According to Rev Fr. Henry Heras S.J., one of the early experts on the Indus Civilization, the genuine descendents of Mohenjo Daro are Paravars, who live now on the south coast of Gulf Mannar and Sri Lanka. He even referred to the Indus Valley as Paravar Land.

The Adichanallur excavations, which date back 2600 years, provide substantial evidence of the presence of seafaring community in the area. Late Keeladi excavations are shedding further light on South Tamil Nadu’s previous maritime activities..

According to the 2300-year-old Tamil Sangam Literatures, Paravar is one of the Tamil land’s oldest communities. Paravar are described as the strongest people in Madurai Kaanchi, with more riches and bravery, and Korkai, the oldest Indian harbour, is mentioned as their strongest principal town. This community is described as ”Korkai Paravar” in multiple old Tamil records. Many other Sangam works, such as Ettuthokai and Paththupaattu, frequently mention the lives of paravars.

The Periplus Maris Erythraei (Periplus of the Erythrian Sea), written in the second half of the first century A.D. (about 60 A.D.) by an unknown Alexandrian-Greek author, discusses a passage to the east coast of India via the Gulf of Mannar, which runs between India and Sri Lanka. It covers the pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar, primarily on the Indian side of the Gulf, as well as the pearl fishery on Epidprus (Mannar Island) on the Sri Lankan side.

The old name “Taprobane” for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) may have been called after the Paravars, according to Simon Casie Chitty in The Ceylon Gazetteer..

Claudius Ptolemy (AD 100 – c. 170), an Alexandrian-Roman geographer, wrote about the pearl fishery in the Gulf of Mannar. Marco Polo, a 12th-century traveller, visited the southern coastal settlements and made numerous references to the Paravar people.

In exchange for large monetary sacrifices, the Pandiyan Kings emancipated the Pravar from taxation and enabled them to govern themselves. According to S Rajendran and Freda Chandrasekaran’s book “History of the Indian Pearl Banks of the Gulf of Mannar,” the paravars enjoyed a near-monopoly on the Gulf of Mannar until the 16th century.

Paravar were a significant element of Tamil richest religion Saivism as one of Tamil’s earliest communities. The current Manapad sand hill was the site of Soorasamharam. Lord Murugan, a South Indian important deity, is still considered a relative of the Paravar. Paravar built Uthirakosamangai, one of the world’s oldest Hindu temples. The Paravar people have nurtured and cultivated the historically significant Trichendur Murugan temple for ages. In Paravar Community, there were many learned and spiritually boosted Saivites.

Madurai Meenachi was the Goddess of the Paravar. Paravar King Villavarayan oversaw the construction of Bhagavathi Amman temple in Kanniyakumari for their Sea Goddess in the 12th century.

When the Krishnanagar kingdom was founded in the fifteenth century, the Paravar Communinty aided financially in the making of the Hindu Kingdom to oppose the Muslim rising dominance. However, in later years the same Vijayanagar empire Madurai representative Nayak began backing Muslim commerce rather than the Paravar community for financial reasons. In this situation, the oldest Tamil community made a significant decision that altered the political and cultural landscape of Southern India forever.

In the mid-16th century, the Paravar were the first entire community in India to convert to Christianity. In actuality, the community paid money to the Portuguese in order to be converted. Paravar authorities embarrassment of Christianity was primarily a political and financial decision. The name ‘Fernando,’ a common surname, and other surnames were given to the Paravas by the Portuguese, who influenced them. Fernando, Fernandez, Motha, Mascarenhas, Victoria, Miranda, Devotta, De Cruz, De Souza, Gomez, Dalmeida, Vaz, Vaiz, Desoyza, Rodrigo, Rodriguez, and other surnames were given by St. Francis Xavier, other missionaries, and Portuguese officers during the 16th century.

The Paravas resided in a region known as “Costa da Pescaria” – or Land of the Pearls – by the Portuguese. Their spiritual, cultural, and literary prowess resulted in the first Tamil book to be published in modern print media. In 1554, the Tamil Bible, ‘Cardila,’ was printed, making Tamil the first Indian language to be printed. This occurred even before the arrival of the first printing press in Goa, India, in 1556. Cardila was printed at the request of the Portuguese government in Lisbon, spurred on by the visits of three paravars from Tuticorin, India, Vincent Nasareth, Joj Kavalko, and Thomas Cruz. The Parvar community of Tuticorin provided financing for the press.

During the Indian Independence Wars, Paravar leaders played a crucial role. In south India and Sri Lanka, business people from the Paravar Community were nourshed till 1950. J.L.P Roche of the Tuticorin Paravar Community was the first Tamil Nadu Food Minister after independence. I.X Pereira from Tuticorin was the second leader in the Sri Lankan government under Bhandaranayaka after independence..

Francis Tiburtius Roche, the first Latin Rite Indian Bishop, was from the Paravar community. Immanuel Fernando, the present Bishop of Mannar, is also from the same community.

Source: www.globalparavarfoundation.com