box I, Folder I.
21. Annual Report of the AMM for 1900, p. 164.
22. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., p. 142.
23. Sixty-Sixth Annual Report of the AMM, 1901, p. 163.

151

credulity of the people both in the city and country. As an expression of their
hatred and an attempt to demoralise the missionaries, even house breaking
attempts were made on the mission bungalows and even their cattle were lifted on
a few occasions.24 In fact the fear of the British Raj alone kept them from resorting
to direct actions against the missionaries often.
To their astonishment no retaliation came from the side of the
missionaries. They simply endured all the hardships smilingly. Being chivalrous
by nature, the Kallars began to feel it a disgrace to harm such innocent, selfless,
loving-natured and humane strangers. Because among these Kallars a peculiar
custom was prevalent that if a stranger was murdered near a village and the
murderer was not to be traced, one among them must volunteer to be murdered so
as to avenge the death of the stranger. For this sacrifice, the family of the volunteer
was given a piece of land. Though this custom seems to be barbarous outwardly it
definitely reveals their sense of honour and justice.25 This they considered
imperative to ensure the honour of their society. Hence in due course they gave up
their animosity towards the missionaries and learnt to attach scant importance to
their missionary activities. Had the missionaries behaved in a vindictive way, the
reaction of the Kallars would have been a different story to tell.
24. J.J. Banninga, Notes on the History of the AMM Since Its Seventy Fifth Anniversary in 1909, Boston,
1944, p. 164.
25. G.J.R. Athistam, The Piramalai Kallars: Their social, Moral and Religious Background and the
Presentation of the Christian Gospel - Unpublished BD Thesis, UTC, Bangalore, 1950, p. 15.

152

Indifferent attitude
Though open antagonism subsided, hatred was there like a
smouldering fire ready to burst out anew at the slightest provocation. The
missionaries, on the other hand, showed love and affection towards these people
in spite of their highhandedness which moved even their stony hearts. But still they
were so much determined to keep themselves aloof from this contagious diseaseChristianity. They had their own reasons for that.
i.

The first and foremost reason being, they were strongly entrenched in their
own religious beliefs and customs with no desperate sense of need for a better
religion. Even if their customs attacked them in the very citadel of their very
being they never ventured to discard them. Hence they did not find any valid
reason to switch over to a new religion or culture. Further they were not at all
attracted by the miracles performed by Jesus Christ since from generation to
generation they had heard much about the better miracles performed by their
own gods and hence they did not find any valid reason to forsake their gods
and to respond positively to the messages of the Christian evangelists.26
Further they assumed that their traditional religion would die out as the Gospel
displaces animistic beliefs and practices which they could never accept. Thus
they had no craving for any new faith and were contended with their religion.

26. Sixty-Sixth Annual Report of the AMM, 1901, p. 164.

153

ii. It was very difficult for them to give up what their fathers and grand fathers
were cherishing. As seen earlier ancestor worship was an important feature of
their religious belief. Hence as a mark of honour to them, they wanted to stick
on to their forefathers ideas and never liked to deviate from the path through
which they passed27. In fact fear of men withheld them and they used to say
that they would like to remain with those people among whom they were born
be they good or evil.28
iv. Perhaps Christianity might have seemed to be a sober religion to them. In
their religious life feasts, festivities, animal sacrifice etc. played an important
part than the gods themselves. The absence of all these in Christianity failed to
attract them. Further the doctrines of Christianity such as Ten Commandments
were quite contradictory to their life style. Being idol worshippers and
predatory in character they could not accept the ideologies such as thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not
commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet any of thy
neighbours belongings etc.29 Turning the other cheek, Walking the second
mile, resisting not the evil etc.30could never be imagined by them, who
believed in tit for tat.
27. Fenger, J. Ferd., History of the Tranquebar Mission, Worked out from the Original Papers,
Tranquebar, E.L. Press, 1863, p. 60.
28. Ibid., p. 61.
29. The Holy Bible Exodus 20 : 2 -17.
30. Ibid., St. Matthews 5:39, 41.

154

iv. Moreover their marriage customs made Christianity unpalatable to them.31

Because polygamy was very common among those with whom it was
affordable; divorce was quite easy and the remarriage of widower as well as
widows also had the approval of their caste. But on the contrary, according to
the rules and regulations of the AMM, no polygamist should be admitted to
any of their churches until he had entered into a covenant with the church that
he would henceforth be the husband of only one wife.32 Hence they had fallen
back on the excuse that Christianity is the religion of the Westerners while
Hinduism is the religion of the Indians.

v.

The impermeability of thought and life of the Kallars was another reason
which was lamented by Dr. Jones, an American missionary at Pasumalai.
In spite of the bustling educational activities at Pasumalai (Thirumangalam
taluk) these Kallars who sat at their very doors, persistently oblivious to every
blessing Christianity offered and seemed to be equally satisfied with their
colossal superstition, ignorance, wretched life and childish customs.33 To the
missionaries their indifference was worse than open antagonism.

31. Joseph C. Houpert, Madura Mission Manual, St. Joseph's Industrial School Press, Trichiropoly, 1916,
pp. 99-100.
32. Minutes of the AMM, Abstract of the Rules of the AMM, May, 1885. (See Annexure - ii )
33. Annual Report of the AMM for 1898, p. 9.

155

Friendly disposition
In due course their attitude towards the missionaries underwent a
drastic change. Perhaps this would have been due to the outward expression of the
constraining love of Christ by the missionaries.

i.

The Kallars were very well aware of the fact that their community was
despised by many other communities who were in fact longing for the
extermination of it. On the contrary though the missionaries had heard much
about them and their variety of crimes and themselves had experienced their
belligerent nature on a few occasions, began to sympathise with them. They
had understood clearly that the pessimistic and fatalistic outlook of these
people and their apathy and indifference towards improvement were mainly
due to the inhospitable geographical environment.34 They had also understood
that since the Kallars were busy on their lands only for a period of five months
a year, the available seven months was conducive for them to follow their
ancestral customs of robbery with much immunity since Madurai district was
with many lonely stretches of road.35 Hence with a better understanding of
their problems, the missionaries looked at them as the most appropriate lot for

34. J.S. Ponniah, The Christian Community of Madras, Ramnad and Tinnevelly, Department of Research
and Extension, American College, Madura, December 1938, p. 6.
35. J.J. Banninga, Op. cit., p. 164.

156

whom, they believed, Jesus came to redeem because Jesus came in to the
world not for the righteous but for the sinners. This aspect made them
concentrate more on the robber-caste or thief-caste as the Kallars were
known to them and to do something substantial to uplift them and purge their
community of its criminal proclivities.

ii. The recurrences of chronic famine and chronic scarcity for food which were
usually accompanied by epidemics such as cholera that filled the cup of sorrow
of the people, provided the missionaries with opportunities to exhibit their
concern for them. When the ruling British Government was unwilling to
assume any responsibility for the orphans, the missionaries willingly came
forward to shoulder it. This worked wonders and hence the poor, irrespective
of their caste and creed, began to repose much confidence in the missionaries
and the Kallars were no exception to this. This could be clearly understood
from the following episode. A dying Hindu Kallar who lost his wife and two of
his children in the worst famine of 1877 which swept away his land and house
in an eligible part of the village, wanted to leave four of his living children into
the safe hands of the missionaries before his death. But for the missionaries,
those 4 children along with their sister who was ailing in the village and left
behind, would have definitely perished, having been rendered penniless

157

orphans.36 This sort of unconditional love and humane attitude of the

missionaries must have won over the hearts of the Kallars and brought them
closer to the missionaries.

iii. The leaning was further accelerated by their medical mission which was a
proof of the benign nature of Christianity.

The unhygienic sanitary conditions, the prevalence of many

diseases, the attitude of the people towards diseases and the prescription of the
doctors etc. were heart rending to the missionaries and this necessitated the
AMM to start its medical ministry in 1837. Dr. Steele, Dr. John Scudder and Dr.
Shelton were the pioneer medical missionaries. Severe epidemics of cholera
ravaged Madurai quite frequently leading to a high mortality rate.37 During such
occasions not only the physicians but also the missionaries and their wives came
forward to alleviate the suffering of the masses. Even the Brahmins who feared the
polluting touch of the foreigners approached them for surgery.

The Kallars became the victims of mycetoma, commonly known as

Madurai foot. This was the most prevalent disease in the black cotton soiled
tracts of Thirumangalam. This disease was manifested by swelling on foot,

36. Annual Report of the AMM for 1878, p. 52.

37. B.S. Baliga, Madras District Gazetteers, Madurai, Part I, Govt. of Madras, 1960, p. 397.

158

ulceration, rupture and discharge of fluid.38 Besides this another dreaded disease
which was common among them was leprosy, caused by the hot, dry climate and
also by the biting of a small venomous reptile which goes by the name kz;qspg;
ghk;g[ kw;Wk; rpW ghk;g[ in Tamil.39 While they were estranged by their own
family members and relatives the humane attitude of the missionaries towards
them proved to be the most effective door of approach to their hearts. They
became friendly and faithful to the missionaries by this gesture.

Moreover the customs of the AMM to give each girl student a dowry
of Rs. 25/- was enhanced to Rs. 45/- when she left the school to get married, in
addition to the provision of all their wants in the school, irrespective of their caste
or creed.40 This made the people taste the real love and concern of the
missionaries.

Naturally filled with a sense of gratitude they could not help reposing
their confidence in the missionaries and so they became very friendly and
hospitable towards them. But even at this stage, fear of ostracism kept most of
them back from making a bold stand to accept Christianity despite the fact that
very many of them lost all their faith in their idols. They used to tell the
38. B. Shobhanan , ed., American Madura Mission, A History of the Christian Missions in India, Kerala
Historical Society, Trivandrum, 1996, p. 147.
39. Personal Interview with Mr. Chinnasamy Thevar, aged 65, a retired teacher, on 18th May 2006,
at Madurai.
40. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., P. 56.

159

missionaries just wait till I get my children married wait till my father divides
the property and I will surely come41 etc. Nevertheless in the Kallar areas, the
missionaries were given a warm welcome and the Kallars listened to the Gospel
willingly.42 However in spite of painstaking efforts of argument and persuasion,
the missionaries could not make any head way among the Kallars. It was true that
there were successes, but they were a few and far between. Hence all conversions
from this caste were received with great rejoicing.

Opening to Christianity
The Kallars and the AMM
Conspicuous by their paradoxical character, this community attracted
the attention of the missionaries of the AMM. On one hand, they were turbulent,
marauding, insubordinate and dishonest but on the other hand they were
affectionate, chivalrous, hospitable and responsible. Moved by their frankness, the
missionaries felt constrained to bring light to these people in the dark.
The AMMs ministry among the Kallars started as early as 1839
when Rev. Tracy travelled through the Kallarnad and preached the Gospel.43
However the first instance of conversion among the Kallars took place only in
1869 when five men and one woman were admitted into the church. Of whom one
41. Annual Report of the AMM for 1903, p. 44.
42. Annual Report of the AMM for 1904, p. 18.
43. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., p. 92.

160

confessed his high-handedness of having stolen a pair of oxen from the mission
bungalow some years earlier.44

Though the Kallars were known for their love of hearing novel things
conversion among them was a far cry since the mantle of caste was closer to the
mantle for Christian religion. However the converted Kallars, though a few in
number, proved to be the salt of the earth. This could be understood from the
words of Rev. J.C Perkins, the American missionary at Thirumangalam station.45
He has recorded the faithfulness and bright Christian example of a man and his
wife living in the heart of a Kallar section of that station. He has also boldly
declared that the life of that converted thief (Kallar) preached a better sermon to
the thousands of that caste that lived around him than all the preachers and
catechists. Despite the persecutions he was subjected to he proved to be too good.
When his land yielded about four times the crops on the lands of his fellow
villagers, the Hindus of the vicinity seemed to have said, His God is making up to
him the loss we caused him when we stole his crops to get him back to
Hinduism.46 Thus unknowingly they began to develop faith in Christianity as a
religion which could change lives. Though only a few had the boldness to come

44. Annual Report of the AMM for 1869, p. 38.

45. Annual Report of the AMM for 1899, p. 8.
46. Ibid.

161

out openly to profess the new religion, their example made many others also long
for that life. The following episodes bear testimony to that change of attitude.

At Kallarpatty in Tirumangalam taluk, a young gambler of 20 years

of age was touched by the example of his friends who had confessed Christ at one
of the Gospel meetings. Though he too wanted to become a Christian, he wanted
one months time so that he could settle his gambling debts. When the missionary
Rev. Perkins tried to convince him to give up gambling, to his great surprise, the
large crowd that stood about especially the women wanted the missionary to
succeed which was something unusual. Hitherto on such occasions the bystanders
had always been against the missionaries. The reason for the uniqueness of the
occasion being, that person was the root cause of that evil in their village and the
one who led their men-folk in to that vice. Finally he promised that he would
gamble no more and had kept up his promise47 which was another characteristic
feature of this community.

Likewise a mother wanted to become a Christian following the

change of life of her wicked son who was bold and daring and was awaiting the
opportune time to kill his enemy. But when he accepted Christianity, his entire life
pattern underwent a dramatic change that he became friendly even to his enemy
who caused him so much of suffering. His mother who had no idea about
47. Annual Report of the AMM for 1903, pp. 43-44.

162

Christianity whatsoever, also wanted to become a Christian by declaring the God

who could change my wicked son must be the true God and I want to worship
Him.48 Thus a little leaven began to leaven the whole lump.
These powerful testimonies made many Kallars believe that they
could turn a new leaf in their lives too. Gone were the days of suspicion, distrust,
antagonism and indifference and during the year 1902 the Kallars began to show
much desire to hear the Gospel and more signs of being influenced by its teaching
than any other caste.49 The conversion of 9 members of this community which
took place in 1904 bore testimony to this fact.50Perhaps this positive change among
the Kallars who though not of the lower and poorer classes51 might have
emboldened the missionary Rev. F.E. Jeffrey to refute emphatically the
observation of the Madras Census Commissioner that conversions took place only
from among the lowest classes of Hindus who had little to lose in forsaking their
creed. Jeffrey, with statistical evidence has proved that Thirumangalam station was
an exception to this since out of the 2313 Christians, only 568 were from the
lowest castes and the rest, being high caste lost much and suffered much for their
profession of Christianity.52

48. Ibid., p. 43.

49. Ibid., p. 44.
50. Annual Report of the AMM for 1910, p. 38.
51. Annual Report of the AMM for 1903, p. 42.
52. Annual Report of the AMM for 1904, pp. 17-18.

163

In the meantime the whole taluk of Thirumangalam was waking up

educationally and even the Kallars began to clamour for education.53 With firm
determination they too wanted to see their children climb higher in the social
ladder of education. Hence they started sending their children both boys and girls
to the Christian schools (See Plate IV). They were fully aware of the fact that in
those schools the missionaries, besides providing their children with formal
education, would inculcate into the minds of the children the words of scripture
and the principles of Christian religion. In fact sending the children to schools
itself meant a great sacrifice on the part of the parents because the former could be
of much help to the family by way of watching the fields, tending flocks, minding
the siblings, attending to domestic works etc. But still they were very much
satisfied with the schools which were intended to be social centres of the
community where the teachers imparted knowledge of social service and personal
hygiene too. Through the schools the missionaries hoped to achieve knowledge of
the Bible, development of leaders and social amelioration for a poverty stricken
people.54 In the boarding schools which proved to be places of character building,
the children were taught to work in their villages during their holidays and to
educate the villagers in all rural problems. During week ends centres were chosen

53. Annual Report of the AMM for 1903, p. 42.

54.

J.C. Ingleby, Missionaries, Education and India, ISPCK, Delhi, 2000, p. 227.

164

for sanitary work, for enacting dramas on rural problems and holding exhibitions.55
To improve the economic condition of the people of Madurai were given the
agricultural and industrial training to students.56 Their advancement in these fields
earned their family members double happiness, who were happy to refer to their
children as Christians ntjf;fhut[';f in colloquial Tamil.

This had a snow balling effect on the mind set of the Kallars who in
earlier times trained their children in the art of thieving, to have begun to shun the
crime culture. Thus as each Christian school was a lighthouse, there was more
light shining in the Kallar country ever before.57 Though spiritually the gain was
less manifest yet it was encouraging because many Kallars, though guilty of many
crimes which they acknowledged, started listening to the Gospel and asked the
missionaries to visit them often. They also assured them that if they could place a
catechist or teacher among them to teach these spiritual things to them daily, they
would soon become Christians.58 This made Rev. Hazen, a missionary at
Thirumangalam station, believe that there was certainly an open door there and the
harvest was ripe and was so confident of a precious ingathering in the near

55. G.J.R. Athishtam, Op. cit., p. 21.

56. Annual Report of the AMM for 1906, pp. 16-17.
57. Ibid., p. 54.
58. Ibid., p. 33.

165

future.59 Hazen was right in his assumption since conversions began to take place
in large numbers. The narration of Rev. Perkins regarding the formation of a
congregation became very much true in the case of the Kallars. To quote Perkins,
First 2 or 3 men are impressed with the truth; then before they announce
themselves as Christians, they endeavour to influence their brothers and relatives
and when they think they have a number large enough for protection in case of
persecution which is sure to follow, they will give their names to the missionary
and are enrolled as Christians. Some of these numbers have followed their leaders
and influential men in to Christianity just as they would have followed them in to
Mohemmedanism or any other religion.60

This fact has been corroborated by Picketts version. According to

him, an individual convert had become active among his relatives and later the
group was influenced by him and subsequently they sent a deputation to the
missionary who helped them further join Christianity as families.61 A present day
church historian Hugald Grafe when he deals with the kudumbum conversion or
family conversion is of the view that such conversions often took place in joint
families where the relatives followed the decision of the head unquestionably,

59. Ibid.
60. Annual Report of the AMM for 1898, p. 17.
61. J.W. Pickett, Op. cit., p. 55.

166

indicating their affinity to the family and to the jati at large. One among the major
group movements of such nature in Tamilnadu took place among the Piramalai
Kallars of Usilampatti.62 But the period specified by him as after 1924 is
probably wrong because Francis, in Madurai Gazetteer, wrote in 1906 itself Still
the Kallars are becoming Christians as families through the mission work and
through the witness of a few Christians.63 Likewise the conversion of a chief of
the thief caste with thirteen of his followers in 1913 happened64 which might
have been the reason for Dr. Banninga to come out with the vision of the
missionaries - of establishing the kingdom of God among this stalwart, daring
class of men and women.65

Thus education and the entrance of new ideas had begun to shake
their old faith and served as a bridge between the Christian community and the
Kallars. In the meantime the British Government decided to apply the Criminal
Tribes Act on the Kallars which fell on them like a bolt from the blue. At this
juncture it becomes imperative to throw light on the CTA which also proved to be
a definite catylist in bringing them still more close to Christianity.

