Kapu (caste)
[37] The Kapu caste includes the subcastes Telaga and Ontari, both historically recognized as warrior communities known for their honour and bravery.
[42][43] The Kapu caste is closely related to the Balija community of Rayalaseema, and the two groups are often categorized together in governmental and sociological contexts.
[54] B. S. L. Hanumantha Rao while explaining the term Kapu noted, "people who are into cultivation, or farming, but who do not belong to Kammas, Reddys and Velamas are known as Kapus.
[56] An inscription dating to 1205 CE (1127 Saka year) mentions Teliki Kapulu, which K. Iswara Dutt interprets as referring to Telagas.
They were recruited into army during periods of war and served as governors (nayaks), commanders and soldiers in various Andhra kingdoms.
[72] At the end of the eighteenth century, Telagas, along with Niyogi Brahmins, were the leaders of the Maha-nadu, a multi-caste assembly to enforce norms in the society.
[80][79] Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu (1862–1939) worked for the eradication of untouchability, promoted widow remarriages, encouraged women's education, and strived for a reformation of the Devadasi system.
[88][89][90] Since Kapu was a generic term for people involved in kapudanam (farming), the British India censuses from 1871 till 1921 clubbed Kapus together with Reddys for enumeration purposes.
[96] Some Kapus also diversified their surplus economy into several entrepreneurial domains like movie theatres and hotels in cities like Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Rajahmundry.
[100] Kapus figure as A-list actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, music composers and technicians in the Telugu film industry.
[7] Due to Kāpu being a generic Telugu term for landowning cultivator, Reddy caste is sometimes referred to as Kapu in parts of Rayalaseema and Telangana.
[43] Charles Philip Brown's Telugu-English Dictionary (1852) mentions Mahanati Kapu as equivalent to Telaga caste.
[39] Historians like Etukuru Balaramamurthy and Chintamani Lakshmanna note that Telagas are the descendants of dynasties like Velanadu chiefs (1076–1216 CE) who ruled Coastal Andhra.
[38][164] 1901 Census of India describers vantarlu as a sub-caste of Telagas and notes that their name literally means 'a strong man'.
[63] They were a clan of warriors in medieval Andhra who engaged in hand-to-hand combat and wielded heavy weapons like maces.
[21] Srinatha mentions Ontarlu in his Palnati Veera Charitra and Bhimeswara Puranam, written in early 15th century.
[21][63] Inscriptions from Vellaturu (dated to 1418 CE) and Tangeda in former Guntur district register gifts of lands to temples by Ontarlu.
[63][168] Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma notes that Ontari was the vernacular equivalent of the Sanskrit word Ekangavira — a hero who fights the combat alone.
He adds:Ontari forces served as the reserve army, and each fighter in this division was probably a great wrestler and also wielded heavy weapons like maces and the like.
The ekkatis of the Reddi period gradually formed into a separate military caste or community, and are now popularly called Vantarlu.
[21][63]As per K. S. Singh, "The title Ontari was awarded to them during the time of Sri Krishnadevaraya in the sixteenth century as a reward for their bravery in warfare.
[38] Anthropological Survey of India notes that Balijas of Rayalaseema are ethnically similar to Kapus of Coastal Andhra.
[200] In a study on the history of Guntur district, Robert Eric Frykenberg categorized Kapus and Telagas among "elite agricultural (warrior) castes".
[84] He was the only person to have held both the posts of Chief Minister and Governor of the Madras Presidency (which included all of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu along with parts of Kerala and Karnataka).
Pasala Suryachandra Rao, a Kapu from West Godavari district was the first deputy speaker of Andhra State Assembly from 1953 to 1954.
[210] Rokkam Lakshmi Narasimham Dora, a Telaga Kapu from Srikakulam district served as the second speaker of Andhra State Assembly from 1955 to 1956.
[199][216] In the past decade, there have been four Kapu Deputy Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh — Nimmakayala Chinarajappa (2014–2019),[217] Alla Nani (2019–2022), Kottu Satyanarayana (2022–2024),[218] and Pawan Kalyan (2024–present).
Kapunadu movement was formed in the early 1980s and under the leadership of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga they demanded quotas for Kapu, Telaga, Balija, and Ontari communities.
"[221]In early 2016, the Kapus of the residual Andhra Pradesh state launched an agitation demanding quotas, leading to violent protests.
[176] Andhra Vignanamu, Volume 3 (1939) mentions Eluru, Ganapavaram and Akividu in former West Godavari district as places ruled by Telagas.
