Kapu (caste)

Kapu
Religions	Hinduism, Buddhism
Languages	Telugu, Kannada, Tamil
Region	Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa, Maharashtra
Subdivisions	Balija, Telaga, Munnuru Kapu
Related groups	Reddy, Kamma, Velama

Kapu refers to a social grouping of agriculturists found primarily in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (the Telugu-speaking states). Kapus are primarily an agrarian community, forming a heterogeneous peasant caste. The subcastes of Kapu include Telaga, Balija, Ontari, Munnuru Kapu, Turpu Kapu etc.^[1]

The Kapu community in the Telugu states is predominantly concentrated in the coastal districts, North Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. They are also found in large numbers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and some other Indian states as well as Sri Lanka.

Etymology

Kāpu or Kāmpu literally means cultivator or agriculturist in Telugu.^[2] Various subgroups of kapus branched off into separate communities in the post-Kakatiya period (Velamas, Panta Kapus and Pakanati Kapus—both of whom got labelled Reddis, and Kapus of Kammanadu—eventually labelled Kammas).^[3] The remaining kapus continue to use the original label. All the cultivator caste clusters have a common ancestry in the legends.^[4] According to Cynthia Talbot, the transformation of occupational identities as caste labels occurred in the late Viajayanagara period (17th century) or later.^[5]

Status

The Kapu are considered to be a Shudra community in the traditional Hindu ritual ranking system known as varna.^[6][7][8]

The Kapu have been described by Srinivasulu as a "dominant peasant caste in coastal Andhra", with the Telaga listed as "a backward peasant caste" and the Baliji as a peasant caste who hold Lingayat beliefs. The 1921 census of India was the last to collect data regarding the caste. It predates the creation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 and also the post-Indian independence socio-economic classification system, Further, it treated Reddys as being among the Kapu community for enumeration purposes because of the generic definition of kapudanam as people involved with farming. Srinisavulu has analysed the 1921 census data to cause alignment with the new state and classification system, from which he concludes that Kapus (including Reddys) amounted to around 17 percent of the state's then population and were regarded as a `forward caste', whilst the Balija and Telaga were regarded as `backward castes', comprising 3 percent and 5 percent of the 1921 population, respectively.^[9]

Kapus are regarded as a `forward caste' in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with Balijas and Telagas. Some of the subcastes of Kapus such as the Munnuru Kapus, Turpu Kapus, Vada Balijas etc. are included among the Other Backward Classes list, qualifying for positive discrimination. However, the main line of Kapu, Balija and Telaga communities are not included.^[10]

In early 2016, the Kapus of the modern Andhra Pradesh state launched an agitation demanding the status of Other Backward Class, leading to violent protests.^[11][12] The Indian National Congress party and the YSR Congress party have supported their demand.^[13]

Srinivasulu notes that the Reddys and Kammas are the politically dominant communities of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and that the Kapus are among a group with lesser but still significant influence, despite their small population. They are particularly effective in the districts of East Godavari and West Godavari, although Srinivasulu notes that "The Kapus of the coastal districts are distinct from the Munnur Kapus of Telangana. While the former are fairly prosperous, the political emergence of the latter, who are part of the OBC category, is a recent phenomenon."^[14]

See also

• List of Kapu dynasties

References

1. Andhra Pradesh: Caste to the fore again, Rediff, 15 April 2009.
2. Talbot 2001, p. 74.
3. Talbot 2001, pp. 192, 206.
4. Talbot 2001, p. 206.
5. Talbot 2001, p. 86.
6. Sahitya Akademi (1996). Indian literature. Sähitya Akademi. p. 177. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
7. Verma, Harnam Singh (2005). The OBCs and the ruling classes in India. Rawat Publications. p. 309. ISBN 978-81-7033-885-7. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
8. Säävälä, Minna (2001). Fertility and familial power relations: procreation in south India. Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. Psychology Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7007-1484-1. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
9. Srinivasulu, K. (September 2002). Caste & Class Articulation of Andhra Pradesh (PDF). London: Overseas Development Institute. pp. Glossary of castes, 4. ISBN 0-85003-612-7. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
10. CENTRAL LIST OF OBCs FOR THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, retrieved 2016-01-20.
11. Kapus in Andhra set 6 train bogies, 2 police stations ablaze for quota, The Times of India, 1 February 2016.
12. 5 things to know about Kapus, their reservation demand and protests, Hindustan Times, 1 February 2016.
13. Pass Bill to include Kapus in BC list: Cong., The Hindu, 25 January 2016.
14. Srinivasulu, K. (September 2002). Caste & Class Articulation of Andhra Pradesh (PDF). London: Overseas Development Institute. p. 3. ISBN 0-85003-612-7. Retrieved 20 December 2011.

Further reading

• Brimnes, Niels (1999). Constructing the Colonial Encounter: Right and Left Hand Castes in Early Colonial South India. Routledge. ISBN 9780700711062.
• Devi, Konduri Sarojini (May 1990). Religion in Vijayanagara Empire. Sterling Publishers. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
• Hiltebeitel, Alf (1999). Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226340517.
• Irschick, Eugene F. (1969). Politics and Social Conflict in South India: The Non-Brahman Movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916-1929. University of California Press.
• Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: the Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. London: C. Hurst & Co. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
• Kumari, A. Vijaya; Bhaskar, Sepuri (1 March 1998). Social change among Balijas: majority community of Andhra Pradesh. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-7533-072-6. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
• Mukund, Kanakalatha (1999). The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant: Evolution of Merchant Capitalism in the Coromandel. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125016618.
• Mukund, Kanakalatha (2005). The View from Below: Indigenous Society, Temples, and the Early Colonial State in Tamilnadu, 1700-1835. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125028000.
• Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2002). The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500-1650 (Reprinted ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521892261.
• Swarnalatha, P. (2005). The World of the Weaver in Northern Coromandel, c. 1750 - c. 1850. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125028680.
• Talbot, Cynthia (2001), Pre-colonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19803-123-9
• Ziadi, Sunita (1989). "Mughal State and Tribes in 17th century". Indian Economic Social History Review 26: 343–362. doi:10.1177/001946468902600304.