The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.
The result was delete. --Coredesat 03:32, 26 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Weak Delete - Tough one because Nair is a cast of Hinduism, and we have lots of List of Jewish _____ etc. I know WP:OTHERCRAPEXISTS :). An argument could be made that their upper class status helped them in their field(s). Corpx 15:42, 21 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Weak Delete per above and other AfDs. At least this list has links. Bearian 16:12, 21 July 2007
(UTC)
'Comment:I am open-minded about this AFD for the moment but would like to find out more before taking a stand. I raised the question with the nominator (see Roger Davies' talk page) and he has speedily replied, though I still have some doubts. It's common sense that Wikipedia is not a Directory and that surnames like Goh, Smith, Davies, although the Davies may have a long ancestral history :-), etc should not be compiled into a list just because some bearers of these surnames (notable or not, wish to see themselves on the list). Some groups of people however do qualify (eg List of Jewish _____ mentioned by Corpx above). I would like some in-depth examination of the importance of the Nairs as a group before I decide whether they should be lumped with the Jews or with the Davies. Cheers.Ivygohnair 22:25, 22 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Merge into Nair, since it's a caste. If it were simply a surname, I'd say delete. Mandsford 01:03, 23 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That would be like merging "List of Famous Methodists" into the Methodists article. While cast is important to a degree, I dont think its as relevant as it was ~200 years ago. Besides, there's not much anyone can do if you include yourself into a cast even if you were not born into it. Corpx 01:43, 23 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Not necessarily. I don't know how large the Nair caste is; it may or may not be larger than the Methodist church. There are a lot of castes in India; I'm not sure how many subdivisions of the Methodist Church exist, but Baptists are divided into Southern Baptists, Freewill Baptists, Primitive Baptists, etc. Nowadays, caste is still a part of heritage even if it's no longer part of the pecking order. Honestly, I'd never heard of the Nair caste, and the only ones I've heard of at all are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Mandsford 22:16, 23 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
With all due respect to the people who wish to delete this list, some of you seem to be unacquainted with the actual topic on hand. Because "Nair" is not just a surname its a community of people that encompass many surnames. So if one were to delete this so called "list" they would also have to delete every other list on Wikipedia. There is a list of distinguished/famous Rajputs, Iyers, Ezhavas, Jews, Brahmins, jats etc there are countless lists on Wikipedia of people pertaining to eminent or accomplished people from a certain caste or community and most of them do not have proper citations, whilst this list of Nairs has many sources and references shown. Secondly NAIRS ARE NOT A CASTE they were a community. The word Nair in Ancient Kerala was a synonym for warrior and since they were traditionally a warrior clan they had their own army called the "Nair Pattalam" which is now called Nair Brigade this was the army of the king, there are historical cases where people derived from the lower castes or lower stratosphere were assimilated or inducted into the Nair Brigade if they showed skill in the art of warfare and thus acquired the surname of "Nair" which was conferred onto them by the king. Many of the surnames in the Nair community are actually titles and not to be confused with a caste thus when you say "Nair" It is most definitely a community or a race not a caste. Because there were Nairs who were royals/kings/lords, but also Nairs who were servants and held menial jobs, although traditionally they were a warrior clan. If anyone wants more information on this they can read this http://www.kerala.cc/keralahistory/index13.htm. So in conclusion i would say take all these points on board before you contemplate on deleting the list, and if you decide on deleting it 1. you merely delete the accomplishments of a community 2. You will have to delete the 1000 other such lists on Wikipedia from the list of Jews to Ezhavas. Because they too have made a list of eminent people from their community. Oh and by the way there is a * list of famous ezhavas * which is exactly the same as the list of Nairs. I wonder why no one tries to delete that? Even though that list doesn't show barely any references or citations as the List of Nairs. Its pretty sad that some insecure individuals show their hypocrisy and double standards in wanting to delete one list whilst not the others. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.38.248.35 (talk • contribs)
Nairs were all those things you described, but it has evolved into a cast of Hinduism now. I wouldn't mind if it only listed Nairs from their heyday (before/early british empire), but that would leave only 3. Everyone else listed on there is from late-British rule->modern day India era, when the "Nayanars" were just another cast in the social structure. Corpx 05:37, 24 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.