Vellala Mudaliar

Vellala Mudaliars
are a community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are land-owning feudal castes and are a part of the Vellalar caste.
Origin of Vellalar
The name Vellalar is derived from two words namely Vellam meaning flood in Tamil and alar meaning ruler or controller. Thus Vellalar means "controller of floods". The word Velanmai means agriculture in Tamil. Sometimes they are also referred to as Karalar which means "lord of the clouds" in Tamil.
Sub-castes
The Vellala Mudaliar community comprises castes which use the Mudaliar title predominantly, such as
* Saiva Vellalar
* Thondaimandala Kondaikatti Vellalar
The following is a detailed list of Vellalar sub-castes using the Mudaliar title distributed throughout the state of Tamil Nadu:
They otherwise use the caste title Pillai if they do not use the Mudaliar title.
Distribution
Vellala Mudaliars are distributed throughout the state of Tamil Nadu. However, they form a significant proportion of population in the districts of Thondaimandalam. Vellala Mudaliars also form a sizeable population in the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
Famous Vellala Mudaliars
Historical personalities
Nayanmars (Shaivite saints)
*Thirunavukkarusu Nayanar
*Kotpuli Nayanar
*Ilayankudi maranar
*Manakkanychaara Nayanar
*Viralminda Nayanar
Poets
*Andhaka Kavi Vira Raghava Mudaliar: A great poet of the 16th century
Ministers
*Sekkizhar:Minister in the Chola dynasty and author of Periapuranam
*Ambi Aramvalartha Mudaliar: Reputed minister during the reign of Krishnadevaraya
*Ariyanatha Mudaliar: Vellala Dalavoy of the Vijayanagar viceroy Viswanatha Nayaka
Modern personalities
Politics
*M. Bhakthavatchalam: Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu & Congress Leader.
*P. Shanmugam: Former Chief Minister of Pondicherry State and present State Congress Chief.
*O. V. Alagesan: Former Union Minister of India.
*V R Nedunchezhiyan: Former Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu and former interim Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
*K Anbazhagan: Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK Leader.
*Sir P T Rajan: Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Leader Justice Party.
*PTR Palanivel Rajan: Formerly Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly, Endowment Minister.
*Jayanthi Natarajan:Former MP from Indian National Congress party
*Ponnambalam Ramanathan: A former Solicitor-General and Tamil political leader in Sri Lanka.
*Ponnambalam Arunachalam: A Tamil political leader in Ceylon and a member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council.
Civil Service and judiciary
*S. Muthiah Mudaliar: A renowned high-court lawyer and politician, Justice party.
Business
* M.B.Nirmal: Social activist and founder of Exnora International Organizations
Sports
* Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, tennis player, grandson of V R Nedunchezhiyan

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