Nadar caste
Nadar is one of the South Indian Tamil caste and the term also used to refer to the man belong to that caste.
History
Even though nadars were hardworking, successful, rich community,
in past feudalist caste system considered them as lower cast.
This was due to one of there main occupation was toddy (a kind of liquor) gathering.
The 19th century saw the nadars embracing Christianity in large numbers, and as a consequence broke free of the rigid caste system prevailing in India at that time. Today the distribution of nadars between the two major religions, Hindu and Christian, are 60% and 40% respectively, and marriages between the two groups continue in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. The premium placed on education by the Nadar community resulted in a drastic improvement in the socio-economic landscape of the Nadar community, a distinction reserved to upper classes of India. The nadars community are known for their work mostly on small scale business.
Genetic study
Recent genetic studies on the antigenic variations among south Indian populations suggest nadars to have several genotypic characters shared with East Asian populations consistent with the demographic history of South India and also several unique genetic markers. The study suggested a distinct evolutionary lineage with lesser admixture in the gene pool among groups of Tamilnadu. The gene pool of nadars show more similarity to the East Asian populations (Tissue Antigens. 2003 Dec; 62(6): 542-7), a trend not observed in the Brahmin communities of south Tamilnadu, who are more closely related to the branch of the Indo-European and Central Asian tree (Human Biology 1996, 68(4), 523-37).
Further readingD. Templeman. (1996) The Northern Nadars of Tamil Nadu: An Indian Caste in The Process of Change (February, 1996): New Delhi: Oxford University Press
|
|