62. Hugald Grafe, History of Christianity in India, Vol. IV, Part II, CHAI, Bangalore, 1990, pp. 91 - 92.
63. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteer, Madurai, Vol. I, 1906, pp. 75 - 79.
64. Annual Report of the AMM for 1913, p. 26.
65. Ibid., p. 43.

167

The Kallars and the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA)

The imperialistic British Raj which could not bear with the
independent disposition of the Kallars let loose an array of stringent measures to
subdue this valiant race both physically and psychologically. In fact the era of
revolutionary terrorism which began after 1907 accelerated the pace of the British
action against the Kallars with a view to keep the latter off from the National
politics. Hence the application of the CTA on them must be viewed as a
culmination of the collerie image, the annihilation of Kallar resistance and the
destruction and perversion of the kaval system.66

CTA, an All India Act, was originally meant to control tribes which
made crime a tribal profession and amongst whom there was no sense that crime
was a wrong or undesirable thing, thus proving to be addicts to the systematic
commission of non-bailable offences.67 Originally passed in 1871, it was extended
to the Madras presidency with certain amendments as Act III of 1911 on the basis
of the recommendations of the Indian Police Commission appointed in 1902-03.68
The circumstances under which the provisions of the CTA were applied to these

66. S.H. Blackburn, The Kallars: A Tamil Criminal Tribe Reconsidered, Journal of South Asian studies,
vol. I, March 1976, p. 48.
67. G. O .No. 1024, Judicial, dated 4th May, 1914.
68. Ibid.

168

Kallars were detailed in certain Government Orders.69 As far as Madurai was

concerned it was in essence a Kallar control Act.70 As pointed out by Blackburn
in the complete census of 1871 the Kallars were listed among the agricultural
castes and the transformation of the culleries to cultivators was so sudden71 so
also from cultivators to criminal tribes which could be warranted by facts.
Because the British officials themselves had accepted that the Kallar was a fine
stuff and he would turn to be a criminal, only when he could not get enough
succour to support himself and his family.72 Moreover the fact that the Kallars
were neither incorrigible nor wild or savagery, as wantonly portrayed by the
British, had already been proved by the precedent of the Kallars living in the
eastern part of Madurai, commonly known as Melur Kallars. These Kallars had
already become remarkably reclaimed by giving up their thieving habits and
settling down as an agricultural and law-abiding people, when they were offered
the Periyar scheme of 1896 which provided them with irrigational facilities. As
Francis puts in The Department of Public Works succeeded where the Army, the
Police and the Magistracy have failed and has made an honest man of the
notorious Kallan.73

69. G. O. No. 1023, Judicial, dated 4th May, 1914; G.O. No. 2233, Judicial, dated 16th September, 1915;
G.O. No. 1331, Home (Judicial), dated 5th June, 1918; G. O. No. 862, Home (Judicial), dated 26th
March, 1920; G. O. No. 2430, Home (Judicial), dated 3rd April, 1920.
70. S.H. Blackburn, Loc. cit.
71. Ibid., p. 44.
72. G. O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921.
73. W. Francis, Op. cit., p. 73.

169

In fact a similar economic change might be said to have come to the

Piramalai Kallars also with the advent of Cambodia cotton and groundnuts and
with the sincere efforts of the then Deputy collector of Usilampatti division
Mr. A Vedachala Ayyar during 1910-11.74 Owing to the initiative taken by him,
the heads of Mela-Urappanur village, the capital of Kallarnad, agreed to convene a
caste meeting in which Vedachala Ayyar appealed to the good senses of the
Kallars to live down their old name and become useful members of society by
organising credit societies and resorting to the cultivation of cotton and groundnuts
besides the usual raising of grains.75 To everybodys surprise the response was
immediate and ample in the form of many Kallar co-operative societies and large
expansion in the growth of cotton and groundnuts. It seemed as if a great career
was open to the Piramalai Kallars. Though there was a set back due to the ill-timed
transfer of Vedachala Ayyar in 1911 reports showed that during the following 3
years dacoity had ceased, fascination for crime had vanished and a sounder public
opinion about them had developed.76 It was thus made crystal clear that if tactfully
handled the Kallars would prove responsive to sympathetic and considerate
treatment.

74. Notes connected with G. O. No. 2956, Judicial, dated 2nd December, 1915, p. 1.
75. Ibid., p. 2.
76. Ibid.

170

Instead of proceeding on the same line, at this juncture, the

Government came out with its drastic plan of notifying the Kallars in Kilagudy, a
village a few miles away from Madurai, as a criminal tribe in 1914 and went ahead
with the registration process which was totally an anachronism. To make matters
worse, there was a proposal to notify the Kallars of Mela-Urappanur too. With a
view to avoid this stigma, complying with the suggestion of the then District
Magistrate of Madura Mr. Knapp, the elders of Mela Urappanur agreed to refrain
from crime and also to constitute a caste panchayat to co-operate with the police
and magistracy by reporting crimes duly. True to their promise, crime almost
ceased in the village and in the rare cases that occurred, they were duly reported to
the authorities. Despite all the bona fide efforts on the part of the Kallars, without
giving them a fair chance of trial to this new experiment, they were also notified as
criminal tribes.77
Since the British believed that every Piramalai Kallar was not only a
potential but also a probable criminal,78despite many pleas to the Government
through petitions79 and telegrams80 to reconsider its move which hurt the self-

77. Kallars in the Madurai District, Protest against Registration, The Hindu, dated 25th Nov. 1915.
78. E.B. Loveluck, The Kallar Problem, The Police Magazine, Journal for Publicity Bureau, September,
1921, p. 91.
79. Petition from Sivanandi Tevan and others, residents of Mela Urappanur, Thirumangalam taluk,
Madurai district, through their counsel George Joseph, Madurai, to His Excellency, the Governor-inCouncil, Fort St. George, Madras, dated 20th November, 1915. See Annexure iii.
80. Telegram from M.R. Ry. Sivanandi to the Honourable Rao Bahadur P. Kesava Pillai, Tirumangalam,
dated 25th November, 1915. See Annexure iv.

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respect and dignity of the community, the British Government did notify the whole
tribe of the Piramalai Kallars as criminal tribes village by village.81 Accordingly all
the adult male members of the Piramalai Kallar community were registered under
Sec.10 (1) (a) and those who were convicted earlier by the courts of law under
Sec. 10(1) (b) of the CTA. All the registered persons were to leave their thumb
impressions in the registers where their bio-data had also been recorded. It was
mandatory on the part of the registered member to attend a roll call once or twice
every night of his life at inconvenient hours such as 11.00 P.M. and 3.00 A.M.
besides being made to take a passport if he left his residence between sunset and
sunrise. As far as those who were booked under Sec.10 (1) (b) were concerned,
they were subjected to close watching and their movements were strictly restricted
and they could be arrested on mere suspicion. Any violation of this restriction was
considered punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a fine of Rs.500/-.82
The plight of the registered person who was made to answer a roll call at a police
station, three or four miles away from his residence and lie down there being
exposed in the rainy days where there was no adequate shelter could never be
imagined.83 The worst part of it was, once notified the members had no right to
appeal against it in the court of law and in which ever part of the British territory
81.

Paddison, District Magistrate of Madurai, proposed after consultation with the police authorities that
the whole of the Piramalai Kallar tribe be proclaimed a criminal tribe.
Letter from G.F. Paddison, District Magistrate of Madurai, to the Secretary to Government, Home
(Judicial Dept.), through the I.G. of Police dated 27th April, 1918. No. R.O.C. 15-B and G/Mgl.

82. Y.C. Simhadri, The Criminal Tribes of India, Govt. of India, New Delhi, 1979, p. 33.
83. G.O. No. 149, Judicial, dated 27th March, 1923.

172

they wandered they were identified as criminal tribes only.84 The Kallars felt that
their communal pride had been touched by the CTA which drove them to the brink
of requesting the Government for a new caste designation since Kallars as an
appellation was indicative of a thieving profession.85 On the realisation of the
reproach the CTA attached to them, they were determined to resent it. Hence
their registration was not an easy affair. There were frequent clashes between
them and the police, culminating in the Perungamanallur shoot out on
3 rd April, 1920 (See Plates V, VI, VII & VIII).86 This riot has been described
as

the Jallianwala bagh Massacre enacted on a small scale by

M.S. Mantreshwara Sharma, Joint Manager of the Independent of

Allahabad.87 The Kallars demanded a judicial enquiry into the incident but it was
turned down by the Government.88

84. G.O. No. 1022, Judicial, dated 2nd October, 1916.

85. Hindu Nesan, Madras, April 24th 1916. Infact their demand was attended to and the term "Indra Kula"
was of set purpose used in schools, industrial centres, co-operative societies etc. (G.O. No. 596, Law
(General), 16th June, 1921.
86. Report on the Administration of Police of the Madras presidency for 1920, Govt. Press, Madras, 1921, p. 16.
At Perungamanalur, a village in Tirumangalam taluk of Madurai district, the Kallars refused to appear
for registration in spite of persuasions and warning. Warrants were therefore issued against them and
about a 1000 of them, armed with deadly weapons, were determined to resist registration. When the
police made arrests, the Kallars fired a 'rocket' as a signal for the Kallars of the neighbouring villages
to join the fray and the enraged mob enveloped the police and magistrates. The authorities stood in
imminent danger of being attacked by the reinforced mob, hence shooting order was given to disperse
it. As a result 17 were killed. The drastic action taken against them there and the subsequent raids
conducted against Kallar villages facilitated registration considerably.
P. Muthu Thevar, Op. cit., pp. 419 - 435.
87. Swadesamitran, dated 6th June, 1921, MNNR, Madras, p. 715.
88. The Hindu, 29th Nov. 1920,

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In fact the CTA was a stigma and a blot on the statute book of a
civilized nation as portrayed by Begum Sultana Mir Amruddin, a member of the
Muslim League in Legislative Assembly.88a W.J. Hatch doubted that any other
Act on the statute book goes so far in giving the police powers to take away a
mans freedom.89 It was nothing but an outward expression of the 'Kallarphobia'
from which the British suffered and a clear cut sign of the vindictive spirit of the
British who wanted to keep this turbulent people off from National politics either
by hook or by crook. Nevertheless in spite of all these measures the registered
criminal was shrewd enough to find out ways of evading the rules and it was
impossible for a small police force to tackle the situation. Being convinced of the
futility of coercive measures, the Government had to devise a satisfactory method
of tackling them and hence it came out with the reclamation scheme. Though it
appeared like pinching the child and rocking the cradle or setting them to run and
watching the fun on the part of the British, the reclamation scheme could not be
underestimated since it opened up new vistas of life to the Kallars.

The Kallars and the Reclamation scheme

The problem of the Kallars which posed as a serious threat to the
Government was a socio-economic one. Because they were always at logger heads
with their environment and had run the risk of progressive deterioration both as a

88a Madras Legislative Assembly Debates (MLAD), 17th April 1947, p. 16.
89. David Arnold, Police Power and Colonial Rule, Madras, 1859 - 1947, Oxford University Press,
Madras, 1986, p. 144.

174

community and an individual. Hence if their economic problem was solved, crime
from tribal motives would become negligible. Having convinced of this fact, the
Government was determined to tackle it in two ways.90
i.

By eradicating their perverted traditions

ii. By improving their economic conditions.

With these intentions, the Government appointed Mr. Loveluck, a Police
Superintendent, in 1919 to initiate new plans in this regard. Thus was started the
reclamation scheme in 1920 with the chief aim, as expounded by the British
Government, of suppressing the criminal proclivities in the Kallars and also of
uplifting them morally, socially and economically. To realize these ends, three new
proposals were put forth.91
i.

Making the criminal thoroughly unpopular within his own community.

ii.

Providing an alternative occupation.

iii. Channelising the energies of the younger generation towards constructive

purposes.
To execute these proposals, the principle of making the communities
responsible for the acts of each of its individuals through Panchayats was

90. G.O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16 th June, 1921.

91. Loveluck, Op. cit., p. 91.

175

introduced. Loveluck who was well informed of the importance of the panchayats
in the life of the Kallars and also of the successful experimentation of it by
Mr. A. Vedachala Ayyar and Mr. Knapp in Mela-Urappanur village, wanted to
enforce it through out Kallarnad. Though it was not a striking innovation of
Loveluck92 as it has been portrayed, he should be credited with the conception of
making the best use of it so as to induce the criminal to give up his criminal
activities of his own accord.93
Through an agreement called the Kallar Panchayat Agreement in
1920, it was proposed to elect panchayats in each of the Kallar villages and to
make the panchayatdars responsible for
i.

reporting crimes and controlling the bad characters of the village.

ii.

stoppage of levy of kaval fees or tuppu cooly.

iii. surrendering of all wanted criminals.

iv. ostracising the incorrigible criminals and also refusing to allow girls of their
villages to marry them and making their lives miserable in all possible ways
v.

and ensuring compulsory attendance in schools of the children of the

villagers.

92. M.A. George Joseph, Bar-at-Law, Editor of the"Independent" around 1921 was mainly responsible for
the establishment of the Panchayats in the land of the Kallars through his strong recommendations to
the British Government in India. Swadesamitran, MNNR., Madras, 6th June, 1921, p. 715.
93. I.G. of Police, Madras Police Centenary, 1859 - 1959, Madras, 1959, p. 533.

176

If the panchayat was honest enough to carry out these conditions that
village was exempt from the operation of the section 10 of the CTA94 i.e., from
attending the roll call and taking the passport while leaving the residence between
sunset and sunrise. But at the same time, it was made quite clear that if the Kallars
of any such exempted villages began to misbehave, the exemption of the entire
village would be cancelled. This provision had emphatically changed the Kallar
public opinion so much so that those who indulged in crime more from a love of
adventure and hitherto considered, heroes, came to be considered intolerable
nuisances especially by the women.95 As a result crime had almost ceased in
places where panchayat system was introduced.
For the effective implementation of the system, the Government
appointed Rao Sahib A.K. Raja Ayyer as a Special Kallar Officer, to be assisted
by one Special Inspector and two Sub-Inspectors.96 He worked on the principle
minimum of force and restriction and maximum of help and trust to be shown to
the Kallars. He quickly acquainted himself with the Kallars and even won over
their confidence. Nearly 501 Kallar panchayats were established in Kallarnad.97
The panchayat system having succeeded in making the life of a
criminal unpopular and his personal freedom most insecure, the alternative offered
94. Kallar Panchayat Agreement, Govt. Press, 1920, p. 2.
95. Loveluck, Op. cit., p. 92.
96. G.O. No. 447, Home (Judicial), dated 1st March, 1921.
97. G. O. No. 2683, Law (General), dated 8th November, 1922.

177

to him became more attractive. This was the desired effect and the Government
lost no time to fix the seal when the wax was warm. Hence the Government took
effective steps to improve agriculture, the main occupation of the Kallars.

Improvement of agriculture
A commission was appointed to enquire into the conditions of the
villages and to suggest the best methods of improving their agricultural
production.98 On the basis of its recommendation, co-operative societies were
established with the objectives of thrift, self-help and co-operation among the
Kallars. These societies granted loans for agricultural purposes.99 Loans under the
Agriculturists Loans Act and Land Improvements Loan Act were also granted to
them. Lands and house sites were assigned to deserving Kallars wherever
practicable.100 But pattas issued were made inalienable whether by sale deed or
mortgage.101 Problem of drinking water scarcity was solved by digging wells at the
cost of the Government in their villages.102 Local schemes for the improvement of

98. G.O.No.541, Judicial, dated 29th October,1924.

99. G.O. No. 3210, Judicial, dated 29thJune, 1938.
100. Letter from A.R.C. West Lake, District Magistrate of Madurai, to the Secretary to Government, Home
Department, dated 5th November, 1937, Ref. No. M. 1892 / 37-C-1.
101. G. O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921- Enclosure I - Note for the Collector of Madura,
from T.E. Moir, Commissioner of Labour, dated 18th March, 1921. See Annexure iv.
102. In 1949 an investigation of irrigation project for most of the Kallar province was completed in
response to the request for the extension of the Periyar system into the Kallarnad. As Dumont feels it
was the most effective action the Government could possibly undertake. As a result the Chellampatty
block of the Usilampatti taluk came to be irrigated by the Periyar - Vaigai project.
Louis Dumont, Op. cit., p. 29.

178

existing tanks and other sources by the Public Works Department and the Minor
Irrigation Department and for the construction of new ones were carried out.
Training in improved methods of agriculture was also imparted.

Industrial development
Hitherto the attitude of the Kallars towards industries had been one
of contempt. To put an end to the unemployment problem among the Kallars
which posed a serious threat the Government formulated a few programmes.
Accordingly sufficient training to the Kallar boys with improved equipments so as
to enable them to stand on their own legs was given.103 Cottage industries such as
weaving, carpet-making, mat-making, carpentry, tailoring, blacksmithy, brasssmithy, bee-keeping, jaggery-making etc.were introduced.104 Starting of poultry
and dairy farming and granting of loans to cottage industries helped them to earn
their livelihood. Though industries could not provide all Kallars with jobs, it did
train a good number of them at each centre and also made the Kallars realise that
such a kind of labour was quite compatible with their self-esteem.105 Thus

103. Administration Report of the Activities of Kallar Reclamation Schemes in Madurai District 1973 1974, Govt. of Tamilnadu, 1974, p. 45.
104. Of all branches of industry, weaving continued to be the most popular among the Kallars so also
carpentry. At the annual exhibition held at Madras, at the Park Fair, a gold medal was awarded for
Kallar made articles. Report on the Administration of Police of the Madras Presidency for 1926, Govt.
Press, Madras 1927, p. 19.
105. I.G. of Police, Op. cit., p. 537.

179

vocational training too became a part of reclamation process.106 A Kallar

Employment Bureau, started in 1937, did excellent work in finding employment to
many educated and uneducated Kallars. Many Kallar labourers emigrated from
Kallarnad to estates and foreign countries. Steps were taken to recruit Kallars to
the army.107 The Kallars were offered employment in quarrying108 and in the
installation of railway tracks between Madurai and Bodinaickanur.109 Dry
cultivation was also extended and advance was given for purchase of cattle for
manure purpose.110A Kallar Common Fund was constituted with short and long
term loans for improvements in agriculture, handicrafts and other industries.111

By means of all these measures, the economic status of the Kallars was
uplifted.

Education
With a view to mould the Kallar children and to divert their energies
to constructive purposes, education was given much importance under the
reclamation scheme. Illiteracy which fostered criminality in the Kallars was being

106. G.O. No. 292, Home, dated 19th October, 1942.

107. G.O. No. 1877, Home (Judicial), dated 7th September, 1917.
108. G.O. No 2740, Home, dated 7th December, 1914.
109. G. O. No. 3210, Judicial, dated 28th June, 1938.
110. G.O. No. 1298, Home, dated 6th September, 1921.
111. G.O. No. 1936, Law, dated 31st August, 1935.

