| Agamudayar | |
|---|---|
![]() The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu)  | |
| Kuladevta (male) | Muthaiyah [ karuppasamy] , 18m padi karuppasamy, Andavar [ Iyanar samy] | 
| Religions | Tamil religion | 
| Languages | Tamil | 
| Region | Tamil Nadu | 
| Ethnicity | Tamils | 
| Population | 1981-1982: 5 per cent of the Backward Class population of Tamil Nadu[1] | 
Agamudayar (otherwise Agamudaiyar, Akamudayar, Agamudayan) are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[2] 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 " Dominant rural backward castes of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu".[3] Agamudayars are listed in the national commission of backward caste lists for Tamil Nadu.[4]
Etymology
The term Agamudayar is derived from a Tamil word 'Agambadi' meaning "guard".[5]
Demographics
They are concentrated in Villupuram, Tiruvanamalai,Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam, Madurai, Tirunelveli Thoothukudi and Pudukkottai districts.
Titles of Agamudayar
- Thevar
 - Servai
 
Notable people
- Vijaya Bhaskar
 - S. S. Chandran
 - P. U. Chinnappa
 - Dhivyadharshini
 - V. L. Ethiraj
 - S. P. Jananathan
 - Karunas
 - Kovi Manisekaran
 - A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar
 - Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
 - C. Natesa Mudaliar
 - Pachaiyappa Mudaliar
 - V. M. Muralidharan
 - Sangili Murugan
 - Maruthu Pandiyar
 - S. S. Rajendran
 - V. Ravichandran
 - K. S. Ravikumar
 - P. U. Shanmugam
 - Simbuthevan
 - Thengai Srinivasan
 - Kalaipuli S. Thanu
 - Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar
 - V. Thiruselvam
 - Vasanthabalan
 - Vivek
 
References
- ↑ Radhakrishnan, P. (10 June 1989). "Ambasankar Commission and Backward Classes". Economic and Political Weekly. 24 (23): 1265–1268. JSTOR 4394921.
 - ↑ Das, Biswajit; Majhi, Debendra Prasad (2021). Caste, Communication and Power. SAGE Publishing India. p. 157. ISBN 978-93-91370-90-9.
 - ↑ Headley, Zoe E. (2011). "Caste and Collective Memory in South Asia". In Clark-Decès, Isabelle (ed.). A Companion to the Anthropology of India. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1982, 1985. ISBN 978-1-44439-058-2.
 - ↑ "National Commission for Backward Classes". www.ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
 - ↑ Madras (India : State); B. S. Baliga (1967). Madras District Gazetteers: Salem. by Ramaswami, A. Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. p. 124.
 
