Naicker or Naidu?

My father had the caste name Naicker affixed to his name, as did most uncles and grand pas; and perhaps
all their ancestors.There was a tendency among the educated youngsters to change it to Naidu. It seemed socially more acceptable.However,they themselves did not affix either naidu or naicker to their own names,keeping  with the trend among all youngsters,whatever caste they belonged to.

We are kammas,a community found in Andhra and the districts of Virudhunagar,Thirunelveli,Coimbatore and
Vellore mostly.When confronted by this question,'Are we Naidu or Naicker?',I always brushed it off 'what does it matter?'And then it occurred to me that I should  find out as a responsible member of the community,and pass it on.This is what I found.

'Nayaka' in Sanskrit means a leader;:it was a title conferred on military chiefs, coveted and assumed by many in course of time.(There can't have been clans of leaders!If every one was to lead,who was to follow?)
The word underwent a mutation in the Tamil and Telugu speaking regions,depending on the more influential
factors prevailing in the region.In the regions,where Telugu was more prone to assimilation from Tamil,Nayaka took on the -er/-ar suffix,as seen in chettiar, kaundar,and mudhaliar,and became Naicker.
In regions where Telugu features were more influential 'Nayaka'became Nayakadu and later lost a syllable
to become Naidu.

Whichever title we don on,we share it with other communities. Naicker is a title by which the Rajakambalathar,Thottia Naicker,kattu Naicker and Vanniar are also known(the latter are Tamils from the northern districts)Naidu is a title by which kapu,velama,balija and gavara communities are also known.So,there really is no answer to 'are we naidus or naickers?'Suffice it to say we are kammas.

Kammas are also known as Rao and chaudhry in Andhra.But then brahmins,reddys and Mudaliars are also known as raos in Andhra and Karnataka. And there are Chaudhrys in Bengal too. Chauth is tax or toll;.a chaudhry is a tax collector-a middle level official perhaps.

Whatever our title signifies,we come from a respectable stock of land owners,kshathriyas and administrators and not peasants as the Sahithya Academy Award winning Venkatesan will have us believe!!.