Waddar

Waddar, sometimes called Vodra, Odde, or Boyi, is a community from the Deccan Plateau whose traditional occupation is construction.

Colonial scholars, including Edgar Thurston, believed the name Vodra derives from Odra-desha, the old name for Odisha, and thus they must have come from there.

Nowadays they are classified as a Backward Class in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and as a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka.

Thurston claimed that the blessing of a woman married seven times at a wedding in the Waddar community was considered auspicious.

In 2019, when large parts of Karnataka faced droughts, the community were the predominant group employed in digging wells.