Vaniya Chettiar is a subcaste of Chettiars prominently seen in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Their major professions are oil and groceries.
They are also known as Ganiga in Karnataka & Gandla & Teli because of similarities in profession of these two castes Vaniyambadi (near Vellore-Ambur) was originally a Vaniya Chettiar town. Now most of the Chettiars have moved to neighboring towns.
In Tamil Nadu, Sizable numbers of this caste can be found in the Coimbatore,Erode,Vellore,Madurai,Paramakudi, Dharmapuri,Krishnagiri, Cudalore, Periyakulam, Thirunelveli & Kanyakumari and Villupuram districts (basically erstwhile undivided Arcot/Chengalpattu Districts) though not in large enough numbers to command a vote bank.
People of the community in small towns in these areas can still be found running Chekku (oil press); these are now mostly electric rather than bull driven.
While some sections of the community have taken to education in the past couple of generations and made a mark as IT pros, entrepreneurs and business men with their traditional business acumen have been very successful others still find studies a difficult task (business mind being the regular excuse).
Late R.K.Shanmugam Chettiyar, free India's first finance minister, the late prime minister of India, Moraji Desai and the current chief minister of Gujarat Narendra modi belongs to this community.
The South India Vaniya Chettiyar Education Trust (SIVET) College at Medavakkam on Tambaram Velachery road is one of the many educational institutions run by the community.
god bless you
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