180

dispelled through hundreds of schools, setup in Kallar villages. Higher education,

both general and technical, was encouraged by awarding boarding grants,
scholarships, stipends etc. to Kallar pupils.112 Even funds were allotted from the
discretionary fund of the District Magistrate of Madurai.113 While implementing
the reclamation scheme, the Government preferred non-official agency, a body of
self-sacrificing men who were prepared to devote their lives for the work. The
Government declared its willingness to welcome the entry of Hindu and
Mohemmedan agencies in this field of social reform.114 However only the
Christian missions who were then at work in Madurai such as AMM, CSM and
CMM responded positively115 and identified themselves with the reclamation work
in the Madurai district.

The AMM and the Kallar Reclamation

Kallar Voluntary Settlement

The first step of identification of the AMM with the Kallar

reclamation work was its willingness to undertake the management of the
proposed Kallar voluntary settlement which became a necessity on the part of the
112. Letter from A.R.C. West Lake, to the Secretary to Government, Loc. cit.
113. Administration Report of the Kallar Reclamation Work, Madurai and Ramnad Districts, Madras, 1925,
p. 37.
114. Note Showing the Progress of the Criminal Tribes upto January, 1925, p.1.
115. G.O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921.

181

Government. At the outset it appeared as though the strict enforcement of Sec. 10

of the CTA on them was enough to make it impossible for the Kallars to commit
crime. But the wholesale registration reduced it to a mockery since a small police
force was rendered helpless to have close vigilance on them. Moreover it led to a
great deal of corruption among the police who were bribed by the Kallar to let him
be absent from a village for the night though he was marked present.116 Hence the
Government was constrained to device some other effective method of tackling
this problem. Hence it was decided to implement the formation of criminal
settlements as followed in North India for the criminal tribes. As it was a difficult
process to have a wholesale scheme for the settlement of the Kallar tribes of
Madurai, it was suggested that remedial measures should be undertaken within the
practicable limits. It was decided to settle the Kallars of Keezhakuyilgudi,
MelaUrappanur, Sorrikampatti, Pusalapuram etc. in to a voluntary settlement.
When the District Magistrate of Madurai sent a proposal to the
Government to this effect, the Government refused its sanction on the ground that
it was not very much satisfied with the agency with whom the management of the
settlement was intended to be entrusted.117 It also expressed its desire to reconsider
the proposal in the event of the AMM or a similar agency coming forward to

116. J.J. Banninga, Op. cit., p. 166.

117. G. O. No. 735, Home (Judicial), dated 2nd April, 1917.

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undertake the management of such a settlement.118 Hence the AMM was

approached whether it would undertake any such responsibility if the Government
established a settlement for the criminal tribes. The AMM which had profound
influence among the Kallars119expressed its willingness to take up the management
of the settlement on two conditions.
(i)

The manager should be provided with quarters.

(ii) A grant of Rs. 600/- per annum should be sanctioned half to be spent
on office charges and the other half on a day school.

The Government has accepted the proposals on these terms and

directed that the experiment would be tried for a period of one year.120

Accordingly in 1917 a large tract of government land of about 3000

acres at the head of the Cumbum valley with a proximity to an irrigational canal
was set apart for this work.121 Thus the Governments plan of emigrating some
families (60-75) away from the village environment was executed. In fact the
primary object of a criminal settlement was reformation and not merely
segregation or confinement.122 The Government offered some inducements such as

118. Ibid.
119. J.J. Banninga, Op. cit., p. 140.
120. G.O. No. 1725, Home (Judicial) dated 18th August, 1917.
121. Annual Report of the AMM for 1917, p. 11.
122. G. O. No. 1314, Judicial, dated 20th May, 1916.

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a grant of free land to the landless Kallars, the promise of waiving some of the
onerous restrictions of the CTA etc. to join the settlement.123 It also looked after
the welfare of the settlers and even paid for their transportation, erection of huts,
tools and seeds for their cultivation.124 Offering employment in quarrying was a
measure usually undertaken by the Government in the form of settling the notified
criminal tribes.125 The subsidiary industries such as weaving, silk-rearing,
carpentry and sewing were the measures adopted along with mat and basket
making. The sale of cattle, mats, ropes and involvement as coolie labourers were a
few activities adopted for the settlers.126
Besides the overall supervision of the entire project, the AMM was
expected to take care of the welfare of the settlers particularly as regards education
and morals.127 Rev. J.X. Miller was first to be named as Superintendent and since
he felt he could not give up his educational work in Pasumalai Rev. E.P. Holton
was then appointed.128 For some time it went on satisfactorily but later tended to
be a failure since not many Kallar families responded as it was expected. Only 20
families had joined the settlement129 because the Kallars by nature never liked to

123. Annual Report of the AMM for 1917, p. 12.

124. Ibid.
125. G.O. No. 2740, Home, dated 7th December, 1914.
126. G.O. No. 2273, Home, dated 22nd September,1915.
127. Annual Report of the AMM for 1918, p. 61.
128. J.J. Banninga, Op. cit., p. 166.
129. Eighty- third Annual Report of the AMM for 1917, p. 12.

184

leave their homes and to be under any authority that would curtail their
independence. Moreover it was found that the site selected was malaria prone and
hence the Government had to give it up. This failure, added to the ongoing First
World War made the Government close the settlement in 1919130 and confine itself
to the other activities for reforming this caste.

AMM and Education

The Act of 1911 authorized local government to establish industrial,
agricultural and reformatory schools and to separate the children from parents so
as to enable them to grow up as honest citizens by eradicating the criminal habits
of the tribe from the minds of the youth of the criminal tribes.131 Hence education
was given much importance in the reclamation scheme. In accordance with the
third proposal of the reclamation scheme concerning compulsory education, the
government desired the Kallars also to get themselves involved in it. Hence it was
made mandatory on the part of the Kallars to provide a school building and onefourth of the salary of the teacher as a good will gesture, so that a Panchayat would
be allowed to be established which stood as a guarantor for exemption from the
operation of Sec. 10 of the CTA on the village as a whole. The Kallars whose life
had already become miserable by CTA, found in this a real redemption and hence
the result was electric and the entire scenario under went a drastic change.
130. J.J. Banninga, Loc. cit.
131. Notes by Scott - 11-8(b) dated 12th January 1915, p. 170.

185

The government had to approach the Christian missions. Having

heard from the government the opportunity for opening new schools among the
Kallars, the AMM passed a resolution that the Madura Church Council (MCC)
should take over the management of schools, started by the police department and
to make every possible effort to find out teachers for them.132 With the willing cooperation of the AMM in the Kallarnad the gathering of the children into schools
was proceeding with marvelous rapidity which could be gleaned from the words of
the missionary Dudley. To retain the charm of his narration, it has been presented
verbatim:
Every village wanted to show it deserved a Panchayat. Formerly no
village cared about a school but now every village wanted one immediately. For
decades our mission has run schools here and there among these people; it has won
a few converts but we ran against the tide. Suddenly the tide turned and ran with
us. 30 years ago, the proud conservative Kallar did not make the Christian
preacher feel much at home in the Kallar country. Now the same Kallar welcomed
the preacher not usually from a conscious desire for the Christian message but
because the preacher had education and could be trusted to point the way out from
the restrictions of the CTA. The appearance of the missionary was a signal for
the villagers to assemble. They pointed to a cow stable or the village rest house,

132. Minutes of the AMM, Resolution 35, January 1921, p. 34.

186

which they were ready to dedicate to the cause of education. A glance revealed the
children who perhaps were already assembled and waiting for a teacher to come
and open the school.133
Despite the fact that it was welcoming news for all the missions, they
found it very difficult to supply qualified teachers for such a good number of
schools. Even the AMM was unable to supply so many teachers to work in
Kallarnad in spite of the fact that there was a regular supply of trained teachers
from the Pasumalai Training School. Hence to meet the sudden demand for
teachers, the AMM resolved to start a Lower grade Training class at
Thirumanagalam in July 1922,134 comprising students mainly from the Kallar
caste. It is said, in the beginning, as a stop-gap arrangement the mission had
appointed even those with I Std. qualification and it was considered enough if they
were able to sign their names till suitable hands were available.135 As a result 3500
pupils from this caste were studying in those village schools which originated with
the Police Department, the building constructed in every case by the people
themselves and the village and the government sharing in the salary of the teacher.
In addition, 150 of these Kallar youth were trained to become teachers to their own
caste people.136 Most of them had already become Christians due to their exposure

133. Raymond A. Dudley, The Kallars of Madura, The Missionary Herald, January 1923, pp. 209-210.
134. Minutes of the AMM, Resolution 60, January 1922, p. 30.
135. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p. 20
136. The Missionary Herald for 1922,p. 438.

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to Christian influence. These inspired youth were trained to go back to their

villages and teach and support the new reforms. To supplement the efforts of these
Lower grade teachers, more educated and experienced evangelists were appointed
to preach effectively to the Kallars.

Boarding Schools
Five AMM boarding schools which were centres of strong religious
life and character building were run in Madurai district. Hundreds of these Kallar
youths were enrolled and were on government scholarships.137 In these schools
which resembled the Gurukula of our ancient times, the boys were given Christian
nurture whereby they were taught to read the Bible, to pray, to attend the churches
and to live like Christians. With a view to instill in their minds the principles of
honesty and industry, these boys who were mentally and physically equipped for
hard work were given training in weaving and carpentry. In fact these trades made
their life in the schools not only interesting but also enabled them to earn their
livelihood through honest means in future.138 In order to prevent these boys
running away from schools, a Panchayat was formed from among themselves and
the leaders were instructed to be vigilant and also to make others understand the
value of vocational training.

137. The Missionary Herald for 1925, p. 7.

138. Annual Report of the AMM for 1922, p. 59.

188

A special effort was made during 1924 to secure in the

Thirumangalam boarding school a class of girls selected from the Christian
families. A total of nearly 30 girls from the Kallar community were at
Thirumangalam and a few in boarding schools in other stations. Sewing was taught
to them. Two girls' schools were already started in Kallarnad and the third one was
in the offing.139 In boarding schools all the children were required to do some
manual or vocational work. They were taught agriculture, poultry, cattle farming
and a score of crafts besides the regular education. Girls did most of the work in
the kitchen such as pounding, grinding etc. in turns.140 By 1925, 66 village schools
were under the management of the AMM. Thus because of CTA, the Kallars
became sensitive to their backwardness and anxious to improve their status and the
missions rose up to their expectation through their school systems. The Kallar boys
going to 40 miles to Pasumalai to demand admission into schools was a sufficient
indication of the stirring among the community.141

In 1934 Rev. Dudley introduced a balanced diet to the boarders

which was cheap as well as relishing to the boys on account of its variety. To get
the boarders an increased supply of milk cows, buffaloes and Surti goats were
purchased and left in charge of the teachers and pupils. Further the boarding school
139. The Missionary Herald for 1925, p. 7.
140. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., pp. 156-161.
141. G.O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921.

189

was made a breeding and distribution centre for goats and Berkshire pigs as
well.142

Industrial Schools
The AMM had also requested the Government of Madras to provide
scholarship of Rs. 5 per month for 25 Kallar boys at Pasumalai vocational school
which had well-equipped press, farm, carpentry, iron work shed etc. where
printing, carpentry, masonry, gardening and farming were taught. Since weaving
was a favourite industry with the Kallar, a shed and four looms were also sought
for the Kallar boarders at Thirumangalam so that with four shifts of five boys each
working for two hours a day, twenty boys could learn to weave well in a year.143
True to the expectation of the Government, the schools played an important part in
transforming this community into an honourable one. As Lorbeer emphatically
says this was made possible since for 75 years teachers, pastors and missionaries
had been preaching truth and honesty in the Kallar country and prepared a base on
which the new foundation could be laid.144

142. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., pp. 172 - 174.

143. Proposal for the co-operation between the Govt. of Madras and the AMM for the Reformation of the
Kallars of Madura District. Enclosure IV of the G.O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921.
See Annexure iv.
144. Annual Report of the AMM for 1921, p. 13.

190

Scout Movement
Athletic and Boy Scout activities were started to replace their love
for thieving expeditions and to divert their energies. Mr. Lorbeer, the then District
Commissioner of the Scout Movement, was responsible for the success of the Boy
Scouts among the Kallar youth through the Kallar teachers who were given Scout
Masters' training.145 This movement served as a means of inculcating the value of
honesty and self-help and creating a desire for selfless service in the Kallar youth.
On seeing their love for sports, the missionaries conducted events like distance
runs, high jump, broad jump etc. and the idea was taken up by the police who ran
three big carnivals a year with good and moral effect. The AMM made a request to
the Government to assign play ground for each village and a sum of Rs. 10/- to
each school for the purchase of sports articles.146

Piramalai Reformer
With Lorbeer as the Manager and G. J. R. Athishtam as the Editor, a
Quarterly Journal in vernacular by name Piramalai Sirthiruthan (Piramalai
Reformer) was started with the aim of educating the public.147 Many useful articles
were contributed by the mission workers, well-wishers and even by officials. The

145. Ibid.
146. Proposal for the co-operation between the Govt. of Madras and the AMM, Loc. cit.
147. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p. 24.

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articles were simple, interesting and valuable to them. The AMM requested the
Government to make use of this journal as a means of communicating to the
Kallars and also to subscribe for 200 copies at Re. 1 per year so that copies could
be given free to all literate Panchayatdars. Moreover the Government was also
made known that 1000 literate Kallars were willing to subscribe if it was made
cheap.148 Unfortunately this was stopped when other vernacular dailies came into
the field.

Social Reform
An important social reform carried out by Rev. Dudley and his
co-workers in Kallarnad was concerned about bride-money.149 Owing to the
paucity of educated girls among the Kallars, the brides parents demanded
exorbitant dowry from the grooms parents as against their ancestral caste
custom according to which bride money was fixed at Rs. 101. To enable the
educated girls to get married to the prospective bridegrooms, Rev. Dudley
appealed to the good senses of the brides parents and succeeded in making them
observe the old ancestral custom. Moreover he succeeded in persuading the Kallars
to set a limit to the amount of jewellery to be worn by them and to start a
Marriage Fund so as to facilitate the meeting of marriage expenses. The AMM
also encouraged everyone to deposit Re.1 per month in to the Thirumangalam
Rural Reconstruction Co-operative Society.150

148. Proposal for the co - operation between Govt. of Madras and the AMM, Loc. cit.
149. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 176.
150. Ibid.

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Rural Reconstruction
A well organized and comprehensive programme of rural
reconstruction was launched151 with a view to achieve economic uplift of the
Kallars. Accordingly loans were secured from the Government by the AMM who
supplied Kangeyam stud bulls and heifers on co-operative basis. Surti goats were
supplied with the help of Katpadi institute on the same basis. Leghorn hens and
eggs were also supplied. With the co-operation of the Government the missionaries
educated the Kallars to have improved methods of cultivation and supplied iron
ploughs and seeds. Thus the Kallars were educated to make the best use of the
welfare measures of the Government.

Rural Y. M. C. A
Young men Christian Association (YMCA) commonly called Grama
Sangam was started by teachers and pastors in many villages. They had weekly
meetings and discussed the rural problems. Good books were supplied to these
centres and thus fruitful work in rural uplift was carried out.152

Thus CTA indirectly helped the Kallars who felt desperate and
abandoned by other Hindu communities in getting closer to the missionaries who
151. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p. 23.
152. Ibid.

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saw in it a great opportunity to suppress the evil and sublimating the best in the
Kallars through Gospel. The reclamation scheme, though sponsored by the
Government, went a long way in enabling them to understand the selfless sacrifice
of the missionaries which was exhibited on every occasion. The efforts they took
to secure scholarship for students from the Government, to bring absentees to the
schools by going to cotton fields, to bring back the dropouts from schools so that
they might not lose their scholarships etc. had a telling effect on the Kallars.
Lorbeer who assumed a special responsibility for the work in Kallarnad writes
without fear of equivocation The Kallar country for Christ by 1925 is our
slogan . The present movement among the Kallars is away from crime and
toward education. 25 baptism and hundreds of inquirers show that the movement
was also towards Christianity though not in mass yet. Our faith and hope lead us to
believe that the Kallars will enlist under the banner of the Cross in larger and
larger numbers till Christian thought and conduct will permeate the whole of the
Kallar area."153 Perhaps this might have enabled Rev. James A. Hess of the
American college at Madurai to come out with the declaration that never at any
time in the experience of the missionaries had a movement been so pronounced
than the movement of the Kallars of Thirumangalam taluk towards Christianity.154

153. Annual Report of the AMM for 1921, p. 14.

154. The Missionary Herald for 1921, p. 26.

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This has been vouchsafed by the baptism that took place in quick succession. On
the New Year day of 1922, 17 people received baptism. During the year 1922, 64
adults received baptism from this caste alone155 which made the missionaries hope
that it was but the 'beginning of a strong, steady movement to their church'.156 The
trend was further accelerated in the following years which could be gleaned from
the missionary records. We are witnessing the transformation of men and boys
and a whole caste. Our church records show it, Police statistics show it and we
read it from the book of experience, a new page of which opens fresh to greet us
each morning.157 During the year 1923 relations with the Government in the work
which hitherto had been some what experimental were largely stabilized. The
Government was grateful to the missionaries for their kind co-operation and also
for the results which were attained.158 In 1924 there had been 85 baptism from the
Kallar caste of which 61 were of adults. Larger and greater results were looked for
and several of the villages were regarded as places of great hope.159 In the opinion
of Thekkadath the life of hardship and insecurity which was the lot of the Kallars
turned the thoughts of many to another life of eternal peace of which the preachers
had spoken to them. Many of those peasant - soldiers and some of their leaders
155. Annual Report of the AMM for 1922, p. 56.
156. The Missionary Herald for 1923, p. 210.
157. Ibid., p. 211.
158. The Missionary Herald for 1925, p. 7.
159. Ibid.

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were simple, unsophisticated people sincerely seeking deliverance from the

harshness and misery which they found all around.160 Thus CTA proved to be an
indirect catalyst for the promotion of Christianity among the Kallars which
opportunity was best made use of by the evangelists who preached Gospel to the
eager crowds through lantern lectures, movies and kalachebams.

The Kallars and the Church of Sweden Mission (CSM / TELC)

Early in the 20th century the CSM had taken over the Leipzig
Missionary Societys work in South India which included Trichy and Madurai as
seen earlier. The first Lutheran congregation in Madurai was formed by the
Lutherans of Trichy who settled at Madurai. With soul-care concern, the mission
took up regular work in Madurai from 1869 onwards.161 During the ministry of
Rev. Kremmar in Madurai from 1878-84 the mission work was rewarded with a
large accession of about 800 during the great famine of 1878-79.162 To
consolidate their gain, a Girls' school was removed from Trichinopoly to Madurai
in 1882. The entry of Rev. C.J. Sandegren in to the ministry at Madurai seems to
have opened a new era since he is credited with the construction of a new church
and a mission bungalow at Ponnagaram and a girls' school on the outskirts of the
160. Joseph Thekkadath, History of Christianity in India, Vol. II, CHAI, Bangalore, 1988, p. 246.
161. Author-not traceable, History of the Transquebar Mission (Tamil) 1706 - 1955, Tranquebar Printing
and Publishing House, Madras, 1955, p. 161.
162. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 26.

