If Uravinmurais are transformed to be strong, one can imagine establishing several aspects and even realising it.

- Pettais to transform into Modern warehouses including cold storages.

- Mini Malihai shops of Nadars (Annachi Kadaihal as called in Chennai) can transform to Modern cooperative supermarkets to take care of competition against corportate retailing that will be gaining strength in the coming years

- Few More Co-perative banks and few industrial establishemnts, in Nadar’s management. ( It is amazing to see a Voltage stabiliser assembly unit functioning within the complex of a Multi speciality Super facility hsopital (giving employment to locals) set up by Kerala based Christian Missionary, where several nadar small/medium enterpises in and around sulakkari industrial estate failed or sturggling to operate.)

- Establishment of new technical and medical, corporate hospitals, old age centres at the Nadar’s initiative. (Nadar’s technical colleges through Uravinmurai has very very minor share or neglible if compared to the no. of engg colleges set throughout the state in the last 2 decades).

- Hindu Nadar business power will be equal or even greater than the Gujarati, Marwari, Jain business community and can do Internation business. Utimately, even consturction of one or two Internation airports in South Tamilnadu can happen soon.

During the bank retrieval one prominent Nadar of Tuticorin commented: ''Suppose a public park is dirty. You find out who donated the land. If you tell the descendants of the donor that the park is dirty, they will take steps to clean it. It's a normal human reaction. The Nadars are coming together because the TMB was started by them.'' SImilarly if Nadars recognise the importance of Uravinmurai management for community supprot was started by their ancestors, then the descendants may volunteer to vitalise its functioning to carry forward perpetually. If this is not forthcoming, it may even happen by the end of this century, that Nadars will be one among the 1000 & odd listed communities of India with no significance attached to their community status.

Extracts from www.nadarsangam.com

Valamkaimaalai, one of the palm-leaf records speaks about their history. . Prior to the northward migration, the bulk of the Shanar population was concentrated in the arid sandy regions or "Teris" of Tiruchendur in Tirunelveli district. The tortures on the Nadars were so inhuman that in the 17th and 19th centuries the Christian Missionaries found a great 'Fishing Field' in the Nadar dominant areas.

The Shanar populace began to move northwards to sell their palmyra- products as well as dried fish and salt. Along their trade routes they established "pettais" or fortified compounds, to protect themselves against thieves and other caste men and also for them to take some rest. There were six primary centers of settlements: Sivakasi, Virudhunagar, Sattankudi, Tirumangalam, Palayampatti and Arupukkotai.

During the early 19th century the Nadar Local Associations or " Uravinmurais" constituted an effective and comprehensive mode of local self-government. They levied and collected a variety of taxes among the Nadars. They made and enforced various laws. Each local association had a number of committees to manage its temples, schools, etc and to conduct festivals and clear disputes among its members.

Dennis Templeman's work on Northern Nadars

DO NADARS NEED TO REVIEW, REFORM AND STRENGTHEN URAVINMURAI SYSTEM

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