Social Movements in Nineteenth Century South Tamil Nadu

In modern Tamil Nadu social protest and anti-caste movements are always attributed to the Dravidian Movement and E.V.R. Periyar. The individuals and organisations who earlier earlier played an active part in challenging the odious system of caste and practice of social discrimination hardly find a place in the public discourse. Collective actions without a charismatic leader have often been dismissed. Nadars, called Shanars too, as social groups conducted social movements in southern parts of Tamil Nadu, even before the birth of the Dravidian Movement and Periyar. Their first form of subaltern protest was the embrace of Christianity. This conversion helped them access English education and benefit from the resultant empowerment. The contribution of European Christian missionaries to this phenomenon was praiseworthy. Those who did not opt for conversion entered petty trades and business and earned an independent livelihood. They won the trust and good will of the European mercantile class, under whose patronage they took to cultivation of cash crops and stock-broking of cotton and tobacco and prospered economically. Their improved standard of living fuelled the cultural mood of rising expectations. How Nadars as a subaltern group in the then prevailing social environment articulated their aspirations and challenged the social structure is discussed and analysed in this essay.