Madrasi Explained
Madrasi should not be confused with Madrasa.
Madrasi (Prakrit : Madarasi), also spelled as Madrassi, was a term used as a demonym for people from southern India, usually used by those from northern India.[1] More precisely, during the British Raj, it was an exonym to refer to the people of Madras Presidency, including the people of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Karnataka and northern parts of Kerala,[2] [3] [4] [5] while the term Deccani was used to refer the people from Hyderabad State (present-day Telangana) and Kingdom of Mysore.
Contemporary usage
In modern day, the term "Madrasi" is widely considered an inaccurate and often pejorative ethnic slur and stereotype. It homogenizes the diverse cultures, languages, and identities of over 250 million people in southern India. The use of the term is often seen as a form of generalization that ignores the distinct identities.
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Reddy, Kovuuri G. . Handbook of Journalism and Media: India, Bharat, Hindustan . . 2015 . 9789325982383 . 255 . 1091767503 . Madrasi is a reference; it could be also a 'regional' slur.
- Book: Calcutta Mosaic: Essays and Interviews on the Minority Communities of Calcutta. Himadri Banerjee. Nilanjana Gupta. Sipra Mukherjee. 10 July 2009. Anthem Press. 211. 9781843318057. 30 November 2020. 31 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531202023/https://books.google.com/books?id=cSTEOx_Lw9MC&q=madrasi&pg=PA211. live.
- Book: [[David Theo Goldberg]], [[Ato Quayson]] . Relocating Postcolonialism . . 2002 . 978-0-631-20805-1 . 341.
- Book: Dimitris Eleftheriotis, Gary Needham. Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide. 2006. University of Hawaii Press. 978-0-8248-3085-4. 296.
- Book: Annette Lynch . Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia . Mitchell D. Strauss . . 2014 . 9780759121508 . 189 . Although “Madras” is the name of a place, in this context it is used as an adjective and not as a proper noun..
