{{Short description|Tamil community}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox caste |caste_name = Agamudayar |languages = Tamil |ethnicity = Tamils |population = 1981-1982: 5 per cent of the Backward Class population of Tamil Nadu<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ambasankar Commission and Backward Classes |first=P. |last=Radhakrishnan |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=24 |issue=23 |date=10 June 1989 |pages=1265–1268 |jstor=4394921}}</ref> | image = Maruthu pandiyar.jpg | caption = The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) |religions=Hinduism |region=Tamil Nadu}}
{{Portal|Tamils|India|Hinduism}} '''Agamudayar''' (otherwise '''Agamudaiyar''', '''Akamudayar''', '''Agamudayan''') are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Das|first1=Biswajit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UBY5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT157|title=Caste, Communication and Power|last2=Majhi|first2=Debendra Prasad|date=2021|page=157|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-91370-90-9|language=en}}</ref> In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the Thevar or Mukkulathor community. According to the anthropologist Zoe E Headley, the three communities (Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar) are the "numerically dominant rural backward castes of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu".<ref>{{cite book |title=A Companion to the Anthropology of India |editor-first=Isabelle |editor-last=Clark-Decès |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-44439-058-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98uLj5FpTHQC&pg=RA3-PA1985 |chapter=Caste and Collective Memory in South Asia |first=Zoe E. |last=Headley |pages=1982, 1985}}</ref> Agamudayars are listed in the National Commission for Backward Classes lists for Tamil Nadu as "Agamudayar”. Mukkulathor is Denotified community and Backward Class community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu |url=https://bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in/bclist.htm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Commission for Backward Classes |url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/user_panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLv+2hza1cVSjGj2lbN6VTmq/WN4CcSyOxTDAvIblVnkv9NFuhO+dz42 |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=www.ncbc.nic.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YDyEAAAQBAJ&dq=Agamudayar+chera&pg=PT39|title=Caste as Social Capital The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society|date=24 July 2023 |publisher=R Vaidyanathan|isbn=978-93-5708-186-3 }}</ref>
==Etymology==
The term ''Agamudayar'' is a Tamil word of "Agam" which means Palace or Land and "Udayar"means Lord or Holder "Palace Chief " or "Land holder".<ref>{{cite book| author = Madras (India : State)|author2= B. S. Baliga| title = Madras District Gazetteers: Salem. by Ramaswami, A| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RRxuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA124| year = 1967| publisher = Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press| page = 124 }}</ref>
== Notable people == <!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> <!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> * T. R. Baalu * T. R. B. Rajaa * P. U. Chinnappa * S. P. Jananathan * Manivannan * Maruthu Pandiyar * Sangili Murugan * S. S. Rajendran * K. Samarasam (Politician) * Soori (actor) * Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar * V. Thiruselvam * A. Veerappan * Pachaiyappa Mudaliar
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agamudayar}} Category:Mukkulathor Category:Indian castes Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu Category:South Indian communities Category:Other Backward Classes