Adi Dravida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adi Dravida is term used by the state of Tamil Nadu in India to denote Dalits. It means Original natives or indigenous people of Dravida land . The term was coined by Tamil social activist Periyar Ramasami who worked against casteism and division among the people based on castes.
Being deemed to be outcaste from Hindu society, Adi Dravida castes include Paraiah, Pallar, Chakkili or Arunthathiyar, among others. Many Adi Dravidas have converted to Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
Dravidian refers both to Dravidian languages, a group of languages, and to the Dravidian people, who use them. Dravidian language speaking people are the majority in the southern part of India. It must be noted however, that though the idea of Dravidian languages is widely accepted, the idea of a separate Dravidian race is highly controversial, and has it's greatest political support in the state of Tamil Nadu.
States of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Adi Karnataka and Adi Andhra respectively to denote their official Dalit status.
