Arunthathiyar are one of the most marginalized social groups or castes from Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 and ri LankakopkopkopkopkopAlong with Pallar

Pallar

The Pallar are a caste from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are mostly agriculturalists in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and amongst the Tamil diaspora...

 and Parayar, they form the largest Dalit

Dalit

Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...

 group. The Indian census of 2001 reported the Arunthathiyar population to be 15,00,000 (pdf)

Primary function

At some point in history, a class of people who were soldiers and military commanders were forced into submission of menial labor due to political and social change. This resulted in this community’s devolution to the low caste status it has today. This is well reflected in the number of freedom fighters that this community produced in the pre Indian independence era. While there are several similar castes across India, this seems to be the only community that has its origins in the warrior class. The most notable are Chamars, Jhatia, Mathigas, Chandala

Chandala

Chandala is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, formerly considered untouchables. Currently it is a term used specifically in Indo-Aryan speaking regions of India. Sandala has become a swear word in the colloquial usage of the Tamil language...

 and those of North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

. At present the Arunthathiyar fall into the class of Dalits in the Indian communal structure. The place of residence of arunthathiyar (sakkiliar) is said to be "palayam" which litterally means the place of army who did the kavalgars job. The below article explains the supreme bravery and the systematic suppression metted out to this community.

http://princelystatesofindia.com/Polegars/polegars.html

Spread to Modern Urban indian Cities

With the migration of many rural workers to urban areas, the landscape of urban cities has changed. The Arunthathiyar have taken a prominent role into labor supply of the construction industry in the rapidly ever changing urban cities of south India.

Sakkili as a derogotary term

Sakkili is a term used by certain Flame Warriors from Sri Lanka, partisan to the Sinhalese

Sinhalese people

The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...

 nationalistic cause in the current civil war

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

 to describe all Sri Lankan Tamils (native) and has been noted by sociologists. This is a racist term and a very offensive term in Sri Lanka. Information provided is wrong here and there's no reference. Remove.

Due to the negative connotation associated with this word the community has changed it name to Arunthathiyar using Sanskritisation

Sanskritisation

Sanskritization or Sanskritisation is a particular form of social change found in India and Nepal. It denotes the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes. It is a process similar to...

 myths of origin from a daughter of a mythical Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 sage named Arundati.

See also

• Madiga
  Madiga
  Madiga is a social group or caste group of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharastra etc. found almost in all Indian states with different names. The people belonging to this community are most oppressed and exploited in the society. The term Madiga is derived from Sanskrit word Maha-Adiga which can be...
  
   an Andhra Pradesh
  Andhra Pradesh
  Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
  
   caste associated with Sakkiliar
• List of Arunthathiyar
• Aathi Thamilar Peravai
• Athiyamaan