Fishermen of the coromandel : a social study of the Pravas of the Coromandel

The book is a study of Paravas, a fisherman caste of Coromandel on the Southeastern coast of India and the transformation it has undergone during the period c.1860-1960.

Numbering over 1,25,000, the Paravas are Roman Catholics and besides the Coromandel, are found on the Ramnad coast, and Travancore seaboard and in Sri Lanka. During the period. of the present scrutiny, migrations, improved communication, occupational diversification, urbanization and education influenced changes in ideology and social sentiment which in turn affected the structure of Paravas society. The study reveals how Paravas shifted from corporate solidarity under political, communal and religious leadership to a quest for democratic structure under the aegis of an emerging new elite.

This work commences with a brief overview of Parava perspectives of their ancient past. The next chapter focuses on Portuguese and Dutch times stressing the part played by Christianity and colonial economy in increasing the corporate solidarity of the jati. Then follows a picture of commerce and settlement patterns in Paravas centres in the 19th and 20th centuries and the significant alterations therein caused by British measuresn Ceyilon and India.