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town. Only due to his initiative, the first lady missionary of the CSMMiss Esther
Peterson (See Plate IX) came to Madurai to under take the zenana work. From
thenceforth Madurai became an important centre for the missionary activities of
the Lutheran Mission.

A new field of evangelistic work was started in Kallarnad in 1912

with Madurai and Virudhunagar as their centres.163 It was given a further impetus
when the Government came out with its notification of the Kallar community as
criminal tribes which necessitated the Kallars to turn a new leaf in their lives.
Since education was considered as the most urgent and fruitful method of uplift,
interest in female education was stimulated by starting a Girls' School at
Usilampatti in 1915. After the Perungamanallur incident the Kallars felt desolated
by all even by their gods and sought mental solace and redemption.164 At this
juncture Rev. Paul Sandegren, son of Rev. C. J. Sandegren, (See Plate X) who
was born in Madurai stepped in to the Kallarnad with the comforting message of
Jesus Christs love for them. His selfless, arduous and zealous missionary work
among them brought about a telling effect on the attitude of the Kallars and hence
they gave a willing ear to the Christian messages. The mission saw in

163. Ibid., p. 27.

164. S. Estborn, The Church of Sweden Mission in India, The Lutheran Enterprise in India, ed.,
C.H. Swavely, F.E.L.C., Madras, 1952, p. 137.

197

Governments reclamation programme an earnest attempt to kindle in them a

desire for socio-economic improvement. Having worked for more than 200 years
in the Tamil districts, this mission had done a substantial work among the Kallars
of Thanjavur district. These Kallars were also addicted to crime like the Kallars of
Madurai, and the mission achieved great success in transforming them into an
honourable community. Their success encouraged them to take a deep concern for
the Kallars in Madurai too. The Government also on finding that the missionary
efforts for pacification of the Kallars were more successful than their own
extended its full support to the mission.165 Thus in co-operation with the
Government, the mission opened a number of schools and Christian teachers from
the Thanjavur Kallars were set at work to educate their kinsmen.166 The very
appearance of those caste brethren with beneficial results made the Kallars of
Madurai also long for such progress in life which actually made the beginning
much easier for CSM.

Thus the CSM entered the field of Thirumangalam taluk where

missionary activities of the AMM were going on in full swing among the Kallars.
As the AMM found it difficult to persuade them to leave their established
missionary centre, it was decided to arrive at a comity arrangement with the CSM.
165. Ibid., p.138.
166. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 27.

198

After a number of indecisive meetings, at last in 1917, it was agreed that neither
mission would enter in to a village of less than 2000 inhabitants if that village were
already being visited by the workers of the other mission.167 This paved the way
for an intimate relationship between the two missions. To bring the CSM into
closer fellowship with the AMM with regard to female education in the High
School and Teacher Training Grades, on the suggestion of the latter CSM agreed
to pay Rs. 600/- a year towards the expenses.168 However co-operation in village
work was a real problem. Since it was the usual practice of the CSM to follow its
Christians wherever they went, it was very difficult to observe the comity rules.
Hence in the September meeting of 1920, the AMM Committee on comity
suggested to divide the field harmoniously in order to avoid unnecessary friction as
well as unhealthy competition. As a result Thirumangalam taluk was divided in
such a way that the southern and western portion was given to the CSM and
northern and eastern portion, to the AMM. Involved in this territorial division was
the question of their work in Kallarnad.169 By this division the major part of that
work fell to the AMM. To all intents and purposes this division gave the town of
Usilampatti to the Lutherans. Hence the CSM concentrated more on this place and
Usilampatti became a separate pastorate in 1922 and Rev. John Himmelstrand and
167. J.J. Banninga, Op. cit., p. 160. See Annexure -v.
168. Ibid.
169. Ibid., p. 161.

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his wife Mrs. Elsa Himmelstrand were sent here to work among the Kallars
(See Plate XI). The Girls' School started in 1915 was made a Boarding School.
With the co-operation of the Government they started a number of schools and
were even prepared to start schools in the more inaccessible parts of Kallarnad.
The mission also requested the Government to pay three-fourths and the panchayat
one-fourth of the salary of the teacher and to furnish the needed buildings. They
had also expressed their desire to send some Kallar children to their boarding
schools in Pudukkottai and Thanjavur districts in order to keep them away from
their village environment and to provide them with opportunity to mingle with
other boarders drawn from several communities170 which was sure to go a long
way in moulding their character.

Mrs. & Rev. Himmelstrand spent their everything for the

upbringing of these Kallars and did valuable spiritual work in Usilampatti. To suit
to the taste of the Kallars, and to make it fit in to the Indian environment, he built a
church in the model of a Hindu temple which has served as a model church
(See Plates XII & XIII). His parental care moved the hearts of many a Kallars who
used to call him affectionately their father.171

170. Proposed scheme of work for Reformation of the Kallars by the CSM with Govt. Assistance Enclosure III, G.O. No. 596, Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921. See Annexure-iv.
171. Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Manoharan., above 75 years of age who worked among the
Kallars in Usilampatti for more than ten years, on 10th May, at Madurai.

200

As a centre of active Christian influence among the Kallars the Girls'

Boarding School at Usilampatti fulfilled a great need for higher elementary
education of the girls of this community. Out of 240 boarders about one hundred
were Kallars. Splendid rural training was given to the students in the cultivation of
cereals, vegetables and fruit trees. The senior girls did even farm work in turns.
Every foot of the campus was effectively utilised for agricultural purposes. Bulls,
cows, leghorns etc. were reared. The girls attended to all the work in the kitchen
including the pounding of paddy.172 Mrs. Himmelstrand, the Manager of the
school, started the Home Savings System in which farmers, coolies and others
who were economically very weak became members. They were required to save
one to two annas each per week and deposit their savings in the Society. So also
the women vendors of vegetables and of milk and its by-products were induced to
deposit a small portion of their sale proceeds with the Society and were given
periodical interest which enabled them to buy their requirements.173

Rural work was also planned. Accordingly a survey of the economic

condition of the Lutherans in every village was to be taken and the services of a
rural reconstruction expert was to be secured to develop Christian rural work on
progressive lines; a rural community school was to be opened and nurses with
172 Flora Gnanamanickam, My Experiences at Usilampatti, Arunodhayam (Tamil), a Christian Journal,
Christmas Issue, January 1958, pp. 11-15.
173. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., pp. 149-150.

201

mid-wifery training were to be employed to work in villages with the assistance of

the village Bible women. Thus every unit around which was to develop
educational, medical, and agricultural and other aspects of work with Higher
Elementary Schools and High Schools as centres of rural reconstruction.174

With Miss Ellen Nordmark from Sweden taking charge of the

mission in 1938 a significant period began. Her self-sacrificing effort to develop
Usilampatti area and to educate the illiterate Kallar girls in and around Usilampatti
was note worthy.175 She visited those women and interacted with them in Tamil
and was successful in bringing about a change in their lives. She loved the female
children and was determined to start a High School in Usilampatti besides Higher
Elementary School. As a result TELC High School for Girls was started in 1943
with Miss Nordmark as the Correspondent. She had a vision that a female child
entering standard I should come out as a qualified teacher in Usilampatti itself.
Hence a Teacher Training School for Girls was also started at Usilampatti in
1951.176 To mobilise children for this school, she used to go in person to the
nearby villages and convinced the villagers who were mainly Kallars to send their
female children for teacher training. As a Correspondent of the school, she used to
go to the Kallar Reclamation Office, Madurai, to plead for the students, never
174. Ibid., pp. 179-183.
175. Personal interview with Mr.Mathuram, the Correspondent of the Teacher Training School, Usilampatti
on 20th May, 2006.
176. Ibid.

202

minding for how long she had to wait there. She took personal care that the Kallar
students received their scholarship amount in time and the other benefits due to
them.177 She spent her time, energy, money and her life for the welfare and uplift
of the girls and women in this Kallar area. Even after her departure to Sweden due
to her old age, her thoughts were always with the institutions.178
Though she was a spinster she was considered as the mother of so
many. She adopted so many orphaned children, conducted marriages for them and
for the girls she bought all the vessels and the other things needed to settle them in
marriage life. Every year she used to invite them all during the month of May and
provided them with free boarding and lodging for three days. She had a very big
'family' of daughters, sons-in-law and grand children.179 Former M.L.A.
Mr. P.K. Mookaiah Tevar bestowed on her the title Veerammal for her boldness in
facing the high officials and getting things done for the pupils. He used to fondly
refer to her as nooru mark meaning cent percent, instead of Nordmark as she
completely allowed herself to be spent away for the sake of the Kallar women of
Usilampatti.

177. Personal interview with Miss Krenappu Kalarani, H.M. of the TELC Hr. Sec. School for Girls,
Usilampatti, on May 22nd, 2006.
178. In one of Miss Nordmark's letter to Mrs. Kanagaalli Asirvatham, the former H.M. of the TELC Hr.
Sec. School for Girls, Usilampatti, dated 4th June, 1992, she has stated that she got a fairly big amount
as a gift which she was willing to add to the fund for stipends to students. See Annexure vi.
179. Personal interview with Mrs. Kanagavalli Asirvatham,aged 65, on 26th May, 2006, at Madurai.

203

Another Swedish missionary of the Sandegran family who dedicated

her life for the uplift of the Usilampatti area was Miss Ulla Sandegran
(See Plate XV). She ably managed the Middle School and Boarding Home where
many of the Kallar children were accommodated. She was noted for her deep
concern for them. The Bible womens work and Sunday school work were also
placed under her management. She also threw herself heart and soul in bringing
light in to the dark lives of the Kallars.

Thus the entire concentration of the Swedish missionaries was on the

uplift of the Kallars in general and women in particular.

The Kallars and the Catholic Madura Mission

The Catholic missionaries of both Old and New Madura Missions
were impressed by the dash and dexterity of the Kallars. In the opinion of Fr. De
Proenza, a Jesuit of the Old Madura Mission, they were a batch of gallant men
worth an army with irresistible boldness and valour who were feared by the
Muhammedans more than the regular troops; for sudden attacks they were
unequalled; combining courage, shrewdness and agility they used to leave their
jungles in small groups, spread in disguise and rally at the sound of a whistle to
operate into a farm or an encamped army.180

180. Joseph C. Houpert, Op. cit., p. 55.

204

The connection between the Catholic missionaries and the Kallars of

the Madurai region seems to date back to sometimes before 1700 A.D. when Fr.
Borghese S.J. is said to have founded a Christian community at Ariapatti, near
Usilampatti. In 1700 it was visited by Fr. Peter Martin who enjoyed the hospitality
and the kindly disposition of the Kallars while passing through Kallarnad and then
by Fr. Cappelli in 1711. Owing to lack of frequent contacts and Christian nurture,
all but two families had left the faith.181 In the year 1857 Fr. J.B. Trincal of the
New Catholic Madura Mission, in accordance with the missions principle of
social reform and public well being opened a medical unit in Madurai and
distributed medicines free of cost to the poor. In 1867 the District Superior Fr.
Saint Cyr gave him Rs. 100/- to go to the region of the Kallars and plant the seed
of the Gospel.182

Fr. Trincal established his contact stations for the exploration of the
western region and after two years of exploration he had the beginnings of
Christian villages. Six of them were villages of 40 or 50 kilometres from Madurai.
He was given full charge of all the country near the hills to carry on the work of
conversion.183 The central administrative district of the New Madura Mission

181. V.M. Gnanapragasam., A pearl of Great Price, Nobili Publications, Madurai, 1988, pp. 121-122.
182. Ibid., p. 92.
183. Extracts from the Diary of Fr. J.B. Trincal, dated February, 1871, Caritas, July 1974, p. 60.

205

included the Kallarnad also consisting of such centres as Usilampatti and

Thirumangalam. Fr. Trincals ordinary conveyance was a vandi, a high wheeled
cart. An account of his missionary tour in to the Kallarnad explains the
methodology he adopted to win over the Kallars. It goes as follows. At every
village I meet and stop under the largest mango or tamarind tree in the vicinity and
whilst two of my little disciples prepare my meal, my European look attracts
inquisitive people; they come forward at first cautiously. But as I start talking with
the nearest, the others feel encouraged and little by little, they form a circle around
me. I can then make a display of my eloquence. They listen, they do not interrupt
me, except by signs of approbation. The boldest answer my questions but briefly
and in very polite terms. When I have concluded, the catechist who followed me,
make a commentary on what I have said in terms more familiar to them. After
these have gone, others come and these meetings occupy the whole morning.184

Since Thirumangalam had already been monopolised by the AMM

where it carried on its systematic missionary activities in full swing through
pastors, school masters and Bible women, Fr. Trincal settled down in Usilampatti
in 1881 and started a Parish at Valanthur which was subsequently transferred to
Usilampatti. From there he extended his sphere of work and had acquired a site in

184. Ibid., pp. 58 65.

206

Thirumangalam. However the prospects of mass conversion drew him in to the

taluks of Srivilliputtur and Sathur.185 Thirumangalam was left as a mission station
under Usilampatti till it was entrusted to the Capuchin Fathers in 1970.

The Jesuit missionaries were touched by the openness and hospitality

of the Kallars186 and this drew them closer to the latter. The missionaries were
convinced of the need of frequent contact to keep up and nurture the faith of these
poor illiterate people. As the Kallars were not impervious to friendly approach and
to the prospect of their children receiving a sound education, the Jesuits were
determined to wean them away from their attachment to superstition and to liberate
them from the grip of social evils and practices. To such people was sent
Fr. Isidore Prince with whose arrival a new saga in the history of the mission
began. He was a roving missionary in Madurai and preferred his roving part,
calling his cycle my home and went everywhere to try to solve problems
especially marriage cases of the rarely visited and illiterate believers in
outstations.187 Because of his friendly approach, he won over the good will of the
Kallars. Moreover the importance these missionaries attached to external
solemnity of the religious festivals, the passion plays, annual festivals, ceremonies,

185. V.M. Gnanapragasam, Op. cit., p. 122.

186. Clement Montaud, Kallarnad Usilampatti, Caritas, March 1943, p. 68.
187. Jesuit Madurai Province 1952 2002, Golden Jubilee Vol., Souvenir, p.155.

207

feasts etc. contributed very much in bringing the Kallars to the Christian fold and
preserving them in religious life. These celebrations were in keeping with the
character of the Kallars who were so fond of external manifestation of their faith.

At this juncture the Government notification came out declaring the

Kallars as criminal tribes and its subsequent reclamation scheme for them. As seen
earlier the educational side of the reformatory programme was entrusted with the
Christian missions. For the Government it was a philanthropic work but for the
Jesuits it had a higher purpose beyond Government objectives who saw in it a
great opportunity to inculcate positive and healthy values such as dignity of labour,
value of hard work, self-reliance and self-respect in the Kallars. The Jesuit labour
for the reform of these people is generally known as Kallar Mission Work188
Education at all levels was used by the New Madura Mission as an agent of social
change and modernization. Jesuit education emphasised intellectual and moral
training of youth.189

Fr. Prince was credited with the establishment of 43 schools in

Kallarnad with government stipends and liberal subsidies.190 Promising students

188. Joseph C. Houpert, Op. cit., p. 149.

189. T.N. Siqueira, The Secret of Jesuit Education, The New Review vol. XIII, Calcutta, 1941, P.120.
190. M.X. Miranda, Social Apostolate of the Jesuits of the New Madura Mission, 1838 1988,
Jesuit Presence in Indian History, ed., Anand Amaladoss, Commemorative volume on the Occasion
of 150th Anniversary of the New Madura Mission, Satya Nilayam , Anand,1988, p. 141.

208

from the elementary schools were sent to high schools and boarding schools, run
for both boys and girls in the cities. Through strict supervision, socio-economic
improvement and education, Fr. Prince endeared himself to the Kallars which
earned him the title Prince of the Kallars.191 Fr. Prince had thus sown the seeds
which his successors continued to cultivate.

Fr. Clement Montaud, his successor, worked for 9 years putting up

chapels, schools and building up parish associations for the Kallars.192 The seeds,
sown by Fr. Prince, began to bear fruit in the time of Fr. Montaud. He always had
a soft corner for the Kallar community, took an interest in their affairs and advised
them to lead honest and upright lives so as to secure Gods blessings.193 His
success among the Kallars was mainly due to his identification with them. He used
to tour Kallarnad in a bullock cart and even shared their poor diet. Owing to his
initiative, some girls joined the school run by the Sisters and some boys were sent
to St. Marys High School Madurai.194 To invite the Kallars to Gospel way of life,
he organised musical recitals i.e., kadakalachebam, since music would help
religious ideas to enter their minds in an interesting way. This powerful
combination of piety and entertainment worked wonders with the Kallars. Through
191. Jesuit Madura Province 1952 2002, Loc. cit.
192. Ibid., p. 158.
193. Fr. Clement Montaud (1894 - 1981), Caritas, January 1981,p. 55.
194. Ibid.

209

his incessant work and genuine concern for the Kallars, he began to sway over
many a heart of the Kallars who bestowed on him the title Perpetual Lamp of the
Kallarnad (See Plate XVI). Even today many Christians of Karumathur area
take pride in calling themselves Montaud Christians.195

Besides Fr. Prince and Montaud, Fr. Regis Gammon and Fr. Joseph
Ingacy were also responsible for the success of the Jesuit endeavours of Kallar
reclamation and are still hailed as the Apostles of the Kallars. Their contribution
was appreciated both by the public and the Government.196 Through cottage
industries and co-operative societies the missionaries helped them to earn their
livelihood through honest means. The Jesuits express their willingness to
accommodate 50 Kallar girls who could be taught embroidery, weaving and lacemaking and also boys in their schools belonging to the Kallar Community.197

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyons opened a school and boarding

house and a crche for foundlings and visited the villages to contact the
womenfolk, to distribute medicines to ailing children, giving advice and help thus
making them friends and collaborators of the scheme.198 The Sisters cared for the

195. Silver Jubilee Volume 1978 2003, St. Antony Maria Claret Parish, Karumathur, 2003, p. 19.
196. Madras Mail, 6th June, 1926.
197. Proposal sent by the R.C. Jesuit Madura Mission to the Govt. Enclosure V, G.O. No. 596, Law
(General), dated 16th June, 1921, p. 13. See Annexure iv.
198. Caritas, January 1981,p. 54.

