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The Vanniyar, formerly known as the Palli, are a community or jāti found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The Vanniyars were historically considered a lower caste, although some were peasant-warriors in the 14th century. The Palli along with Paraiyar were also the traditional agricultural laborers and sometimes as serfs of the society.
Other etymologies include derivation from the Dravidian val ("strength"), or the Sanskrit or Pali vana ("forest"). The term Palli is widely used to describe them, but is considered to be derogatory.
Burton Stein is one of several writers who have described the Vanniyars as "peasant-warriors" in the 14th century, by which time they had risen to "local prominence" in some areas as the Sambuvaraya chiefs. Researchers Lloyd Rudolph and Susanne Rudolph note that as early as in 1833, the Vanniyar had ceased to accept their "low caste" status, also described as being Shudra by Kathleen Gough and others. Gough, however, documenting her fieldwork of 1951–53, records the Palli and the Vanniyar as separate but similar cultivating castes. Regarding Pallis of Pondicherry, J. B. Prashant More noted, "they seem to take pleasure in considering themselves as belonging to higher castes, though they have been classified traditionally among the eighteen lower castes."
According to Hiltebeitel, whilst the mythological claims of origin from the fire lend credence to their demand for being deemed as Kshatriyas, the claims to military origins and Kshatriya identity did not solely rely on myths. He notes that they had historically adopted various titles and terms that signified a self-image of Kshatriya status, including the Vanniyar name itself, and that
The caste has also been significant in the practices relating to worship of Draupati Amman, together with the Konars and Vellalar , and quite possibly were the instigators of it, with the other two communities being later adopters. The Vanniyar practice of polyandry was perhaps related to their adoption of the cult.
In addition to domestic slavery, there were a number of agricultural labour relationships. According to Ravi Ahuja, Paraiyar or Vanniyar farmhands sometimes called were collectively bound to their home village soil. Vanniyar mobility was severely restricted but the powers exercised by their masters were also limited – such slaves could not be expelled or transferred to another village, even if the masters left the region themselves. Dharma Kumar argues that the term slavery does not adequately describe the many forms of bondage existing within the traditional agrarian society. Caste involved a number of slavery-like criteria, such as restriction of freedom, forced labour and ownership.
Most Vanniyars remain either marginal farmers cultivating small areas of land or landless labourers. However, it was reported in 2003 that they were being hurt significantly by the rising debt crisis engulfing Tamil Nadu agriculture, and many now worked as day labourers in Bangalore and Chennai.
Due to their population size and concentration, the Vanniyars wield significant political clout in northern Tamil Nadu. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is a political party formed by S. Ramadoss from the Vanniyar Sangam, a caste association. It has been known on occasion for its violent protests against and draws its support base from Vanniyars. The Vanniyars, who previously were of the Backward Class category, were re-designated as a Most Backward Caste after successful agitations by them in the 1980s intended to unlock more favourable education and employment entitlements from the state government under its reservation system. In 2020, the PMK launched an agitation to obtain a 20% reservation entitlement for Vanniyars and forced the Tamil Nadu government to institute a caste census.
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