In rural Tamil Nadu, the word ‘colony’ has become a symbol of social stigma and of being associated with a ‘lower caste neighbourhood’. It has continued to be a social marker of ‘untouchability’. Therefore the announcement by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in the Legislative Assembly, on April 29, 2025, that all the village names ending with ‘colony’ and others containing denigrating caste references such as ‘Pallappatti’, ‘Paraiyappatti’, ‘Naavidhan Kulam’, ‘Paraiyan Kulam’, ‘Sakkilippatti’ would be removed from State records, and that such villages would be renamed is significant.
We can reasonably hypothesise that the practice of segregating the toiling masses into isolated settlements away from the quarters of higher castes based on the varnashrama system began sometime around 12th century CE. We began to see literary references supporting this from the 12th century onwards.
The impact in rural Tamil Nadu
Over the centuries, names have cropped up with the intent of conveying in a derogatory manner the lower caste nature of such localities. Names such as Cheri Street, Paraya Street, Palla Street, Scavenger Street, Harijan Colony, Adi Dravidar Colony, Old Colony, New Colony, and Ambedkar Colony evolved. Some argue that ‘colony’ is after all an ‘innocuous’ word, without any ‘caste’ connotation. Hence, dropping the word ‘colony’ from the names of localities is pointless. They cite examples from urban areas such as Railway Colony and Jayendrar Colony which are secular sites that are home to people from all castes and creeds. But the reality in rural Tamil is quite different, where the word ‘colony’ has a totally different import. ‘Colony’ is exclusively used to refer to areas inhabited by lower castes.
Beginning with the Portuguese in the 15th century, followed by the Spanish, the Dutch, the British, the French and the others, all of them set up colonies the world over including the Indian subcontinent. The European colonists also started using the word ‘colony’ to refer to the ‘colonial quarters’ where they lived within their ‘colonised territories’.
Primarily, those were ‘European Colonies’ or ‘White Settlements’. Over the centuries, the usage was extended to refer to residential and housing colonies of all kinds with no connection to the ‘colonial’ enterprise.
In what could be one of the most ironic twists of words acquiring strange meanings, the transformation of the word ‘colony’, from referring to ‘elite colonial spaces’ to that of ‘localities of ostracised, lower caste Indians’, is bizarre and difficult to fathom.
The word ‘colony’ has acquired such social stigma and is a convenient tool to ‘dog whistle’ in rural India. With a person’s residential address being an essential component of all kinds of ‘official documents’ such as the Aadhaar card, ration card, passport, bank passbook, voter id card, and driving licence to name a few, these caste specific settlement names including the ones ending with ‘colony’ immediately ‘reveals’ one’s identity, triggering spontaneous prejudiced reactions, condescending attitudes and biased decisions from social peers and those in positions of authority. The realisation that they are being victimised merely because of belonging to a historically marginalised caste group has a devastating psychological impact on those who are subjected to such an ordeal. It might be quite impossible for anyone to relate to unless they have undergone this first hand. The marginalisation and the discrimination are not merely historical, but an ongoing reality for a significant part of Indian society.
Usage over the centuries
Historically, going back a few centuries, the word ‘chery’ or ‘cherry’ has come to be used to denote settlements of lower castes in Tamil Nadu. By the 20th century, ‘cherry’ and ‘colony’ became synonyms referring to the localities of untouchable castes. However, in ancient Tamil literature, the word ‘chery’ was quite a common word, referring to any settlement where the general public reside, and with no negative connotation.
Tolkappiyam, one of the oldest Tamil compositions available, generally ascribed to the 7th century BCE, mentions ‘chery’. Being a grammar book, it outlines rules for a genre of literature called “Pulan” which can be roughly identified with “Pallu” literature of the 16th century. A ‘Pulan’ literature should be composed of words that are spoken among common people which do not need any ‘research’ or interpretation. Tolkappiyam uses “chery mozhi” as the “language of common people”.
The 18 ancient literary treatises called ‘Patinnemelkanakku’ from the last Tamil academy (roughly belonging to the Fifth century BCE) have copious references to the word ‘chery’. ‘Kurunthokai’, the celebrated ‘Akam’ poetry collection, has six references. All the references use the word ‘chery’ with the meaning of a place everyone in a village lives. There is no evidence of ‘chery’ being used in a demeaning way. The ‘Aha-nanooru’ collection has 15 references to the word ‘Chery’. Silappathikaram, written in the Second century CE, refers to the outskirts of Madurai where Kovalan and Kannaki rested along with the Samana monk, ‘Kavunthi Adigal’, and has ‘puranchery’, which literally means ‘settlement on the outskirts’. The text also mentions that it is the habitation site of ‘Brahmins’.
Emerging between the Sixth and Ninth centuries CE, the social and political impact of the Bhakti movement was more sharply felt later by the Cholas. Grand temple building accelerated at break-neck pace with their ascent. Some gods got sanctified as ‘mainstream’ gods, while others became marginalised. The rise of grand temples brought about a sea change in the way social organisation functioned and how institutions of knowledge production and knowledge dissemination operated. ‘Periya Puranam’ composed by Sekkizhar during the 12th century CE mentions ‘theendachery’, literally meaning ’Untouchable chery’. Villages and towns were partitioned to designate certain areas as ‘untouchable’ quarters. The remnants of these restrictions survive to this day even after the various struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries to abolish them. It was during one of these struggles that ‘Thanthai Periyar’ courted prison in Vaikkom.
Vijayanagar rule followed in the 14th century. Under Madurai, Gingee and Thanjavur Nayakkas, the varnashrama dharma was sought to be implemented with extraordinary brutality during the 14th and 17th centuries, further strengthening the social and physical segregation of communities. Rule by a fragmented polity followed leading to Europeans gaining a firm foothold in Tamil Nadu. On the social front, existing schisms only grew deeper.
Mahatma Gandhi coined the word ‘Harijan’ to refer to untouchable castes. It is ironic that the term coined to symbolically ‘elevate’ their status joined the already rich repertoire of oppressive instruments of humiliation, stigma, exclusion and prejudice. ‘Harijan Colony’ became a ghettoised reference for Dalit settlements.
Iyothee Thass Pandithar urged the adoption of the term ‘Adi-Dravidar’. M.C. Rajah of the Justice Party government in the Madras Presidency, passed a resolution in the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1922 to group all untouchable castes under the category of ‘Adi-Dravidar’ instead of ‘Parayar’ and ‘Panchamar’ communities. However, even the term ‘Adi-Dravidar’ joined the list of dreaded words.
In perspective
Under British rule, there was a regimented method of classifying and documenting everything in official records, which included even derogatory names of lower caste habitations. Words such as ‘cheri’ and ‘colony’ are being used exclusively used to identify Dalit neighbourhoods. Though restricted to rural Tamil Nadu, the government needs to take its administrative move to spearhead positive social change. Places such as ‘Velachery’ or ‘Pondichery’ do not signify any degrading reference and are treated as regular place names meant for everyone. Cities will continue to have area names ending with ‘Colony’ such as ‘Saibaba Colony’. However, references to ‘colony’ and ‘chery’ in rural areas will be removed. Instead, they will have the names of popular flowers or poets or scientists. The names of political leaders will be strictly avoided.
While this is not a welfare scheme announcement, it is a measure taken with a long-term view to encourage positive social change in the endeavour to achieve greater social integration. Only a socially cohesive society can achieve progress and collective prosperity. To that end it is both a ‘symbolic’ and ‘historic’ gesture.
Imayam is a Tamil novelist, currently serving as the Vice-Chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
Published – August 11, 2025 12:16 am IST