What is "rowther"

Rowther or Ravuthar is a Muslim community from the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Together with the Kayalar, Lebbai and Maraikayar communities, they constitute the Tamil Muslims, an Islamic community spread across South India. Rowthers follow the Hanafi school of Fiqh. In Tamil Nadu, the non-muslims often refer to muslims as tulukkar - a term offensive to the muslims - probably derived from turukkiyar, meaning Turkish, owing to their Turkish ancestry and history. They are descendants of a group of Muslim soldiers, a mixture of Arabian and Turkish horse-traders and Rajputs of North India who came to South India in the 12th century as a part of the Turkish armies.