Migration of Rajus-Truths and half truths
True-The Raju community are a martial race and are kshathriyas: and a certain clan among them is an off-shoot of a family from a dynasty.But so are a half dozen other communities;
The army today is not caste specific;Yet is more popular among certain communities than others-with this difference from the armies of erst-while rulers:When there was a war,every body fought-the casteless madigas were legendary in their valour. What differentiates the kshathriyas from the madigas was their right to rule,and establish dynasties.Here again,there have been dynasties established by so many communities-kammas,velamas yadavs and reddys-from among the Telugu speaking regions in Andhra.But none of them have distinguished themselves with an obsessive desire to identify themselves as the ruling class-not even the dynastic rulers whom the Rajus served!
Dynasties are in a constant flux,established and dissolved through intrigues in court,claims
to the throne by the next in line,or the commander of a weak king!That is how Vijayanagar
came to be ruled by four dynasties,Sangama,Saluva,Thuluva and Aravidu. Rajapalayam Rajus do not come from any of these dynasties.The Rajus from Rayalseema-the Ananthapur district that was part of the earlier Western Chalukyas must have served in the Vijayanagar army and after the war of Thalikotta moved south,looking for opportunities in the Madurai Nayak kingdom,that was already served by the military establishments of the 72 palayams. The Rajus must have served these palayams and enjoyed their patronage through land grants,as can be seen in their land holdings in these areas. Rajapalyam was never an independent military settlement,did not contribute to any wars with the Nawabs or the British! In fact, it did not exist then.It came into existence much later as a settlement of refugees who ventured into agriculture,through the patronage and munificence of the Polygers from Theni,Devaram to Thirunelveli and Kollam. The settlement came to be called as Palaya Palayam,when a fresh wave of migrants from the east of the Telugu kingdom,settled in Pudhu Palayam.
In wars,the loser negotiated peace with the victorious,in several ways-becoming a vassal,paying obeissance symbolically and in annual tax financially, was one.Another was establishing a relationship- trading away a daughter in marriage in exchange for peace!
Instances are plentiful in history-and this is the relationship between Rajus and Krishna Deva Raya! (The man had an opportunity to acquire a harem!) Some of these war marriages were
honoured,others were not.Krishna Deva Raya's marriage to Jagan mohini of the Pusapadi
Gajapathy dynasty was not honoured. A war that lasted 6 years and ended in loss of life,
honour and territory could not make a marriage of any sort. Vizianagar,spelt with a Z to differentiate it from Vijayanagar empire retained its animosity till the very end,and Pusapadi Chinna Raju,brother of a Maharaja,whom the Rajapalayam Rajus followed to their present location was from the remains of Vizianagar,devastated by continuous wars with the Nizam and the British,disputes over ascendancy to throne,taxes levied by the British and famine! A typical situation that triggers migration-of refugees!Pudhu Palayam was born,in the sixty years from when Sitarama Gajapathy Raju was exiled by the British in1793, to1845 ,when .Narayana Gajapathy Raju died heavily in debt in Varanasi.
The two settlements had their origin from different parts of the Telugu country,in different times and events in history.They remained two different entities,for over a century,and merged into Rajapalayam,perhaps by the end of the 19th century.They were agrarian and annexed lands from temples,mutts ,and locals through persuasion,coercion and manipulation and are today a thriving and industrious clan of businessmen and industrialists! Evidence for my statement??-Nil! That is why it is a blog and not a research paper!What prompted it?I came across several sites,with the claim that Rajus came here to administer peace, and maintain law and order in a conflict ridden region!Events make history and distortions become recorded history,projected by vested interests! It was never so easy as now with the advent of the Inter net!!A linguistic enquiry into the speech habits of the groups can prove what murky stories can only muddle further.