210

abandoned children of the society. Hundreds of orphaned, abandoned and

neglected children were sheltered and cared for. The crche and orphanage had
been veritable homes for these children, since the Sisters proved to be real mothers
for them. They gave them not only education but also took pains to find them some
job so as to fix them in a better position in life. Thus CTA paved the way for a
very good rapport between the Kallars and the missionaries through the
reclamation scheme in general and education in particular.

It is true that educational institutions played an important part in

conversion. J.W. Pickett, the most important chronicler of the Mass Movements in
India, has recorded that in every one of the mass movements that he studied (ten in
all) schools played a prominent role. Nevertheless it must be kept in mind that in
schools only the Christian children were taught the Bible, prayer, hymns, lyrics
and the elementary catechism. Nobody taught Christian doctrines to non-Christian
children but left it to the free will of them to read Christian religious books and
learn Christian doctrines.

However it must be remembered that conversion to Christianity was

not used as a pretext to escape police observation as had been recorded by the
church historian Hugald Grafe. According to him, it was exemption from police
surveillance and rehabilitation in view of the CTA which required non-Christian

211

Kallars to bear a passport and report to the nearest police when leaving the
village199 that made the Kallars embrace Christianity. Unfortunately his view was
based solely on an interview given by Rev. Athistam belonging to the Piramalai
Kallar Community to Rev. Asirvadam.
Logical inferences and circumstantial evidences stand against that
assumption since
(i)

nowhere in the CTA has it been stated that the Kallars who had embraced or
would embrace Christianity would be exempted from the CTA. If it were the
case, there ought to have taken place mass conversion since they were
brought into this hook wholesale.

(ii) It was originally decided that all Kallars should be registered once for all and
exemptions from Sec. 10 (a) were to be freely granted and the section was to
be enforced only against the worst characters and held in terrorem against
others.200 As a result a considerable number was removed from the registers
either as a reward of good conduct or because no suspicion was attached to
them.201 Further the educated and respectable Kallars, irrespective of their
religion, were exempted from registration.202 Hence there is no valid reason
for a Kallar to use Christianity as a tool for exemption.
199. Hugald Grafe, History of Christianity in India, Vol. IV, CHAI, Bangalore, 1990, p. 95.
200. Administration Report of the I.G. of Police for 1920, Govt. Press, Madras, 1921, p. 26.
201. Ibid., p. 25.
202. Letter from A.R.C. West Lake, District Magistrate of Madurai, to the Secretary to Govt., Loc. cit.

212

(iii) Moreover nothing could daunt a Kallar from committing crimes if he had
decided to carry it out. By setting up alibis through incorrect record of
checking, the Kallar criminals were able to commit crime in between the
reporting times and the police were rather helpless to forestall them since it
became impracticable to have any sort of effective checking for such a large
number. This has been corroborated by the administrative report which gives
out a statistics of the increase of the Kallar crime due to continued failure of
monsoon particularly in the latter part of 1926.203 Hence the police were
constrained to find out an effective alternative. The result was the
introduction of the Abeyance System in 1929.204 It enabled the police to
concentrate their attention on the really bad characters by exempting less
dangerous or less active members on the condition that if their activities were
suspicious they would be asked to report to the police station twice every
night.205 Thus only the police out of desperation were forced to find out
different ways and means to rope them in to legality. The Kallars never out of
fear or coersion or punishment deterred away from committing crimes. They
were dauntless towards any form of oppressions.
(iv) Therefore it is crystal clear that the Kallars must have come into the Christian
fold not out of fear for police surveillance but of conviction, rather a longing
to have a changed life.
203. Report on the Administration of Police of the Madras Presidency for 1927, Govt. Press, Madras, 1928.
204. Madras Criminal Tribes Manual, Madras, 1935, p. 75.
205. I.G. of Police, History of Madras Police Centenary 1859 - 1959, Op. cit., p.537.

213

(v) Since the reclamation scheme was a Governmental project meant for all
Kallars whether Hindus or Christians the assumption that just to get the
benefits of the scheme only they changed religion sounds illogical and
unacceptable.

Other reasons
Besides education and CTA, there were ever so many reasons for the
Kallar conversion.
When the Kallars experienced the power of Gospel through healing
miracles and exorcism, they always accepted Christianity as a family which
automatically paved the way for web movement among their relatives towards
Christ. The oral history of one Ponniah Thevar family*206 is a marker on the
introduction of Christianity in a community and its acceptance by a family.
The maternal grandfather of Mr. Ponniah Thevar was an honoured
member of his clan and was venerated as the poojari (head priest) of the sondha
Kovil viz. the Moonusamy Kovil at Madhipanur. This familys introduction to
Christianity was an interesting and a true episode. Once when a missionary was
preaching in the market place about the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, this

* The poojaris name is not known to the grand daughter of Mr. Ponniah Thevar, a Piramalai Kallar
who narrated this episode which has been passed on to her by her grand father.
206. Personal interview with Mrs. Annie Vinoth, aged 30, on 21st May, 2006, at Madurai.

214

characteristic of Jesus Christ as the healer caught the attention of the priest of the
Moonusamy Kovil. Intrigued and fascinated at the revelation, the pujari
challenged the missionary whether he could cure the children afflicted with
impairment of speech and hearing. For at that time many children of his clan were
born deaf and dumb. The missionary replied that he might not be able to cure the
already born with this impairment since it had fallen on them as a punishment for
their sins, but could stop the occurrence in future through fervent prayers. And so
the challenge was accepted by both that if in future the children were born without
this physical challenge, the pujari should accept Jesus as the Supreme God. If
otherwise the missionary would be burnt to death. Time passed and curiosity
aroused and to the amazement of the clan every other child born could speak and
hear. Consequently the pujari and his family became converts to Christianity as
they were always known for their word of integrity.

Further when death was at hand, chiefly in times of epidemics, the

priest or catechist who could dispense remedies were called by the Hindus who
submitted themselves to the Christian blessing the Baptism. The conversion of a
sorcerer of Braviampatty, belonging to this caste while on death bed in 1934,
recorded by Houpert is a proof of it.207 He has narrated the episode in an

207. Joseph C. Houpert, A South Indian Mission, The Madura Catholic Mission 1535 1935, St. Joseph's
Industrial School Press, Trichy, 1937, pp. 112 - 113.

215

interesting way. The sorcerer Ramasamy was a bitter enemy of the new converts
who lost no chance to wreak vengeance on the traitors of his tribal gods. In due
course, he was laid down with pulmonary tuberculosis. While on deathbed he sent
word for the priest to get himself baptised. The missionary in turn insisted that he
should first learn the prayers. Just after two weeks once again he sent word for the
priest and astonished him by his recital of a part of Catechism and also obliged to
get rid of the sorcerers tools and the sacred box from his house. On seeing the
heir-loom of their family thrown out, his brother began cursing him .The whole
village was astir and people could not believe that the old wizard was willing to
become a Christian. When asked whether he took the decision with the sole aim of
escaping death, he replied that he never cared to know the future instead he
expressed his desire to be at peace with God and was immensely happy about
becoming the child of God at least then. As he wished he was baptised and
rechristened as Vedamanickam Fidelis. After three days he breathed his last in
peace. It can very well be understood that unrest and longing for peace with a
strong desire to know God made him accept Christianity and nothing else like
poverty or suppression or force.
Many patients, forlorn and sick to death in hospital, were very much
receptive to the Christian message which provided him/her with mental solace.
Temporal calamities such as the death of the dear ones in spite of offerings and

216

vows made for their recovery to their gods, made some become sick of their gods
who could not hear their prayers.208
While some had spiritual motives such as to obtain Gods blessings
to their families thereby peace in their hearts209 whereas some others were attracted
by their influential relatives who had become Christians. 210

In the case of certain others it was out of conviction and inner urge to
know spiritual matters as explained in Christianity that made them embrace
Christianity. Undeniably some would have embraced Christianity for material
benefits too such as free accommodation in the boarding schools, admission in the
orphanages, preferences in jobs and such as these.

The enduring love and concern of the missionaries towards the

converts was another reason for the conversion. The personal letters of some of the
missionaries speak volumes for the love they had for the converts.211 It would be
worth mentioning to quote Pascals famous dictum in this regard. The heart has
its reasons which reason does not know. Since heart is credited with intensive

208. Personal interview with Mrs. Mary Kalavathi,aged 63, a Piramalai Kallar and a Rtd. Staff Nurse of
the Mission Hospital , Madurai, on 22nd May, 2006,at Madurai.
209. Personal Interview with Mrs. Stella Sathiya Seelan, aged 60, a Piramalai Kallar and a retired H.M. of a
Govt. Hr.Sec.School, on 23rd May, 2006, at Madurai.
210. Personal Interview with Mrs. Regiina Jebaraj, aged 56, a Piramalai Kallar and a retired Teacher, on
23rd May, 2006, at Madurai.
211. Letter of Miss Nordmark to Mrs. Kanagavalli Asirvatham. See Annexure vi.

217

powers of quick judgements, truth could be understood not only by reason but also
by the heart. No wonder that this community with a great sense of gratitude and a
chief characteristic of spontaneous submission to love, courtesy and justice felt
constrained to accept Christianity. Thus the kindness of the missionaries had gone
a long way in converting many Kallars than their zeal, eloquence or learning.

Moreover suppression as a reason for Kallar conversion sounds

more illogical because in that case mass conversion ought to have taken place as a
natural sequence as was the case with the Nadars, formerly known as Shanars in
South Travancore. In Travancore the then society was caste ridden212 and the
Shanars, the palm tree cultivators, constituted the highest division of the low
castes213and their social status corresponded to that of a tenant class.214 The law of
the land was not equalitarian215 and the sooty institution slavery remained as a
crying wound in the body politic of the country which could be gleaned from the
letter of Mrs. Mault to LMS dated June 21, 1830216 which says slavery as it exists
in this kingdom is in some respects worse than that of the West Indies. Their

212. Rev. I.H. Hacker, A Hundred Years in Travancore , H.R. Allenson Ltd., London,1908. p.16.
213. Ibid., p.14.
214. Richard Lovett, The History of the London Missionary Society (1795 1895), Vol .II, Henry Frowde,
Oxford University press, London, 1899, p. 25.
215. A. Sreedhara Menon, A Survey of Kerala History , Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society Ltd.,
Kottayam, 1967, p. 317.
216.

Richard Lovett, Op. cit., p.154.

218

indeterminate social status which reduced them to the level of slaves with much
socio-economic and civil disablities217 such as infringement on their natural rights
in the form of heavy taxation, inhuman treatment meted out by the upper caste and
the inhuman practice of forbidding the womenfolk even to cover the upper part of
their body, provided the missionaries of the LMS who were then at work in South
Travancore with an opportunity to champion the cause of the downtrodden through
an agenda of social reforms with both religious and altruistic motives. The
introduction of western education and liberal ideas and utter disregard for
traditional values found expressions in three Upper Cloth Revolts which took place
in 1822, 1828-30 and in 1855. The involvement of the Christian missionaries like
Charles Mead had brought many a people to Christianity as understood from Rev.
White Houses letter to the Mission dated March 5, 1851. It has been stated they
became converts not because of their faith in the religion but because they believed
that they could be given protection by the preachers since they had profound
influence on the ruling community.218 It is not much to say that it was the
initiative, enthusiasm and compassion of the missionaries later championed by the

217.

Pon. Krishnaswamy, trans., Marakkappatta Varalaru (Tamil) I ed., Indian Educational

Academy, Madurai, 1998, pp. 18 43.

218.

Richard Lovett, Op. cit., pp.158 - 159.

219

Resident that prompted the steps towards the abolition of slavery219 and the legal
sanction for the women folk of the low castes to cover their upper body in 1855
and 1859 respectively. As a mark of gratitude there took place mass conversion.

Perhaps the absence of such circumstances in the history of the

Kallars did not necessitate mass conversion among them.

On the basis of the above facts brought forth, it would be sagacious

to conclude that the Kallars embraced Christianity for so many reasons and not just
because of their poverty or deprivation and suppression by the Government
through its coercive methods.

219.

K.K. Kusuman, Slavery in Travancore, Kerala Historical Society, Trivandrum, 1973, p. 44.

220

CHAPTER VI
IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY ON
THE PIRAMALAI KALLARS

220

221

CHAPTER VI

IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY ON THE PIRAMALAI

KALLARS
Judged by the number of converts, the missionary effort to
evangelise the Kallars seems to have yielded not very rewarding results. On the
other hand the influence of Christianity on the moral and social life of the Kallar
converts had been immeasurable and pervading. Missions aimed not merely at
securing the spiritual enlightenment of the individual but also at promoting the
healthy social life of the community. The missionaries adopted the promising goal
of leavening society with Christian concepts rather than making converts. Though
the church could not exert influence it ought to have, there was a dramatic change
in the life of the Kallars who accepted Christianity. In the opinion of Mrs.
Himmelstrand the effects on the moral and social life of the converts were perhaps
more marked than in the matter of education.1

Change in habits and customs

Though it cannot be said with certainty their customs stopped
altogether it is true that a beginning was made in the right direction. Loveluck has
1.

J.S. Ponniah, The Christian Community of Madura, Ramnad and Tinnevelly, Department of Research
and Extension, American College, Madurai, 1938, p. 48.

222

observed that the Kallars had believed that their mission in life was to distribute
the wealth of the country by 'robbing Peter to pay Paul2 Peter being the one with
property and Paul being the one without and they invariably considered themselves
as being in the position of Paul. Thus they had a strong justification for their
inveterate addiction to dacoity and thieving which they assumed to be a duty and
a right, sanctioned by descent.3 This very notion underwent a drastic change. The
Kallar Christians had begun to show a marked tendency to put away their old
habits and to adopt education and other such standards of life.4 This fact has been
vouchsafed by Mrs. Himmelstrand according to whose version the old
occupation of cattle lifting and stealing was not practised by the Kallar
Christians.5 In fact they had become stories of the past among the Christians since
they were exposed to the constant teachings of the missionaries which instilled in
their minds the principles of honesty and industry. This new awareness enabled
them to increasingly abandon their traditional occupations which were considered
to be atrocious.
The missionaries had taught them values such as dignity of labour,
work culture etc. The missionaries had made them conscious of their dignity as

2.

E.B. Loveluck, The Kallar Problem, The Police Magazine, Journal for Publicity Bureau, September
1921, p. 88.

3.

Jean Abbe Dubois, Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, III. ed., trans., Henry K. Beauchamp,
Oxford,1906, p.17.

4.

Annual Report of the AMM for 1921, p.12.

5.

J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 48.

223

human beings and inspired them with the sense of self-respect and so the
Christians had taken up agriculture seriously as their chief means of earning their
livelihood. Hitherto they were under the impression that doing certain jobs was
below their dignity. But that very idea was combated by the missionaries who left
no stone unturned to imprint in their minds the value of dignity of labour. As seen
earlier even before the launching of the Kallar Reclamation Scheme by the
Government, the Kallar children also were given pre-vocational training in schools
in agriculture, carpentry, weaving etc. so that they could stand on their own legs
and could lead honest lives. The missionaries realised that if they were offered
interesting employment as a substitute that would absorb their attention and keep
their minds off robbery. Hence they strained their every nerve to channelise the
spirit of emulation which brought more recruits to crime for constructive purpose.
Introduction of Scout Movement and Athletics served the purpose.6 As a result
there was a tremendous change in the mind-set and their life pattern and in their
attitude towards labour.

The Christian missionaries had also succeeded in cultivating personal

virtues in the Kallar Christians by establishing high standards of personal purity.
The substitution of Christian humility for barbaric pride and foolish conceit was
manifested in their lives and this helped them to climb up the ladder of their social
6.

Annual Report of the AMM for 1921, p. 32.

224

and economic life. Instead of acting vindictively, they had started exhibiting
Christian doctrines such as love, peace, forgiveness etc. They had kept themselves
aloof from quarrels and murders which continued to be a common occurrence in
Kallar villages, as witnessed by Mrs. Himmelstrand.7 They had also stopped
carrying with them any deadly weapons.
Moreover the missionaries had cultivated in them habits of industry
and frugality. The people who were in the habit of whiling away a major part of
the year in idleness hitherto became industrious like other people around them and
started enjoying the fruits of their hard labour with pride and dignity. Further
through the Home Savings system, introduced by Mrs. Himmelstrand they learnt to be
frugal too.
Gambling which was the root cause of many vices was very common
among the Kallars. The increasing extent of gambling especially among those who
could ill afford it alarmed the missionaries and called for action. Though
legislative control was most difficult they believed that public sentiment would
support the suppression of all forms of gambling.8 As a result of constant
preaching against this vice most of the Kallar Christians refrained from practising
it, as vouchsafed by Mrs. Himmelstrand.9

7.

J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 49.

8.

J.J. Banninga, Letter Written to the Indian Statutory Commission, New Delhi, dated June 12, 1928,
UTC Archives, Bangalore, Box - 2, Folder No. 11.

9.

J.S. Ponniah, Loc. cit.

225

Polygamy was another important aspect which drew the attention of

the missionaries. Since the Hindu law legalised polygamy making the marriage of
a second wife as legal and binding as the first marriage even while the first wife
was alive, rendered the job of the missionaries very difficult. To make matters
worse, even the British Government recognised that law as valid since it did not
want to meddle with the problem connected with the customs and culture of the
natives. Hence in certain cases it became impossible for a polygamist to obtain a
legal divorce from either of his wives.10 The difficulty was even more pronounced
with regard to the Kallars who had grown up in the midst of such practices and had
never heard the validity or rightfulness of such unions questioned. But the church
was keen on eradicating this evil from the Christian community and so only those
who got a legal divorce from others except the first wife were admitted into the
church. However in due course the AMM had formally decided to admit
polygamists to baptism provided they had contracted their marriage in ignorance
and that there seemed no equitable way of securing a separation.11 To all intents
and purposes polygamy and concubinage which were allowed by the caste rules
were given up by most of the Kallar Christians.

10. Missionary Experience or Reports or Letters Feb - May 1855 - Connected with special Meetings of the
Mahratta, Madura and Ceylon Missions of the ABCFM, Printed at the presses of the Board, Bombay
and Madras, 1855, p. 41.
11. "By an Indian Witness" - A paper cutting, pasted on the Mission Record, May 1885.See Annexure- ii.

226

In their married life too a great difference could be noticed. Mrs.

Himmelstrand has observed that the custom of marrying a quite young boy to a
much older woman in the name of Sudanthiram was done away with among the
Christians.12 Divorces and re-marriages which were common among the Hindu
Kallars became rare phenomena among the Kallar Christians. Very rarely the
Christian Kallars had left their wives and re-married in the old fashion.13 The old
custom of bridegroom riding on a horse back on wedding day and the bride
walking behind at a distance became rare and both used to go together in wedding
procession.14 The custom of enlarging the ear-lobes among the girls was to a great
extent abolished among the Christians.15 So also, according to Mrs. Himmelstrand,
the custom of circumcision of boys was also done away with.16

Thus despite the fact that custom was the great law for the Kallars,
one by one it was given up by the Christians.

