Nakarattars of Tamil Nadu are example of

(A) Indigenous trading networks
(B) Caste based banking system of Chettiars
(C) Indigenous capitalism
(D) Pre-capitalist market system

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(A), (B) and (C) only

The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (B) and (C) only

The Nattukottai Chettiars (or Nakarattars) of Tamil Nadu, provide an interesting illustration of how these indigenous trading networks (A) were organised and worked. A study of this community during the colonial period shows how its banking and trade activities were deeply embedded in the social organisation of the community. The structures of caste, kinship, and family were oriented towards commercial activity, and business activity was carried out within these social structures. As in most ‘traditional’ merchant communities, Nakarattar banks were basically joint family firms, so that the structure of the business firm was the same as that of the family. Similarly, trading and banking activities were organised through caste and kinship relationships. For instance, their extensive caste-based social networks allowed Chettiar merchants to expand their activities into Southeast Asia and Ceylon (B). In one view, the economic activities of the Nakarattars represented a kind of indigenous capitalism (C). This interpretation raises the question of whether there are, or were, forms of ‘capitalism’ apart from those that arose in Europe (Rudner 1994).