Ezhavas and Thiyyas - A Background
Caste related information, external links, notes, and some history
Ezhavas / Thiyyas are the name of a Hindu caste from India's southern state of Kerala. Ezhavas form a majority of the Hindus in Kerala and about 29% of the total population of the state.1 Among the earliest reference to the caste now available online is from 1859.2 The caste was then referred to as the Shunars and equates to Chanars.
In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the equivalent caste is the Ediga while the equivalent endogamous Tulu speaking population are the Billavas.
Empowerment of the Ezhava community has been a slow process. The earliest political statement was the Malayalee memorial, a memorandum with 10,000 signatures, submitted to the Travancore Legislative Council in 1891. Incidentally, the Travancore Legislative Council is the first ever legislative council in an Indian state. The 1891 Malayalee memorial was followed by a 1896 Ezhava memorial, a memorandum with over 13,000 signatures asking for civic rights and access to jobs and facilities for the lower castes.
This site aims to map the Ezhava / Thiyya identity, issues around such identities, and the challenges we face as we move outward and onward.
Read More . . .
:: Who are the Ezhavas?
:: Who is Sree Narayana Guru?
1. http://www.censuskerala.org, 2006
2. New York Times -1859