Changes in Moral life

The strongest factor instrumental for moral and social changes was
the stimulus given to education. According to Rev. Athishtam, himself a

12. J.S. Ponniah, Loc. cit.

13. Ibid.
14. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p. 28.
15. J.S. Ponniah, Loc. cit.
16. Ibid.

227

beneficiary, thousands of Kallar boys and girls were taught in Mission Boarding
and Day schools, Training schools, Colleges and in the Industrial and Divinity
schools. Approximately 60% of men and 25% of women between the age of 5 and
30 became literates.17 The Boarding school was unique in the sense that it afforded
the largest possible opportunity for surrounding the children in their developing
stage with those wholesome influences which became imprinted upon their
characters. Improvement in morality was the direct outcome since children were
away from their villages. The upbringing of Kallar youth in Christian Boarding
Homes had caused a great change among the women because they learnt from
child hood a more disciplined way of life and to conform to healthy rules.18 In the
field of education missionaries wanted to impress the younger generation with
their new theories, ideas and beliefs. As stated earlier, in the beginning in the event
of baptism the educational institutions became empty due to panic and there was a
general belief that the missionaries ran the educational institutions with the sole
aim of conversion. In spite of these misgivings the Kallars had the mind to send
their children to mission schools because of their anxiety to procure a government
job which was the magic wand for these schools.19 Thus it was mainly financial

17.

G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p.27.

18. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 49.

19. Robert Smith Wilson, Indirect Effects of Indian Missions, James Clarke and Co., London, 1928,
p. 125.

228

desire that induced the Kallars to take up education rather than any love for
education. Though the missionaries were guided by religious motives to start with,
when days went by the object of mission education shifted from conversion to a
mere diffusion of Christian principles and ideals leading to much attraction for
mission schools. As a result a good number of Kallars received education and
became teachers, pastors, evangelists and catechists. Many entered into
government services, army and police services.

Education brought about a remarkable change in their personal

behaviour. The converts developed an intense feeling of self-respect and selfreliance they had never before. The educated Kallars had become very refined and
tried to imitate the missionaries in many ways. First of all, the children who were
raised in the orphanages which were veritable homes of the forsaken developed no
sense of attachment to caste. They learnt to exhibit their love and concern for
others openly as the missionaries did. The impact of the missionaries on the minds
of the Kallar children could be understood from the following episodes.

One of the boys who recently left our school and failed in the High
school went into business and is earning a good salary in a Government Office.
Only a few weeks ago, he sent a liberal contribution, a part of which was to be
used for the Boarding school and the remainder for work in one of the newly

229

organised schools for the Kallars.20 Thus by imitating the missionaries the Kallar
boy could exhibit his concern for others.

There is a small Kallar boy of 9 or 10 years, an orphan, so poor that

every stitch of clothing he has to his name is one veshti (loin cloth). For several
months outside of school hours he has been bringing water and helping our
language teacher in various personal ways for a trifling sum a month. When
vacation time came, the teacher was sick. The little 9 year old boy brought him the
money he had received for the work of the last 3 or 4 weeks saying, you are sick,
sir, take this and buy something to eat. When the language teacher refused it
saying that he received a salary and had plenty, the little fellow was not content.
But the teacher was firm. Soon the little chap bringing a cupful of dried peas and a
few pieces of candy, the first Christmas present he had ever received and insisted
that the teacher take this at any rate. Though this too was refused, he would not be
satisfied until one piece of the candy was taken.21 Thus they were made to taste
the pleasure of giving which they observed in the missionaries.

Rev. Athishtam had been an eye witness to the following episode.

The mission school in the village Kovilangulam, near Usilampatti, had made a
permanent change in the lives of 8 students through its Christian education. Even
20. Annual Report of the AMM for 1921, p. 31.
21. Ibid.

230

after leaving the school those students used to meet very often and prayed together.
After a period of nearly 20 years they got baptised as Christians. When they
returned home their wives refused to serve them food. Had it happened earlier,
such an act would have ended in a divorce since no Kallar could tolerate such a
breach of duty on the part of his wife. As a rule a man never served himself food
when the wife was at home. But those resolute young men sat on their verandas
for 3 days without food. Within a year, their life changed their wives and they too
were baptised and they had built even a prayer house. They led a true Christian
life in the real sense of the term. When once beaten without any valid reason by
the Hindus they refrained from reporting and instead prayed for their aggressors.22

Rev. and Mrs. George Athishtam of Usilampatti were running an

orphanage called Our Home in their place from 1934 as a mark of gratitude to
the AMM missionary Dr. Washerburn, in whose orphanage the parents of both
were brought up and educated. That orphanage was a good piece of Christian
service with a powerful message for progress of evangelism and rural uplift.23

Thus the missionaries succeeded in the creation of a new type of

individual character through personality reconstruction.

22. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., P. 31.

23. Ibid., p. 28.

231

Changes in Social life

Education and character had raised their dignity and respect in the
eyes of other castes. In their dress, manners and habits they began to imitate the
missionaries. Many of them were able to secure higher posts in the official
hierarchy as IPS officers, Revenue officials, Magistrates, Army personnel etc.
Many became professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers etc. Thus they could
grab elite positions in all spheres and in all walks of life. Some of them with more
leanings towards religion took to preaching as pastors, evangelists or engaged
themselves in full time ministry. Many lesser privileged, thanks to the openings of
Teacher Training colleges and Institutes, became dedicated teachers. The people of
other castes who desired their extermination, now started loving them. Thus the
missionaries succeeded in bringing about a change in public opinion about the
Kallars.

Uplift of women
The well known social reformer Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy says, the
missions have done more for womens education in our country than the
Government itself.24 Rev. V.S. Azariah, is absolutely right with his comment .
"Christians were every where the first to break the shackles in which the women
24. A. Amaladoss, Jesuit Presence in Indian History, Satya Nilayam, Anand, 1988, p. 137.

232

were bound and set them free to know and understand the world.25 The
pronounced aim of female education by the missions and churches was originally
not to produce scholars but to give women the capability to fulfil their new role in
a changing society.26 Zenana work helped the leavening of society rather than
conversion.27
One of the greatest difficulties for the missionaries in the work of
Kallarnad was the backwardness of women.28 Kallar women were said to be
inflexibly vindictive and furious on the least injury even on suspicion which
prompted them to take the most violent revenge without any regard to
consequences. They had been the driving force of men into their guilt.29 There was
not a single Kallar woman in 1000 in Thirumangalam region who knew to read
and write. That was why Mrs. Dudley of AMM took pride in 10 little Kallar girls
who received education in the Thirumangalam Boarding school.30According to
Mrs. Himmelstrand the women in Kallarnad had a status and an importance not
always common.31 Very often the freedom of the Kallar women and certain
unsteadiness in their character were the causes of domestic trouble.

25. Sundararaj Manickam , Missionary Education and Social Progress in India, Studies in Missionary
History, C.L.S., Madras, 1988, p. 110.
26. Hugald Grafe, History of Christianity in India, Vol. IV, CHAI, Bangalore, 1990, p. 205.
27. Ibid., p. 206.
28. Annual Report of the AMM for 1922, p. 56.
29. Annual Report of the AMM for 1921, p. 30.
30. Ibid.
31 . J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p. 50.

233

When the missionaries first attempted to commence work among the

girls it was with the greatest difficulty that they could induce their parents to allow
them to learn. Education in women was associated with immorality. Conservatism
of the older members of the family made them strongly oppose it on the ground
that gods would be angry and show their displeasure for departing from their timehonoured customs by removing the husbands of girls who had been taught.32 The
lady missionaries of various Missionary Societies had to destroy such prejudices
through their persistent efforts. Through the wide spread of education many young
Kallar women were trained as teachers (See Plate XVII) and they found
employment in Government Kallar schools with a good salary. They had thus been
enabled to help their parents in all possible ways. Besides being teachers, as wives
of pastors, teachers and officers, these women had a high standard of culture.33
Their old caste custom of leaving the upper part of the body uncovered with
clothes was done away with34 was the testimony of Mrs. Himmelstrand. These
educated Kallar women were able to prevail upon their husbands to turn a new leaf
in their lives.

End of Female infanticide

Female infanticide proved to be a real menace among the Kallars. As
seen earlier, woman was considered as economic liability. While the birth of a son
32. Personal interview with Mrs. Kamala Rosalind, aged 70, a Piramalai Kallar and a Rtd. teacher, on 27th
May, 2006, at Thirumangalam.
33. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p.28.
34. J.S. Ponniah, Op. cit., p.50.

234

was welcomed with great jubilation, the birth of a girl was viewed with disfavour
since marriage customs and prestations were a real burden on the parents. Since
Christianity refines and purifies mans estimate of woman and insures to her a
measure of respect and fealty the missionaries had felt themselves compelled to
speak out in condemnation against the atrocity of female infanticide. The
missionary view was so decided that it was impossible to let it pass unnoticed. As
a result of constant preaching against this social evil, it was put an end to among
the Kallar Christians.

Even among the members of the Kallar caste who were nonChristians a movement had taken place for the betterment of their women. A
Society was formed to promote the marrying of only one wife and the remarriage
of widows. They started approaching the Christian workers to inquire the teaching
of the Bible on the subject of marriage.35

Change of attitude towards caste

Though caste system is anti-ethical to Christianity, many South
Indian Christians maintained it and used their new religion as a way of gaining
greater respectability for their caste in the social hierarchy.36 Same was the case
with the Kallars too. Caste barriers against inter-dining and inter-mingling with
35. Annual Report of the AMM for 1907, p. 26.
36 . Brij Raj Singh, The First Protestant Missionary to India Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg (1683 1719.),
Oxford University Press, New Delhi , 1999 , p. 52.

235

people of other castes were slowly disappearing. Formerly the low caste people
were called by their caste name. Even officers of low caste too had to suffer from
many social disabilities such as getting water or seats in a Kallar village.
Rev. Athishtam has recorded that once a Harijan teacher was seen with a
missionary on village platform and for that crime of having treated himself an
equal with the Kallars of the village, he was beaten up as soon as the missionary
left the village.37 Such unreasonable treatments were slowly disappearing. Rev.
Athishtam had been an eye witness of this change of attitude of the Christian
Kallars towards caste. They even championed the cause of the poor Harijan
Christians when they were beaten and rendered homeless by their Hindu brethren.
Along with their pastor, they went and chided their brethren for their acts and even
threatened to file a suit for damages in the court.38 Thus Christianity enabled them
to identify themselves with the low caste Christians and treat them as brothers.
Nevertheless, the evil of casteism could not be completely eradicated from the
minds of the Kallar Christians and unfortunately it still persists.

Changes in the economic life

In the view of Mrs. Himmelstrand the effect of their changed religion
had not meant a great difference in their economic life.39 Even after conversion the
Kallars continued to be poor. Some of them had to mortgage their lands even and

37. G.J.R. Athishtam, Op. cit., p.28.

38. Ibid.
39. J.S. Ponniah, Loc. cit.

236

were heavily indebted. However the entire scenario underwent a change with the
spread of education which kept the doors for employment wide open for the
educated. The educated youth both male and female were able to shoulder the
responsibility of their parents. Even semi-literate and illiterate found employment
in factories, mills and also in the railways. The co-operative societies started for
Christian employees had also greatly helped in this matter. As seen earlier the
small Savings Society which was started for poor village Christians enabled them
to start some small scale ventures. Mr. Dudleys social reform of setting a limit to
bride money and jewellery had provided them with great relief. As a result
economically they were becoming far better than many other communities.
General housing conditions and the general sanitation of the locality
were improved. They were taught to cut unnecessary expenditure and to limit
borrowing so that they could be saved from interest charges. By removing the
wrong notion about illness much economic loss had been stopped by the
contribution of Christianity to the prevention and cure of illness. Literacy gave
them the needed protection against fraud. Thus education was mainly responsible
for bringing changes in the economic lives of the Kallars in general and not
conversion as such. In fact conversion to Christianity had not brought about any
spectacular change in their economic condition.

237

Changes in the religious life

The Kallar Christians had stopped all idol-worship and were
evidently convinced of the futility of sacrifices to demons and of magical rites to
ward off evil spirits in which they no longer believed. Christian instruction
inculcated into their minds the existence of only one Almighty God who is good
and a loving Father to them.40 As a result some ruling ideas were dethroned.
Tangible changes in the life of the former Hindus such as the surrender of idols
and sacred boxes and other utensils for sacrifices and other forms of worship had
taken place. Because they were convinced of the fact that through sacrifices they
could not free themselves from punishment for their sins after their death and
hence they were taught to confess their sins and pray for forgiveness to Jesus
Christ whose mission was to save the sinners through His bloodshed. Further
resorting to sorcerers for curing illness was also given up by the Christians.41

Thus in diverse ways directly or indirectly, consciously or

unconsciously, Christian missions have played a major role in the transformation
of the Kalla community into an honourable one. At present the Kallars are
recognised in the society for their outstanding record of achievements as teachers,
pastors, scholars, administrators and leaders of thought and movements.
40. Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Manoharan, aged around 70, on 10th May,2006, at Madurai.
41. Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Duraisamy, aged 85, on 22nd May, 2006, at Usilampatti.

238

Why less Impact

In spite of the merits mentioned above, Christianity has failed to
make long strides among the Kallars. The following could be the possible reasons for that.

i.

The uplift work for the Kallars, though channelised through Christian
missions, was definitely a governmental project for all Kallars whether they
were Hindus or Christians. To be a beneficiary of the reclamation scheme, a
Kallar need not to have become a Christian at all. Moreover the organisations
run by the missionaries were secular in total. No pre-conditions regarding the
faith or caste were laid. Their premises were kept wide open for all those
entering and enjoying the benefits. Hence the situation did not necessitate a
Kallar to become a Christian.

ii.

The missionaries of course did not compromise in certain matters in the wake
of conversion especially caste and polygamy. In the words of a protestant
missionary E.T. Rhenius, After a 100 years of mission work, attachment to
caste has increased, not diminished among the Christians.42 Since the mantle
of caste was closer than the mantle of Christian religion for a Kallar, he did
not like to give up his caste which was more than his life. The Kallar

42. S.B. Kaffmann, A Christian Caste in Hindu Society, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. XV, April 1981,
p. 203.

239

Christians continued to assume their caste title Thevar and to marry within
their caste and never liked to inter-marry. Even if there was any such thing, it
was a rare one with all boycotts. True to the observation of Oddie that the
converts who opted for Christianity outside the mass movement were faced
with problems related to the selection of spouses,43 here also the Kalla
converts found it very difficult to get proper partners within the small group
of Christians. They had to resort to their Hindu relatives and this was
sometimes done at the cost of the Christian faith.44 To prevent them from
relapsing to Hinduism, in the early years, the missionaries assumed a large
measure of responsibility for introducing their individual converts to
marriageable partners. Perhaps such incidents only made Rev. Sharrock pun
on the need for missionaries in India to be M.A.s (Matrimonial Agents).45 The
unwillingness of the missions to admit polygamists into the church also might
have reduced the charm of Christianity in the eyes of the Kallars.

iii. The firm grip of the Kallars in their religion and culture also could not be
uprooted so easily. Moreover the missionaries especially the Roman Catholics
also did not want to alienate them from the social life of their non-Christian

43. Lionel Caplan, Religion and Power, CLS, Madras, 1989, p. 124.
44. Personal interview with Rev. Dr. D. Chellappa on 17th May, 2006, at Thanjavur.
45. J.A. Sharrock, South Indian Missions, SPG Publishers, West Minster, 1910, p. 10.

240

caste fellows. The customary rites and rituals at the time of birth, puberty,
adulthood, marriage, old age and death were retained by the Christians too
with slight modifications just by adding a sign of cross and by giving a new
Christian interpretation to the customary rituals. In other areas of cultural life
too the Kallar Christians retained their Tamil cultural identity.46 This fact is
corroborated by the letter of the missionary Dr. Washerburn to Dr. Banninga
which goes like this. And now the time has come when India would have
the story of the Christ in a style more in harmony with her modes of
thinking.47 As a result, the converts were not alienated from the non-Christian
Kallars. Their affiliation to their ancestral religion was exhibited even in
christening their children with Hindu names along with Christian names such
as James Mayandi, George Virumandi, Peter Perumal, David Malaichamy
etc. The reverence for their guru (religious leader) could be seen in their
attitude towards the pastor. Though the redeeming power of Christ was
accepted still they believed in the concept of punniyam or righteousness.
Dumont opines each Muslim or Christian has something Hindu in him.48 So
also every Kallar Christian. That was the main reason why they were not able

46. Personal interview with Mr. Chinnasamy Thevar, on 12th May, 2006, at Karumathur.
47. Letter from Washerburn to Dr. Banninga dated August 29, 1924, UTC Archives, Bangalore, Box 2,
folder No. 2.
48. Louis Dumont, Home Hierarchius, Eng. trans., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1970, p. 211.

241

to leave their Hindu ceremonies and festivals especially those related to home
life which proved to be very attractive. They were even tempted to take part
in them to please their Hindu relatives and neighbours. Lapses occurred
mostly among the uneducated who had no sufficient knowledge of the
Christian faith and therefore were more or less indifferent. Hence the impact
of Hinduism on uneducated Kallar Christians was evident in many ways.49
The consultation of astrologers, the observance of auspicious and
inauspicious days, the practice of magical rites to ward off evils, so on and so
forth had a tenacious grip on the minds of the Kallar Christians. On critical
occasions, some secretly sought the help of the old gods. On occasions of
serious sickness in a family, epidemics or other calamities, soothsayers,
sorcerers, magicians and Hindu priest would be resorted to. Thus the converts
mostly needed constant watchfulness and much instruction to keep them in
the right way.50 Otherwise with some there was a tendency to relapse into idol
worship and other Hindu practices, probably because of fear for the demons.
The people who believed that the old gods were visiting their house or village
especially of those who had been converted because of marriage showed a
tendency to relapse in to Hinduism.

49. Personal interview with Mr. George Virumandi, on 4th May 2006, at Madurai.
50. J.S. Chandler, Op. cit., p. 40.

242

iv.

Some Kallar Christians had never left their evil practices like quarrel,
consumption of liquor etc. fully. After the departure of the missionaries, they
felt free to continue their evil practices and hence they ceased to be an
attraction to their Hindu brethren. The adage a friend who is unfriendly
makes the worst enemy was probably nowhere more conspicuously
illustrated than in the attitude of those nominal Christians towards missionary
effort. Dissatisfaction or quarrels with the pastors in the case of church
discipline proved to be real stumbling blocks to the growth of Christianity
even.51 Since they were following a religion (Hinduism) which was the most
democratic of all religions with no controlling authority, wherein every Hindu
had full freedom of thought and interpretation, they could not get along with
the domination of the church and the mission.

v.

