Perungamanallur is a village in Peraiyur taluk, Sedapatti block, Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and part of Usilampatti (State Assembly Constituency)[1][2] Perungamanallur massacre, Historians and Anthropologists consider fingerprinting under the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) as a means to resist the movement of individuals and population by police suspecting criminality as one of the most draconian laws that came into existence in the Colonial era.

The Piramalai Kallars (Mukkulathor), among other castes in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, were systematically fingerprinted (suspecting thievery) and restricted to their villages under CTA, 1911.

The black pillar with a burning torch on top in Perungamanallur now stands as a symbol of resistance against the coloniser and his draconian law.

Studies revolved around anthropomorphic details and caste which was considered as an entity with concrete and measurable traits such as endogamy, commensality rules, fixed occupation and common ritual practices were looked into.

Later enactments in 1873 and 1899 upgraded the village police and introduced the low level ghat taliaris, but the traditional calling of many Kallars and their right to collect kaval fees remained illegal.