[20] The occupation of the Madiga community is primarily associated with tanning leather, making footwear, belts, pouches, toddy-containers and bags which were provided to different castes as needed.

[23] Some Madigas were traditionally engaged in various village services, including activities like horn-blowing, drum-beating, removal of animal carcasses, cleaning of public spaces and menial tasks.

Their responsibilities included street cleaning, carrying government officials luggage, helping with revenue collection, maintaining peace as watchmen, household and farm chores for their landlord family.

[24] In the past, Madigas were obligated to provide free labor under the vetti system to landlords for a certain number of days during peak periods of agricultural labour.

Subsequently, they turned to secular paths for upliftment, such as pursuing education and changing occupations, opportunities that were further opened up to them through the reservation system.

[27] Additionally, industrially-produced goods began dominating rural markets, undermining the traditional occupations of Madiga leather artisans.

The Green Revolution benefited the upper castes but left landless Madiga and Mala laborers facing continued exploitation.

In Telangana, Dalits and other backward communities formed the main base of the Left parties, who helped bring an end to the vetti system and other injustices committed by the landlords.

People believed that the Mahasabha, which had originally aimed for social change, moving into politics, was bad for the fight against caste discrimination in Andhra Pradesh.

The MRPS has united not only the Madiga community but also other smaller marginalized groups, often referred to as "satellite castes," who face similar socio-economic challenges.

In 1997, the commission published its report which found that reservation benefits had mainly gone to the Mala and Adi Andhra communities, and neither the Madiga or Relli had proportional representation in the quota.

[30] Earlier, TDP and Congress in the state made efforts to categorize SCs based on their level of backwardness, but these initiatives were met with legal challenges.

Modi acknowledged Manda Krishna as his younger brother and announced that the Union government would establish a committee to evaluate the community's demands.

Chandrachud, delivered this judgment with a 6:1 majority, stating that SCs and STs are not homogenous groups, and further sub-classification can ensure quotas for the most backward castes.

[41][42] While the majority of Madigas adhere to traditional practices within their villages in Rayalaseema and Telangana, most of those residing in Coastal Andhra have embraced Protestant Christianity.

[43] It's worth noting that most of the individuals who adopted Christianity continue to identify as Hindu to secure their eligibility for Scheduled Caste reservations.