Reddiar

Reddiar (also spelt as Reddiyar) is a Telugu speaking land owning, merchants, agricultural social group in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

Many Reddiars moved from the Andhra region in search of rich soil for cultivation and settled in Pondicherry and the northern districts of Cuddalore, Villupuram and Chengalpet in Tamil Nadu during Vijayanagar Empire.

Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Ranipet, Vellore, Thirupattur, Thiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Karur, Perambalur, Tiruchirappalli, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.

[citation needed] A mural at the Tiruppudaimaruthur temple in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, shows the emissaries of the Vijayanagara king Achyutadeva Raya serving an ultimatum to the Travancore ruler Bhoothala Veera Udaya Marthanda Varma to pay tributes to him and return the Pandya territory to Sri Vallabhan.

It also depicts the battle between the armies of Achyutadeva Raya and Bhoothala Varma.They are believed moved into Tamil Nadu with the Vijayanagara Emperor Kumara Kampana to liberate Madurai [Madura Vijayam] from Islamic rule and expansion of Vijayanagar empire along with other Telugu and Kannada origin social groups.