Kapu (caste)
| Kapu | |
|---|---|
| Religions | Hinduism, Buddhism |
| Languages | Telugu, Kannada, Tamil |
| Region | Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa, Maharashtra, United States, United Kingdom |
| Related groups | Kamma, Reddy, 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 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 in Sri Lanka.
Kāpu literally means cultivator or agriculturist in Telugu. 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 Reddys, and Kapus of Kammanadu—eventually labelled Kammas). The remaining kapus continue to use the original label. All the cultivator caste clusters have a common ancestry in the legends. According to Cynthia Talbot, the transformation of occupational identities as caste labels occurred in the late Vijayanagara period (17th century) or later.
The Kapu are considered to be a Shudra community in the traditional Hindu ritual ranking system known as varna.
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 Balija as a peasant caste who hold Lingayat beliefs. Srinisavulu has analysed the 1921 census of India to cause alignment with the present-day 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.
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