Arunthathiyar

The origin of the Arunthathiyar is often traced to Andhra Pradesh, from where scholars point out the group migrated to Tamil Nadu, especially from the seventeenth century onward, bringing with them the trade of leatherworking. Over the centuries, this origin, combined with their occupation, cemented their position at the bottom of the regional social hierarchy.

Droughts and famines of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries pushed many families from rural areas into cities, where they took up work such as street sweeping and urban sanitation. In the twenty first century, the community gained political visibility: in 2009, the government of Tamil Nadu created a specific quota within the reservation set aside for Dalits, recognizing that the Arunthathiyar remained among the most excluded even within that group.

Historically tied to leatherwork, the Arunthathiyar carry the weight of a trade considered impure in a culture where the cow is sacred. With the decline of this traditional occupation, in the face of drought, the industrialization of leather production, and new technologies, many have migrated to cities and today support their families as day laborers, urban sanitation workers, or construction workers.

Life revolves around manual labor and the extended family network, which supports its members through the instability of irregular income. A notable cultural mark is traditional body tattooing, still practiced by part of the community as an expression of identity.

Nearly all Arunthathiyar profess Hinduism, lived out within a rigid social hierarchy that has historically placed them at the lowest rung, even among groups already considered untouchable. This position shapes not only their religious practice but their entire place in community and ritual life, including restricted access to temples and worship spaces shared with other castes.

Traditional faith is deeply intertwined with caste identity: rituals, restrictions on social contact, and social roles constantly reinforce the group’s position within the system. Breaking with this religious structure means, in practice, challenging the entire social order in which the community is embedded.

The complete Bible is available in Tamil, the majority language among the Arunthathiyar, with centuries of translation work behind it and today also available in audio and digital apps. The barrier is not the lack of the text but its reach: in families marked by low levels of education and grueling manual work routines, few have real access or time to engage with the Scriptures. For those who speak Telugu, Malayalam, or Kannada as a second language, versions in these languages also already exist and can broaden that access.

To be Arunthathiyar means carrying, in body and family origin, a position that the social system itself considers the lowest among the untouchables, even among other Dalits. This mark opens the door to exclusion both within and outside the community: following Jesus can be read as yet another break from family and caste, adding religious rejection to an already heavy social stigma. Scattered across precarious jobs and with few churches nearby, a first contact with the gospel is rare.

Decades of precarious manual labor, discrimination even within the Dalit structure itself, and forced migration driven by droughts and famines have left deep marks on the community. There is a great need for dignity in work, access to education, and social recognition, along with healing from a stigma that runs across generations. In the spiritual realm, the community is almost entirely without local churches, discipleship, or voices that proclaim, in their own language and culture, that no family origin defines a person’s worth before God.