VO Chidambaram Pillai • Ramalingam Pillai • P. Jeevanandham•Arutprakasa Vallalar•Maraimalai Adigal • Dhanraj Pillai
Classification
Regions with significant Population
Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Malaysia
Similar Communities (in Regions)
Mudaliar
Thondai Nadu
Gounder
Languages
Religion
Pillai is a community from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are landowning feudal castes and are a part of the greater Vellalar caste.
Origin of Vellalar
The name Vellalar is derived from two words namely Vellam meaning water in Tamil and alar meaning ruler, management and the term Vellalar means "water management". It is also to be remembered that the word Velanmai means Agriculture in Tamil. Sometimes they are also referred to as Karalar which means "lord of the clouds" in Tamil.
Vellalars of Thondaimandalam who are actually a sub-caste of Saiva Vellalars adopted the title Mudaliar and became Thondaimandala Mudaliars, and the Vellalars in the Chola Nadu adopted the title Chozhia Vellalars, and Vellalars of the Southern districts adopted the title Pillai, and the Vellalars of Kongu Nadu adopted the title Gounder and became Kongu Vellala Gounders.
Sub-castes
Vellala Pillai community comprises castes which use Pillai title predominantly such as
Aarunattu Vellalar
Chera Vellalar
Chozhia Vellalar
Karkarthar
Nanjil Vellalar
Nattampadi Vellalar
Pandya Vellalar
Paiyur kottai Vellalar
Saiva Velallar
Thuluva Vellalar
Veerakodi Vellalar
Distribution
Vellala Pillai are distributed throughout the state of Tamil Nadu. However, they form a significant proportion of population in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Few of these people moved to Kerala as well and is now concentrated in mid Travancore, Kottayam and Idukki districts. During their settlement in Kerala they brought an idol symbolising Devi and is now placed in "Mankombu temple" in Kottayam district.
Famous Vellala Pillais
Historical Personalities
Arunachala Kavi
Nammalvar
Freedom fighters and social leaders
Sardar Vedaratnam, Freedom-fighter famous for Vedaraniam Salt March
Gooty Kesava Pillai (1860–1933), Indian journalist and freedom-fighter. Delegate from Anantapur at the first session of the Indian National Congress.
Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725–1764) Commandant for the British East India Company, later became Administrator for Madurai. Also known as Muhammed Yusuf Khan
V. O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936), famous Indian freedom fighter, the man who first supported a Scheduled Caste sage Swami Sahajaanantha,Founder of first Indigenous Ship Company against British rule.
Jeeva,Communist Leader
L. D. Swamikannu Pillai, Indian astronomer,former Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly
Bureaucrats
Navanethem Pillay, South African Judge, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, a famous minister of Ramnad during the reign of Muthuramalinga Sethupathy
Academicians
Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–1950), Indian mathematician
Dr. Sivathanu Pillai, Head of Defence Research and Development Organisation
Elagu V. Elaguppillai-Scientist
Dr. Harish K Pillai,Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay)Known in academic circles for his contribution to the field of Behavioral Theory of Systems, a fundamentally new approach to the study of Systems.
Tamil literature
Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai, Eminent Tamil poet
