Template:Infobox caste Adi-Andhra is a Telugu caste found in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, primarily in the Coastal Andhra region. They are categorised as a Scheduled Caste by the Government of India.[1]
Adi-Andhra literally means 'the original people of Andhra'.[1][2] The Adi-Andhra group is a composite caste that consists of about 60% of Malas and 40% of Madigas, who belong to the second and third generation of educated scheduled castes.[3][4] Many Adi-Andhras are engaged in modern occupations created by western education.[3] A small section of Adi-Andhra also lives in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.[4][5]
As per the 2001 census, Adi-Andhra constituted 9% of the total Scheduled Caste (SC) population of United Andhra Pradesh.[3] As per the 1981 census, Adi-Andhras had the highest literacy rate among the Dalit castes of Andhra Pradesh.[6] They are the most advanced group in terms of education and employment among the SCs in Andhra Pradesh.[6]
History
Bhagya Reddy Varma (originally Madari Bhagaiah), a Mala from Hyderabad state, was a pioneer of the Adi-Hindu movement in Andhra.[7]Template:Rp 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.[8]Template:Rp In his presidential address, Bhagya Reddy remarked that the 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.[7]Template:Rp[8]Template:Rp[9] It was very active in Andhra and met in several conferences.[10]
After the first Adi Andhra conference, the Adi identity gained popularity among Dalits.[8]Template:Rp The government accepted the nomenclature of Adi-Andhra vide order No. 617 on 25 March 1922.[11][7]Template:Rp Some of the educated Dalits and those who were part of the Adi movements adopted Adi identity, leaving behind their traditional caste names.[8]Template:Rp By the 1931 census, nearly a third of Malas and Madigas of Madras Presidency had given their identity as Adi-Andhra.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Caste, Class and Social Articulation in Andhra Pradesh:Mapping Differential Regional Trajectories. Overseas Development Institute, London({Template:Date).
- ↑ Dynamics of Caste and Law: Dalits, Oppression and Constitutional Democracy in India: Dalits, Oppression and Constitutional Democracy in India{{#if:Berg|, Berg}. Cambridge University Press(2020-02-27). ISBN 978-1-108-48987-4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dalits' Struggle for Social Justice in Andhra Pradesh (1956-2008): From Relays to Vacuum Tubes{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Cambridge Scholars Publishing(2016-12-14). ISBN 978-1-4438-4496-3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 India's Communities{{#if:Singh|, Singh}. Oxford University Press(1998). ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2
- ↑ Karnataka{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Anthropological Survey of India(2003). ISBN 978-81-85938-98-1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dalits' Struggle for Social Justice in Andhra Pradesh (1956-2008): From Relays to Vacuum Tubes{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Cambridge Scholars Publishing(2016-12-14). ISBN 978-1-4438-4496-3
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Dalit Movement in India and Its Leaders, 1857-1956{{#if:Kshīrasāgara|, Kshīrasāgara}. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.(1994). ISBN 978-81-85880-43-3
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Dalit Politics in Contemporary India{{#if:Gundimeda|, Gundimeda}. Routledge(2015-10-14). ISBN 978-1-317-38105-1
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dalit Visions: The Anti-caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity{{#if:Omvedt|, Omvedt}. Orient Blackswan(2006). ISBN 978-81-250-2895-6
- ↑ Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India, 1863-1937: Contending with Marginality{{#if:Mallampalli|, Mallampalli}. Routledge(2004-07-31). ISBN 978-1-134-35025-4
- ↑ Our Struggle for Emancipation: The Dalit Movement in Hyderabad State, 1906-1953{{#if:Venkatswamy|, Venkatswamy}. Hyderabad Book Trust(2020-02-02)