Kallars, being very sensitive to hurting words and quick tempered by nature,
used to lose their balance of thought if they were offended in their
independence. When they were called as rice-Christians52 by their fellow
men they were put to shame and this forbade them from openly confessing the
new religion.

51. Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Manoharan on 12th May, 2006, at Madurai.
52. Ibid.

243

vi. The last but not the least was the revival of Hinduism. The fear of the
Christian missionary has been the beginning of much social wisdom among
us says K. Natarajan, the proprietor of the Indian Social Reformer, founded
in 1890 by the rationalist wing among the Madras reformers.53 It is true that
the social reform movement in India owes its inspiration to Christianity. The
missionaries through their educational institutions, hostels and hospitals
exerted much influence on the views, ideas and ideals of the non-Christians
too. The educated young Hindus evinced so much admiration for western
culture which was at times expressed in a bizarre way such as eating of beef
etc. so as to prove that they cared a jot for their society which imposed odd
customs on them.54 Hence the alarmed Hindu society started several
organisations such as the Hindu Literary Society (1833),55 the first English
School (1834), the first Hindu News Paper the Native Interpreter (1840),56
the Vibuthi Sangam or Sacred Ashes society and the Sadur Veda Siddhanta
Sabha57 at Madras in the 1840s which published tracts as well as periodicals
with a view to counteract the activities of the missionaries and thereby to
create a new Hindu consciousness.
53. Heimsath, Charles, Indian Nationalism and Hindu Social Reform, Princeton University Press,
New Jersey, 1964., P.53.
54. Stephen Neill, The Story of the Christian Church in India and Pakistan, CLS, Madras, 1972, p. 131.
55. Hugald Grafe, Op. cit., p. 158.
56. Ibid., p. 159.
57. Ibid ., p. 158.

244

Consequently there came in to being educated elite among the

Hindus with a conviction of purging the Hindu society. Missionaries for the
purpose of the promotion of Hinduism were sent to different parts of the country.
A Hindu Progressive Improvement Society was started in 185258 due to the
awareness of social change and uplift in terms of reforms as a reaction to and
effect of Christian thought and life. This trend was given further impetus by the
formation of the Theosophical society in 1875 in New York with many branches in
South India at Adayar, Trichirappalli, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai,
Nagapattinam, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil etc.59 Besides this the Hindu Free
Thought Union, founded in 1880 at Madras, attacked Christianity tooth and nail
and the Hindu preaching society (1881) and the Hindu Tract Society (1887)
turned the Hindu revival in to a systematic campaign against Christianity.60 Their
main aim was declared thus Let caste and sectarian differences be forgotten and
let all people join as one man to banish Christianity from our land by winning back
all Christians to Hinduism and withdrawing all children from Christian schools".61
Christianity was portrayed as an absurd, contradictory, unscientific, second rate
and evil religion. Hindu preachers labelled missionaries as enemies of Indian

58. Ibid, p. 183.

59. Ibid., p. 161.
60. Ibid.
61. Ibid., p. 162.

245

culture and civilization62 and the vilest abuse of the Bible, Christ and Christians
became the order of the day.63

A fillip was given to Hindu revivalism with the return of Swami

Vivekananda from America after the Worlds Fair at Chicago in 1897. He
presented Hinduism as a religion for all mankind. Hence the Hindu community
emerged more self-assertive and the attitude of the educated class towards the
Christian church ranged all the way from friendship to open defiance.64 Patriotism
was interpreted as being synonymous with loyalty to their ancestral faith and a
tenacious maintenance of Vedantic philosophy by the educated Hindus.65 Thus
Hindu revivalism succeeded in arousing a new Nationalism which was positively
averse to Christianity. As a result the Hindus also started preaching Hinduism in
the streets and giving religious instructions in schools besides daily opening
prayers.66 The tenets of Hinduism were taught to the children of the religious
boarding school, opened by Meenakshi temple in Madurai and boarded at the
expense of the temple funds.67

62. Swami Chidbhavanandha , The Hindu View of Christianity", Christianity in India A Critical study,
Vivekananda Kendra Prakasham, Madras, 1979, p. 29.
63. Annual Report of the AMM for 1901, p. 166.
64. Annual Report of the AMM for 1898, p. 10.
65. Annual Report of the AMM for 1901, p. 165.
66. Annual Report of the AMM for 1898, p. 10.
67. Ibid.

246

In their frantic effort to revive Hinduism, the activists began to

denounce the missionaries of Christianity of trying to convert people of other
religions through allurement and force. Helping the poor and the needy, feeding
the hungry, clothing the naked etc. were viewed with great suspicion and
considered deplorable. The new self-conscious, nationalistic Hinduism stigmatized
the mass movement as proselytism.68 The enormous salaries to Christian
missionaries from the Indian revenues was criticised as being misused for
converting the progeny in their youth into the enemies of our race.69 It is to be
admitted that revival of Hinduism was a spectacular attempt on the part of the
Hindu activists to bring many new converts back to Hinduism. Nevertheless their
memory loss syndrome could be seen in the forgotten stories of the missionaries
who served our Hindu society with self-less dedication and compassion.
Arun Shourie in his work of recent times70 has wrongly categorised the British
administrators, scholars and the missionaries in to one mission team with the
main purpose of converting the Hindus, serving the British imperial interests and
destabilising our nation. He has thus posed himself as strong voice of the adverse
Hindu sentiments against Christian missionaries. It is a pity that he could see no

68. S. Estborn, The Church among Tamils and Telugus, NCCI, IMC Study series, Nagpur, 1961, p.30.
69. Desa Bhaktan, 26th April 1921, Madras, MNNR, p. 545.
70.

Arun Shourie, Missionaries in India Continuities, Changes, Dilemmas, Horper Collins,

New Delhi, 1997, pp. 130 160.

247

worth while motives of the missionaries who did every thing for the welfare of
natives through an agenda of social reforms. However this has attracted criticisms
from secular writers such as Mani Shankar Aiyar71 and Kushwant singh72 who
have dared to label his attempt as a mission of hate and an act of eating
missionaries respectively.

It must be remembered that conversion from one religion to another

has been a reality in India from ancient times. In fact Hinduism was given its first
blow by classical Buddhism through its teachings against the social evil - caste. If
conversion meant exploitation what justification could be given to that scenario in
the 6th century B.C. or what could have been the ulterior motive of Dr. Ambedkar
who spear headed the Neo-Buddhist Movement? In the case of the so called
untouchables of Meenakshipuram what factor actually lured them to switch over
to Islam in spite of the great reform in Hinduism? It is crystal clear that in the
aforementioned cases conversion proved to be nothing but an outward expression
of their social protest or an act of revolt against the society in which the converts
were born and brought up. It was nothing but an answer to the search of the
depressed for self dignity and freedom from the oppressive caste system of the
Hindu society. Hence denouncing the missionaries and belittling their intentions
would not be appreciable on the part of any civilised community of any nation.
71.

Mani Shankar Aiyar , Mission of Hate , Arun Shourie and the Christian Evangelists , Sunday,
26thJune, 1994.

72.

Kushwant Singh, Eating Missionaries, The Week, 12th June, 1994.

248

Undeniably the missionaries committed a blunder of westernising their new

converts through western names, dress and even western habits of eating etc.
Perhaps this impact might have been due to the close contact the converts had with
the missionaries. Unfortunately in due course the converts began to assume airs of
superiority and started condemning their traditional heritage. Their affected
dignity was enough to create a mistaken identity for the converts in the public
mind.73 Even the Kallars began to misconstrue the best intentions of the
missionaries who strained their every nerve to transform their lives for the
betterment and drifted away from Christianity.
To make matters worse the best of the Kallar congregations started
leaving their villages to urban areas so as to keep themselves away from their
unsaved brethren. This had a telling effect on those who had some justification or
the other for their positive aversion to Christianity. Hence attempts were made to
thwart every kind of missionary activity. Street preaching was disturbed and
broken up in some cases. Christian preachers were even molested.74
Perhaps the resurgence of Hinduism which was thus closely bound
up with the Nationalist movement might have begun to dominate the outlook of
the Kallars towards Christianity. The Kallars were accused of betraying their
country, their ancestors and their own caste and of stooping down to the level of
73. Kesari N.Sahay, Christianity and Culture Change in India, Inter-India Publications, New Delhi,
1986, p. 23.
74. Hugald Grafe, Op. cit., p. 162.

249

the depressed classes. Most probably many Kallars who showed positive signs of
becoming Christians might have given up that idea and drifted away from
Christianity and there by rendering the missionary slogan Kallar Nad for Christ
by 1925 only a dream. Perhaps the thought that such a big and valiant community
should not be lost to Hinduism, might have forced some Hindu officials to take
some drastic steps to contain the spread of Christianity.75 One among the steps was
wresting away the Kallar schools from the hands of the missions and placing them
directly under the control of the Government.76 Obviously this might have forced
many Kallars who were oscillating to return to Hinduism and consequently a
reduction in the number of converts.
Moreover a continuous effort was going on to engulf the Kallars in to
the Hindu fold through various efforts of Sanskritization with all the help of the
Government and Brahmin organisations. Further the Kallars proved to be the
backbones of the Self-Respect Movement and became prominent political leaders
in all Dravidian and Communist parties which opposed all religious activities.
Thus the missionaries met with so many hurdles in the form of Hindu revivalism,
communism and pessimism. Naturally the gospel work underwent a sluggish and
unproductive period. Hence despite the zeal and zest of the missionaries, their

75. G.J.R. Athistam, Op. cit., p. 26.

76. J.J. Banninga, Notes on the History of the AMM Since its Seventy Fifth Anniversary in 1909, Boston,
1944, p. 167.

250

efforts were not crowned with any grand success and the condition of the then
existing churches among the Kallars was neither cold nor hot.

Modern Missionary period

With the devolution of powers and responsibility of the missions to the
Indian churches and the Christian community by the foreign missions, the Indian
churches became self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating. Besides the
Church of South India (CSI), the Roman Catholic Church (RC) and the Tamil Evangelical
Lutheran Church (TELC), many modern indigenous organisations such as the Church
Growth Missionary Movement (CGMM), India Church Growth Mission (ICGM), and
many Pentecostal Missions such as Ceylon Pentecostal Mission (CPM), Indian
Pentecostal church (IPC), Assemblies of God, (AG), Maranatha, Zion church, Laymans
Evangelical Fellowship and Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) have taken up the
responsibility of evangelism among these Kallars as a continuation of western missionary
efforts. While the missionaries had education and social service as means of evangelism,
these organisations concentrate only on the preaching of Gospel in which process even
lay people are involved.

Pentecostal Ministry77
As far as the Pentecostal ministry is concerned, to begin with a
branch work in the form of Sunday class for children is started. Then a house is

77. Personal interview with pastor P. Prabhakar, aged 40, a Piramalai Kallar and Dean of the Students,
A.G. Seminary, Kalavasal, Madurai, on 6th May, 2006, at Madurai.

251

prepared for prayer wherein the sick and the needy are called over for prayer. The
Sunday Class Ministry gradually grows into a Sunday Service. Depending on the
number of believers, a branch church is established in a hired place for Sunday
service and an assistant pastor is appointed. With the increase in the number of
believers a regular church is born. Through personal evangelism, street preaching,
Gospel meetings and Deliverance and Healing crusade, (since it is vital for a
Kallar to see Jesus power as a God of deliverance) the Gospel work is carried on.

Missionary Organisations
A missionary movement called Madurai Missionary Movement got
split in to two organisations - CGMM and ICGM which carry on evangelisation
among the Kallars.

CGMM
The Church Growth Missionary Movement was founded by Rev.
Bose Meiyappan at Madurai. Originally the aim of this ministry was to preach
gospel in Madurai district. But in due course, their work got extended not only
outside Madurai district but also to other states. Hence their ministerial base
among the Kallars was confined to two places within the Usilampatti taluk
Vaalandur and Kannanur. Consequently their work among this community is
limited.

252

I CG M 7 8
India Church Growth Mission, founded by Rev. Gnanaiah in 1980 at
Madurai concentrates much on this community. It proves to be very successful
since its founder as well as majority of the staff - 128 out of 205 - belong to this
community. Perhaps communal affinity is acting as the driving force among these
people. Because invariably evangelists belonging to their community are welcome
heartily and listened to attentively. As far as their ministry is concerned they at
first find out the receptive area and follow up work is done leading people to take
decision. Gospel is preached through Bible stories, Biblical films and testimony of
converts. Through house to house evangelisation, they carry on personal
evangelism. In the receptive villages, open air meetings are conducted in the
evenings. After finding out responses through an altar call a core group is formed
and these possible converts are followed up regularly and systematically by a field
worker. When the number of believers swells to 15-20 they are all baptised and a
regular congregation is formed. Sunday worship is conducted either in a house or
under a tree or in the local school. When they are sure of the on going growth of
the congregation, a church is built in the village and a pastor is appointed to guide
them in the Biblical path. The best of the new converts are trained to be soulwinners. They also carry on many programmes such as Bible study, womens
fellowship, village church conventions, fasting prayer and elders' meeting. They also cater to
the earthly need of the believers with the help of World Vision of India.
78. Personal interview with Rev. Titus Kadappaichamy, aged 45, General Secretary, ICGM, Madurai, on
5th May, 2006, at Madurai.

253

Through the sponsorship of that organisation nearly 2000 Kallar children have
been educated and many developmental projects are carried on under Usilampatti
Rural Development project such as sinking of bore-wells, provision for drinking
water facilities, providing loans for self employment etc. during their plan period
of 1988-2007. This project has gone a long way among the Kallars to enable them
to repose their confidence in this mission and to reduce opposition to ministry.
According to their statistics there are 300 Christian families of the
Kallars in Usilampatti and Thirumangalam taluks put together and CGMM has
successfully established 22 churches in Usilampatti taluk and 7 churches in
Thirumangalam taluk.
Thus the spread of Christianity among the Piramalai Kallars is an on-going
process.

254

Early Missionary Organisations Service in Years

Sl. No.
1

Name of the Mission

Years

Roman Catholic Mission (From The Year 1700)

300

American Madura Mission

2

172
(From the Year 1834)
Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church

72
(From the Year 1928)

The
Organisations
Service
in Years
Among
TheEarly
EarlyMissionary
Missionary organisation's
Service
in Years
among
the the
PiramalaiKallars
Kallars
Piramalai
300
300
250

Years
Years

Years

172

200
150
100

72
50
0
Years

Roman Catholic Mission

(From The Year 1700)

American Madura
Mission
(From the Year 1834)

Churches

Churches

255

Tamil Evangelical
Lutheran Church
(From the Year 1928)

The number of Kallar Christians in the Churches

Sl. No.

No. of Piramalai

Name of the Mission

Kallar Christians
1

Roman Catholic Mission

2752

American Madura Mission

2

3980
(From the Year 1834)

Church of Sweden of 1874

1536

The number of Piramalai Kallar Christians in the Churches

4500
3980

4000
3500

Numbers
Numbers

3000

No. of Piramalai Kallar Christians

2752

2500
2000
1536
1500
1000
500
0
Roman Catholic
Mission

American Madura
Church of Sweden of
Mission
1874
(From the Year 1834)
Name of Mission

Name of Missions

256

Total Number of Churches Among Piramalai Kallars

Sl. No.

Name of the Mission

Usilampatti Thirumangalam

Roman Catholic Mission

1

12

16

(from The Year 1700)

American Madura Mission
2
(From the Year 1834)
Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church
3
(From the Year 1928)

Total Number of Churches Among Piramalai Kallars

18
16
16

Numbers
Numbers

14

Usilampatti
Thirumangalam

12
12
10

8
8

7
6

6
4
2
0
Roman Catholic Mission
(from The Year 1700)

American Madura Mission

(From the Year 1834)
Branches

Branches

257

Tamil Evangelical Lutheran

Church
(From the Year 1928)

The Modern Missionary Organisations service

in Years Among the Piramalai Kallars

Sl. No.

