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The Pallar is a caste from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pallar are mostly agriculturalists in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Kerala.Most of them are still involved as agricultural labourers. They are spread across the Tamil diaspora demographic and densely populated in southern parts of Tamil Nadu. The Pallar are distributed mostly in the districts of Thanjavur, Madurai and Ramanathapuram and, as of 2001, numbered around 2.2 million.〔http://www.ias.ac.in/jgenet/Vol87No2/171.pdf〕 == Origin and name == The name of the caste has previously been spelled as ''Pallan'', however some caste members replaced the Tamil non-honorific terminal-"n" with an honorific "r", resulting in the name ''Pallar''; The ''Pallar'' name may be derived from ''pallam'', which means a pit or low-lying area. This aligns with their traditional occupation of cultivators of the low wetlands. However, there is literary evidence that suggests that pallars are farmers who produced large quantities of food grains.and they were traditional farmers.〔 The change of name from Mallar to Pallar is thought to have been imposed upon them after the decline of the rule, when the leaders (nayaks) of competing tribes wanted to suggest a degradation in status. Some Pallars today prefer the ''Mallar'' name due to their belief that ''Pallar'' is a derogatory term.〔 The ancient people were described as farmers. The leader of the group, called the ''vendan'' (Indran) was later called the god of their land. Nowadays, community members prefer to refer to themselves as ''Devendra Kula Vellalar'', a name connoting they were created by the god Devendra. In support of a name-change to DKV, Pallars have undertaken hunger strikes and rallies. In January 2011, the government of Tamil Nadu appointed a one-man commission to consider this latest change mainly for their votes.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pallar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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