The term has two distinct usages: for the purposes of the state government's positive discrimination program, in 2009 it was designated an umbrella term for the Arunthatiyar, Chakkiliyar (Sakkiliyar[2]), Madari, Madiga, Pagadai, Thoti and Adi Andhra communities with a total population of 2,150,285, accounting for 14.89% of the Scheduled Caste population according to the 2011 Census of India.

However, the community's own history is that they are originally Tamil kings who ruled the area around Tagadur (Dharmapuri), who were taken as captives in war to Andhra and Karnataka in ancient days and only returned in the 16th century as the Kannada-speaking Madiyars and Tamil-speaking Chakkiliyars.

[7] The Arunthathiyars, although they never touched dead cattle, still worked leather as leatherworkers and cobblers, and were thus given a low social status in Hinduism Caste system.

[8] The vast majority of the community, almost 18.27 lakhs, live in Tamil Nadu, with small minorities in neighbouring states.

Small populations live in the Palakkad district of Kerala (40,507), and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh (30,190) and Karnataka (2,959).