EddieFrine at 21:20, 19 March 2026

2026-03-19T21:20:28Z

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{{Short description|Caste in South India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox caste
|caste_name=Adi-Andhra
|religions={{Hlist|[[Hinduism]]|[[Christianity]]}}
|ethnicity=[[Telugu people|Telugus]]
|languages=[[Telugu language|Telugu]]
|populated_states=[[Andhra Pradesh]]{{*}}[[Telangana]]{{*}}[[Karnataka]]
|population=
}}
'''Adi-Andhra''' is a [[Telugu people|Telugu]] caste found in the Indian states of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]], primarily in the [[Coastal Andhra]] region. They are categorised as a [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Caste]] by the [[Government of India]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=K |first=Srinivasulu |date=September 2002 |title=Caste, Class and Social Articulation in Andhra Pradesh:Mapping Differential Regional Trajectories |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/100516/wp179.pdf |journal=Overseas Development Institute, London |pages=vi, 57}}</ref>

''Adi-Andhra'' literally means 'the original people of Andhra'.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Berg |first=Dag-Erik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=roLoDwAAQBAJ&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA104 |title=Dynamics of Caste and Law: Dalits, Oppression and Constitutional Democracy in India: Dalits, Oppression and Constitutional Democracy in India |date=2020-02-27 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-48987-4 |pages=103–104 |language=en}}</ref> The Adi-Andhra group is a composite caste that consists of about 60% of [[Mala (caste)|Malas]] and 40% of [[Madiga|Madigas]], who belong to the second and third generation of educated scheduled castes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Jammanna |first1=Akepogu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOa2DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA222 |title=Dalits' Struggle for Social Justice in Andhra Pradesh (1956-2008): From Relays to Vacuum Tubes |last2=Sudhakar |first2=Pasala |date=2016-12-14 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-4496-3 |pages=222 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ&q=Adi+Andhra+composite |title=India's Communities |date=1998 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-563354-2 |pages=20–21 |language=en |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}</ref> Many Adi-Andhras are engaged in modern occupations created by western education.<ref name=":0" /> A small section of Adi-Andhra also lives in [[Karnataka]] and [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Singh |first1=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxMwAQAAIAAJ&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA143 |title=Karnataka |last2=Halbar |first2=B. G. |date=2003 |publisher=[[Anthropological Survey of India]] |isbn=978-81-85938-98-1 |pages=143–150 |language=en}}</ref>

As per the 2001 census, Adi-Andhra constituted 9% of the total Scheduled Caste (SC) population of [[Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014)|United Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name=":0" /> As per the 1981 census, Adi-Andhras had the highest literacy rate among the [[Dalit]] castes of Andhra Pradesh.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last1=Jammanna |first1=Akepogu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOa2DQAAQBAJ&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA213 |title=Dalits' Struggle for Social Justice in Andhra Pradesh (1956-2008): From Relays to Vacuum Tubes |last2=Sudhakar |first2=Pasala |date=2016-12-14 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-4496-3 |pages=213, 246 |language=en}}</ref> They are the most advanced group in terms of education and employment among the SCs in Andhra Pradesh.<ref name=":5" />

== History ==
[[Bhagya Reddy Varma]] (originally Madari Bhagaiah), a [[Mala (caste)|Mala]] from [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad state]], was a pioneer of the Adi-Hindu movement in Andhra.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Kshīrasāgara |first=Rāmacandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wx218EFVU8MC&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA72 |title=Dalit Movement in India and Its Leaders, 1857-1956 |date=1994 |publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. |isbn=978-81-85880-43-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=179–180 }} In November 1917, he was invited to preside over the 'First Andhra Panchama Mahajana Sabha' at [[Vijayawada]]. It was convened by Guduru Ramachandra Rao, a [[Brahmin]] social reformer from Krishna district.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Gundimeda |first=Sambaiah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjjbCgAAQBAJ |title=Dalit Politics in Contemporary India |date=2015-10-14 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-38105-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=159}} In his presidential address, Bhagya Reddy remarked that the [[Depressed classes|Depressed Classes]] were the original inhabitants of India and ought to be called Adi-Hindu, instead of Panchama. Consequently, the conference adopted the name of Adi-Andhra Mahajana Sabha.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|pages=179–180 }}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=161}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Omvedt |first=Gail |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kCwpXZlKqL0C&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA36 |title=Dalit Visions: The Anti-caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity |date=2006 |publisher=[[Orient Blackswan]] |isbn=978-81-250-2895-6 |pages=36–37 |language=en |author-link=Gail Omvedt}}</ref> It was very active in Andhra and met in several conferences.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mallampalli |first=Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_N-AgAAQBAJ&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA167 |title=Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India, 1863-1937: Contending with Marginality |date=2004-07-31 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-35025-4 |pages=167 |language=en}}</ref>

After the first Adi Andhra conference, the Adi identity gained popularity among Dalits.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=163}} The government accepted the nomenclature of Adi-Andhra vide order No. 617 on 25 March 1922.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Venkatswamy |first=P. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PAUEAAAQBAJ&dq=Adi-Andhra&pg=PA45 |title=Our Struggle for Emancipation: The Dalit Movement in Hyderabad State, 1906-1953 |date=2020-02-02 |publisher=Hyderabad Book Trust |pages=45 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3" />{{Rp|pages=71–72}} Some of the educated Dalits and those who were part of the Adi movements adopted Adi identity, leaving behind their traditional caste names.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=163}} By the 1931 census, nearly a third of Malas and Madigas of [[Madras Presidency]] had given their identity as Adi-Andhra.<ref name=":4" />

== See also ==

* [[List of Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Dalit communities]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Telangana]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:South Indian communities]]

Adi Andhra - Revision history

EddieFrine at 21:20, 19 March 2026