Name of the Church

Years

The Pentecostal Mission

61

Assemblies of God

42

Maranatha

35

Layman's Evangelical Fellowship

28

Seventh Day Adventist

26

Indian Church Growth Mission

26

Zion Church

19

Belivers Prayer Fellowship

13

The Modern Missionary Organisations' Service in Years Among the Piramalai Kallars
13
19
The Pentecostal Mission

61

Assemblies of God
26

Maranatha
Layman's Evangelical
Fellowship
Seventh Day Adventist

26
42

Indian Church Growth

Mission
Zion Church
Belivers Prayer
Fellowship

28
35

258

CHAPTER VII

CONCLUSION

253

CHAPTER -VII

CONCLUSION
The Kallars, who form the primary unit in the jati cluster of
Mukkulathor, have played an important part in the history of Tamilnadu. They are
known for their valour, agility, indomitable courage, independent disposition
amounting to truculence and also for the retention of their customs and traditions
unimpaired in almost all spheres to the maximum extent possible.
In fact the very nature of their profession as a corps of
reconnaissance and harassment made them very tough and they took pride in their
dash and dexterity. The then ruling dynasties the Chera, Chola and Pandya made the best
use of them and thus they enjoyed a time-honoured status as vanguards. But
unfortunately the fall of the ruling dynasties spelt doom and the community fell
into evil days. However the Kallars had their own indigenous form of government
and never got along with the successive rulers of Madurai including the British and
no payment of tribute was made to anyone of them. Having fully understood the
amiable nature of the Kallars, Tirumala Nayak kept them in good humour by
granting them royal titles, grants and also granted royal sanction to their position
as kavalkarar an honourable status which entitled the collection of kaval fees.
But the British who always assumed a sense of social superiority did not like to
condescend to the level of identifying themselves with this group. The British

254

Government saw in them a real menace to their authority in Tamil Nadu and was
intent on subduing them either by hook or by crook, the pace of which was further
accelerated by the advent of terrorist nationalism in Indian politics.
The Kallars who were a grand success as killers of enemies proved to
be a total failure as tillers of land. They never evinced interest in agriculture or
trade or industry. Finding it very difficult to make both ends meet, they had a
strong justification for employing their expertise to earn their livelihood as thieves
and dacoits. Hardship, plunder, battle and sudden death became their lot. To add to
their woes the British cut across their very subsistence living by abolishing the
kaval system and thereby rendering the collection of kaval fees illegal. As they
were reduced to abject poverty, the volatile Kallars wantonly indulged in all sorts
of criminal activities in spite of the efficient British police system. This provided
the British Government with the much awaited opportunity to bring them to hooks
by notifying them as 'Criminal Tribes'. The All India Act of Criminal Tribes Act
of 1911 was applied to them which amounted to a real deprivation of freedom and
privilege for the Kallars since it reduced them to the position of a despised
community.
In the mean time, Christianity was making its strides into the
Madurai region. Imbued from infancy with the notion that it was an indignity to
ancestors and an impiety against their traditional gods to accept the faith of the
Westerners, they were highly antagonistic towards Christianity and were very

255

adamant in not accepting it in the beginning. However the pacific attitude of the
missionaries had a profound influence on the Kallars who consequently abstained
from doing them any harm. Nevertheless they were very cautious in not giving
way to Christianity by their indifference and impermeability. In due course the
missionaries through their humane and philanthropic attitude towards the suffering
mankind irrespective of caste, creed or colour were able to win over even the
Kallars. This paved the way for their friendly disposition towards the missionaries.
The Kallars were simple yet mysterious; conservative and
unchanging yet never the same; restless and perturbed yet stolid and indifferent;
worshipping many gods and many devils; more capable, though perverted at times
yet giving promise of exceptional strength perhaps this might have been the
profile of the Kallars in the minds of the Christian missionaries. Conspicuous by
their paradoxical character, they attracted the attention of the missionaries who
were then at work in Madurai. Moved by their frankness, the missionaries were
determined to bring light into their dark lives through an agenda of socio-economic
reforms, combining preaching with teaching and healing.
The three missions connected with the life of the Kallars of Madurai
district were the AMM, the TELC and the CMM. Of the three the AMM had
profound influence on the Kallars and did much for their uplift. The missions,
making education as a tool, were able to impress the people of Madurai in general.
But a large section of the Kallar community kept off from the schools till they

256

realized the importance of modern education. On seeing the advancement of even

the depressed classes whom they held as 'service castes', the Kallars also wanted
their children to lead a risk free and an honourable life. Consequently this led to an
opening to Christianity among the Kallars. Nevertheless conversion was rare and
far in between. A cursory reading of the mission reports reveals the quantum of
effort the missionaries had to put in even to win over a single soul from this
community. However the life of the converted Kallars preached a better sermon to
their neighbours and bore a testimony to their changed life. This went a long way
in making many Kallars long for turning new leaves in their lives too and
consequently Kallar country was waking up educationally.
At this juncture a notification from the Government which branded
the Kallars as criminal tribes stigmatized the pride of their community and caused
them physical and psychological aberration. They felt desperate as a forsaken
community both by men and their gods. In their needy hour the voluntary
identification of the Christian missions in the implementation of the Governmental
measure - the Kallar Reclamation Scheme - which followed the CTA subsequently
paved the way for a better rapport between the Kallars and the missions. Thus CTA
proved to be a definite catalyst for the promotion of Christianity among the Kallars but
not everything. However the benign acts of the missionaries should not be mistaken for
allurement and exploitation since the conversion of the Kallars did not benefit

257

them in any way. In fact the missionaries found in them just the persons for whom
Jesus came to the world to redeem and hence the opportunity was utilized to
suppress the evil and sublimate the best in the Kallars through Gospel. Joining
hands with the panchayats that stood as guarantors for the good behaviour of the
Kallars, the missionaries strained every nerve to implement the reclamation
scheme which aimed at eradicating their perverted traditions and also at the
improvement of their economic condition. This involved matters connected with
land, industry, emigration and education.
Because of their dedication and untiring efforts, the Kallars began to
show a marked tendency to put away their old habits and adopt education and such
other standards of life. Their wilder and freer propensities had been diverted into
athletic and Boy Scout activities which bid fair to wean them away from their
ancestral occupation of thieving. Having tasted values such as self-esteem, selfreliance, honesty, dignity of labour, work culture etc. the Kallars derived peace of
mind and satisfaction. Their life pattern underwent a drastic change. Social evils
such as gambling, polygamy, concubinage, female infanticide etc. disappeared
from the converts. This change for betterment led many Kallars to accept
Christianity through family conversions. Besides education and the CTA, healing
miracles and exorcism also played an important part in leading some to
Christianity. While a few had spiritual motives to obtain God's blessings, some
others had material motives for seeking deliverance from their misery such as free
accommodation in boarding schools, admission into orphanages, preference in jobs

258

etc. In the case of certain others they were attracted by their influential relatives or
leaders who had already become Christians. This welcoming response made the
AMM missionaries dream of winning over the entire Kalla country to Christianity
by 1925.
But things took a different turn. On seeing such a big community
falling out of Hinduism the alarmed Hindu activists reacted positively to revive
Hinduism. Through their frantic efforts they were able to succeed in bringing back
to the Hindu fold many Kallars who were oscillating. To add to it, the departure of
the foreign missionaries from India leaving the mission into the hands of the native
preachers had an adverse effect on the mind set of many converts and hence they
relapsed to Hinduism. In due course the successive generation of the converts
began to deteriorate in their conviction and values. Despite the mushroom growth
of the modern missionary movements who continue to carry on the work left
undone by the missionaries, most of the Kallar Christians of today try to exhibit
the 'Hindu' in them in many ways, thus rendering the mass conversion of the
Kallar community to Christianity a far cry. In the present scenario there is not
much difference between Christian Kallars and Hindu Kallars in their habits and
customs. In fact the Hindu Kallars are very much tolerant and they happily accept
their Christian relatives. Though female infanticide is not openly practiced by the
Christians, the other social evils such as concubinage, consumption of intoxicants,
quarrelsome nature etc. still persist among some Christian Kallars. It should be
admitted that many Hindu Kallars are socially and economically more advanced
than their counter parts.

259

Hence it is crystal clear that the Kallars accepted Christianity neither

for bread and butter nor for liberation from suppression. Conversion to Christianity
was not used as a pretext to escape police surveillance because no where in the
CTA it was stated that Christians would be exempted from registration. If it were
so there would have taken place a mass conversion since there was wholesale
registration. Moreover reclamation scheme was a Governmental project and it did
not necessitate any Kallar to become a convert to get benefited from it. So it must
be admitted that the abundant love of Jesus Christ that found expressions in the
diverse missionary activities brought mental solace and other earthly blessings to
the Kallars. This face of Christianity attracted them towards it. Without any bias it
must be admitted that the Christian missions played a major role in the
transformation of the forsaken community into an honourable one.
The researcher has limited only to the spread of Christianity among
the Kallar community. This is a pioneering attempt to study about a community of
its adherence to the principles of a new religion towards which it had a love-hate
relationship. But this would certainly open the floodgates for more study on the
community. There are certain areas that the researcher has found in the course of
the study for further research. There is lot room for work on the origin of the
community, the connotative inferences of the term Kallar, and too many
misinterpretations, the modern missionary movement, their success among the
Kallars, the mushroom growth of free churches among these people and their
relative success and aspects like these.

260

BIBLIOGRAPHY

261

BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCES
GOVERNMENT ORDERS
G.O. No. 1024, Judicial, dated 4th May, 1914.
G.O. No. 2740, Home, dated 7th December, 1914.
G.O. No. 2233, Judicial, dated 16th September, 1915.
G.O. No. 2273, Home, dated 22nd September, 1915.
G.O. No. 2956, Judicial, dated 2nd December, 1915.
G.O. No. 1465, Public, dated 10th August, 1916.
G.O. No. 1314, Judicial, dated 20th May, 1916.
G.O. No. 1022, Judicial, dated 2nd October, 1916.
G.O. No. 1147, Public, dated 14th June, 1916.
G.O.No.369, Public, dated 28th February, 1916.
G. O. No. 735, Home (Judicial), dated 2nd April, 1917.
G.O. No. 1725, Home (Judicial), dated 18th August, 1917.
G.O. No. 1877, Home (Judicial), dated 7th September, 1917.
G.O. No. 1331 Home (Judicial), dated 5th June, 1918.
G.O. No. 2430 Home (Judicial), dated 3rd April, 1920.
G.O. No. 862 Home (Judicial), dated 26th March, 1920.

262

G.O. No. 1298, Home, dated September 6th, 1921.

G.O. No. 447, Home (Judicial), dated 1st March, 1921.
G.O. No. 596 Law (General), dated 16th June, 1921.
G.O. No. 2683, Law (General), dated 8th November, 1922.
G.O. No. 149, Judicial, dated 27th March, 1923.
G.O.No.541, Judicial, dated 29th October, 1924.
G.O. No. 1936, Law, dated 31st August, 1935.
G.O. No. 3210, Judicial, dated 28th June, 1938.
G.O. No. 3210, Judicial, dated 29th June, 1938.
G.O. No. 292, Home, dated 19th October, 1942.

GOVERNMENT REPORTS
Note Showing the Settlement of Criminal Tribes in the Madras Presidency Upto
September 1916, Govt. Press, Madras.
Kallar Panchayat Agreement, Govt. Press, 1920.
Administration Report of the I.G. of Police for 1920, Govt. Press, Madras, 1921.
Note for the Collector of Madura, from Moir, T.E., Commissioner of Labour,
dated 18th March, 1921.
Note Showing the Progress of the Criminal Tribes up to January, 1925.
Report on the Administration of Police of the Madras Presidency for 1926,
Govt. Press, Madras, 1927.

263

Report on the Administration of Police of the Madras Presidency for 1927,

Govt. Press, Madras, 1928.
Madras Legislative Assembly Debates (MLAD), 17th April 1947.
Backward Class Commission, Tamil Nadu Pirpattor Nalakkuzhu Arikkai,
Part II, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, 1974.
Administration Report of the Activities of Kallar Reclamation Schemes in
Madurai District 1973 - 1974, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, 1974.
Administration Report of the Kallar Reclamation Work, Madurai and Ramnad.
Brief Notes on the Kallar Reclamation Scheme in Madurai, Collector's Office,
Madurai, 1975.
A Short Note on Kallar Reclamation Scheme in Madurai and Anna Districts,
Kallar Reclamation Office, Madurai, 1993.

GOVERNMENT PROCEEDINGS
Revenue Consultations, Madura Council, Vol. 99, December 6, 1799.
Board of Revenue, Proceedings, 28 December 1801, Vol. 305.
Board of Revenue, Proceedings, 16 March, 1799, Vol. 223.
GAZETTEER
Madras District Gazetteer, Madura, Vol. I, Govt. of Madras, 1906.
Madras District Gazetteer, South Arcot,Vol.I, Madras, 1906.

264

Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series, Madura, Part II, 1908.

Madras District Gazetteers, Madurai, Part I, Govt. of Madras, 1960.
Gazetteer of India, Ramanathapuram District, Govt. of Tamil Nadu 1972.
CENSUS
Census of India, Vol. XIII, Madras, 1891.
Census of India, 1901, Part I, Govt. Press, Madras, 1902.
Census of India, 1961, District Census Hand Book, Madurai, Vol. IX,
Govt. of Madras, 1966.
MANUAL
Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, Vol.I,
Ecclesiastical, 1885.
Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, Vol.I, Public
Instruction Part II, Madras, 1885.
Madras Criminal Tribes Manual, Madras, 1935.
MINUTES
Minutes of the AMM, Resolution 35, January 1921.
Minutes of the AMM, Resolution 60, January 1922.
Minutes of the AMM, Abstract of the Rules of the AMM, May 1885.

265

LETTERS
Missionary Experience or Reports or Letters Feb - May 1855 - Connected
with special Meetings of the Mahratta, Madura and Ceylon Missions of the
ABCFM, Printed at the presses of the Board, Bombay and Madras, 1855.
Edward Chester in his letter to his friends in the U.S.A., dated July 16, 1859,
UTC, Bangalore, Box I, Folder I.
Letter from G.F. Paddison, District Magistrate of Madurai, to the Secretary
to Government Home (Judicial Dept.), through the I.G. of Police, dated 27th
April, 1918, No. R.O.C. 15-B and G/Mgl.
Letter from Dr. Washerburn to Dr. Banninga dated, August 29, 1924, UTC
Archives, Bangalore, Box 2, Folder No. 2.
Letters Written to the Indian Statutory Commission, New Delhi, dated June
12, 1928, p. 2 (UTC Archives, Bangalore, Box - 2, Folder No. 11)
Letter from West Lake, A.R.C., District Magistrate of Madurai, to the
Secretary to Govt. Home Dept., dated 5th November, 1937, Ref. No. M. 1892 / 37-C-1.
THE MISSIONARY HERALD
The Missionary Herald for 1840.
The Missionary Herald for 1844.
The Missionary Herald for 1846.
The Missionary Herald for 1922.
The Missionary Herald, for 1923.
The Missionary Herald for 1925.
266

CARITAS
Extracts from the Diary of Fr. Jean, A., Caritas, March 1942.
A Hundred Years Ago, Caritas, November 1942.
Clement Montaud, Kallarnad Usilampatti, Caritas, March 1943.
Extracts from the Diary of Fr. J.B. Trincal, dated February, 1871,
Caritas, July 1974.
The New Madura Mission Caritas, July 1977.
Fr. Clement Montaud (1894 - 1981), Caritas, January 1981.
ANNUAL REPORTS
Annual report of the AMM for 1856.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1869.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1878.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1892.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1893.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1894.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1898.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1899.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1900.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1901.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1903.
267

Annual Report of the AMM for 1904.

Annual Report of the AMM for 1906.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1907.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1910.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1913.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1917.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1918.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1921.
Annual Report of the AMM for 1922.
ABCFM Report for the year 1834, Boston, 1835.
Notes by Scott - 11- 8 (b) dated 12th January, 1915.
PETITION / TELEGRAM
Petition from Sivanandi Tevan and others, residents of Mela Urappanur,
Thirumangalam taluk, Madurai district, through their counsel George
Joseph, Madurai, to His Excellency, the Governor-in-Council, Fort. St.
George, Madras, dated 20th November, 1915.
Telegram from M.R. Ry. Sivanandi to the Honourable Rao Bahadur
P. Kesava Pillai, Tirumangalam, dated 25th November, 1915.

268

PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
Personal interview with Prof. M. Namasivayam, age around 55, a Piramalai
Kallar, Librarian, T.N. State Archives Library, on 20th February, 2006, at Chennai.
Personal interview with Mr. George Virumandi, aged around 65, a
Piramalai Kallar, on 4th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal Interview with Mrs. Soundari Mani, aged 50, a Teacher of a
Middle School at Nagamalai Pudukkottai, on 4th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Mr.Mani aged 55, on 5th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Rev. Titus Kadappaichamy aged 45, General
Secretary, ICGM, Madurai, on 5th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with pastor P. Prabhakar aged 40, a Piramalai Kallar,
Dean of the Students, A.G. Seminary, Kalavasal Madurai, on 6th May, 2006, at
Madurai.
Personal Interview with Mr. Chinnasamy Thevar, aged 65, a retired teacher,
on 8th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Manoharan aged 70, who worked
among the Kallars in Usilampatti for more than ten years, on 10th May,
2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Manoharan, on 12th May, 2006 at Madurai.
.

Personal interview with Mr. Chinnasamy Thevar, on 12th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal Interview with the Rev. Dr. D. Chellappa, an Octogenerian, who

269

is formerly the principal of P.M.T. College, Usilampatti and a present day

preacher, on 17th May, 2006, at Thanjavur.
Personal Interview with Mr. Chinnasamy Thevar, on 18th May 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Mr.Mathuram, aged 57, a Piramalai Kallar and the
Correspondent of the Teacher Training School, Usilampatti, on 20th May,
2006, at Usilampatti.
Personal interview with Mrs. Annie Vinoth aged 30, on 21st May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Mrs. Mary Kalavathi aged 63, a Rtd. Staff Nurse of
the Mission Hospital, on 22nd May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Miss Krenappu Kalarani aged 50, H.M. of the
TELC Hr. Sec. School for Girls, Usilampatti, on 22nd May, 2006, at
Usilampatti.
Personal interview with Rev. Daniel Duraisamy aged 85, on 22nd May,
2006, at Usilampatti.
Personal Interview with Mrs. Stella Sathiya Seelan, a Piramalai Kallar, aged 60, a retired
H.M. of a Govt. Hr.Sec.School, on 23rd May 2006, at Madurai.
Personal Interview with Mrs. Regina Jebaraj, aged 56, a Piramalai Kallar
and a retired Teacher, on 23rd May,2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Mrs. Kanagavalli Asirvatham aged 65, a Piramalai
Kallar and a retired H.M. of the TELC Hr. Sec. School for Girls,
Usilampatti, on 26th May, 2006, at Madurai.
Personal interview with Mrs. Kamala Rosalind, aged 70, a Piramalai Kallar
270

and a Rtd. teacher, on 27th May, 2006, at Thirumangalam.

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NEWS PAPERS
The Hindu, Madurai, dated 25th November , 1915.
Hindu Nesan, Madras, dated 24th April, 1916.
The Hindu, dated 29th November, 1920.
Desa Bhaktan, Madras, MNNR, dated 26th April, 1921.
Swadesamitran, MNNR, Madras, dated 6th June, 1921.
Madras Mail dated 6th June, 1926.
The Week, June 12, 1994.
Sunday 26th June, 1994.
The Hindu, dated 6th May,1988.
Dhina Thanthi (Tamil), Madurai , dated 3rd December, 2002.

282

SOUVENIR
Commemorative Volume on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the
New Madura Mission, 1838-1988, Satya Nilayam, Anand, 1988.
The Second Madura Mission A General Survey, Jubilee Memorial Volume,
Madurai, 1988.
Jesuit Madurai Province 1952 2002. Golden Jubilee Volume, Souvenir.
Silver Jubilee Volume 1978 - 2003 St. Antony Maria Claret Parish,
Karumathur, 2003.
JOURNAL
Baago, Kaj, "Stephen Neill's Colonialism and Christian Missions," Book
Review, ICHR, Vol. I, No.2, Dec. 1967.
Blackburn, S.H., The Kallars: A Tamil Criminal Tribe - Reconsidered.
Journal of South Asian studies, vol. I, March, 1976.
Flora

Gnanamanickam,

My

Experiences

at

Usilampatti,

Arunodhayam,(Tamil) a Christian Journal, Christmas Issue, January 1958.

Gulliford, H., The Future of Churches and Missions in India, The
International Review of Missions, Vol. XXVI, No. 103, London, July 1937.
Indian Antiquarry, Vol. III, The Journal of Oriental Research, The
Educational societys press, Bombay, 1923.
Jones, J.P., Christian Work at the Madurai Festival, Harvest Field,
Missionary Magazine, III series, Vol. I., Madras, 1890.

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Kaffmann, S.B., A Christian Caste in Hindu Society, Modern Asian

Studies, Vol. XV, April 1981.
Loveluck, E.B., The Kallar Problem, The Police Magazine, Journal for
publicity Bureau, September, 1921.
Paul Thenyan, Missionary consciousness of St. Thomas Christians, Indian
Church History Review, Vol. X, Bangalore, 1989.
Siqueira, T.N., The Secret of Jesuit Education,The New Review vol. XIII,
Calcutta, 1941.
The Madras Catholic Expositor, Vol. IV, No. XII, Feb. 1845.

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