Information AboutReddy |
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Reddy is a Caste found mainly in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India . They constitute about 11-15% of the Population of Andhra Pradesh. Though there are a number of Reddys with roots in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu , they are predominantly a Telugu speaking farming community from the state of Andhra Pradesh . ORIGINS There are many theories about the origins of Reddys, none of which has been conclusively proven.
Modern day caste definitions # Upper castes" (Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas) # Middle castes" (farming castes such as Jats, Yadavs and Kurmis, in the north, and Marathas and Patidars in the west, Reddys, Kammas, Kapus, Vokkaligas, in the south.) # Lower castes" (a diverse group of castes typically engaged as marginal farmers, sharecroppers, agricultural laborers, traditional service and artisan activity) # SCs and STs {Link without Title} Although lower castes and SCs and STs have a fair degree of parity on economic grounds, the former are better of in the social hierarchy while the latter have traditionally received positive discrimination from the government.
"For a caste to be dominant, it should own a sizeable amount of the arable land locally available, have strength of numbers, and occupy a high place in the local hierarchy". Reddy sub castes Some of the well known sub castes of Reddys are: # Akutota # Ayodhi (Tamil Nadu) # Bhoomanchi # Chowdary (Saudary Reddy) # Desai # Desur # Dommari Kapu # Gandla # Ganjam (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa) # Gudati # Gone Kapu # Godugulanati Kapu # Illela # Kodithi Kapu # Konda (Gonda) # Kuruva Kapu # Musugu Kapu # Motati # Neravati # Namadarlu # Nanugonda # Nadal # Nadi Taram # Nanikonda # Nallelema/ Nallevelama Kapu # Paala Kapu # Pedakanti Reddy/ Pedakanti Kapu # Panta Reddy/Panta Kapu # Pakanati Reddy/ Pakanati Kapu # Pokanati Reddy/ Pokanati Kapu # Palle Reddy/Palle Kapu # Palnati # Renati # Reddy Dora # Reddika # Reddy Christians # Sajjana Kapu/ Sajjana Reddy. # Sugamanchi # Varanasi # Velama Kapu # Velanati # Vadde # Yerlam Kapu Hyderabad and Rangareddy are dominated by Gudati, Gone Kapu and Reddy Kapu sub castes . Adilabad and Karimnagar have Reddy Gandla, Gudati and Motati. They vary in some of their customs. For example, Pedakanti Reddy women do not wear Thalibottu (Tilak) and Kapu Reddy women wear saris with a belt coming from the middle. The most common subcastes among Reddys are the Motati, Gudati, Pokanati, Gone, Chittapu, Pedkanti and Panta Reddys. Though the sub caste distinctions creep up during politics in the Reddy community, it is gradually disappearing. Marriages are begining to commonly occur between all the sub castes. It seems the term "Kapu" is a generic category which denotes "cultivator". It is said that once all the peasant communities were considered Kapus; in fact, in the 1921 Census, the present Reddis were enumerated as Kapus. In several places, the landowning cultivators are addressed by the agricultural labourers as "Kapu". The Kapus keep the caste title "Naidu", but the Kammas also use this title in certain areas. {Link without Title} REDDY DYNASTY Historian and researcher B.N. Shastry in his book ''Reddy Rajya Sarwaswam'' revealed the existence of the Reddy community was traced back to 11th and 12th Centuries. After the death of Musunuri Kaapaya Nayaka, Reddys, who were army commanders, established their own kingdoms. Reddy kings of Kondaveedu and Rajahmundry became independent and ruled coastal Andhra Pradesh from 1353 to 1448 . The kingdom eventually declined due to incessant wars with Recharla ( Velama ) Chiefs and the Gajapathi s of Orissa . The Reddys fled to the border districts of Adilabad and Karimnagar . The Reddys were known for their fortifications and built several dams and lakes for farming and drinking purpose. Ratnagiri Fort was built by Reddys but was captured by the Muslim s. Two major hill forts at Kondapally , 20 km north west of Vijayawada and another at Kondavidu , about 30 km west of Guntur bear testimony to the Fort building skill of the Reddy kings. The other fort which the Reddys were partially involved in building was the Khammam fort. There is evidence that Reddy rulers had marital relationships with Kshatriya’s. Mahamuni Kavya Kantha Ganapathi Shastry who wrote the foreword for Mr. Shastry’s book mentioned this. Raja Dantuluri Ganna Bhoopal gave away his daughter Surambika to Ana Vema Reddy in marriage. This was said to be the first marriage between Reddy and Kshatriya communities. Chandra Vamsha Maharaja Harihara Deva Raya married Hariha Ramba the daughter of Kataya Vema Reddy. Bheema Raju, son of Bhakthiswara Choda who belonged to Surya Vamsha married his daughter Vemabika to Allada Reddy.
Poets in the Reddy Court
Reddy Poet
ROLE IN POLITICS Reddys have played a significant role in Andhra politics and a vital role in the social and economic development of the state. They were one of the first non-Brahmin communities to activly participate in the new democracy. The population of Reddys is 15% in Andhra Pradesh but at one time they occupied upto 40% of the state legislative assembly seats (MLA). Out of the five Reddy chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, one is Christian (YSR), two were actually from the Kapu caste (Janardhan Reddy and Kasu Brahmananda Reddy), one was of the Gudati sub-caste (Chenna Reddy), and one was of the Gone sub-caste (Anjaiah Reddy). Neelam Sanjiva Reddy belonged to Pakanati group. Their percentage of seats occupied has been decreasing because of the many sub-castes and varying religious affiliations that divides the Reddy community and because more and more communities as getting involved in the democratic process and asking for their share of the pie. In the Nehruvian era, most political institutions, formal and informal were sufficiently self-regulating and the Congress Party’s “cluster of regional political machines processed the substance and the reach to manage most of the social tensions that arose”. However, the erosion of that capacity since the late 1960s due to the crystallization of interest groups, (caste, community, student and women) that became increasingly assertive of their rights over resources, sharing power, claiming self-respect and articulating their political concerns in more organized ways, has made it difficult for the Central government to manage the demands on it. Above all, the resentment against the authoritarian and personalized rule of the Congress leader, Indira Gandhi had serious implications for both the political fate of the Congress party and the political process in A.P. The post-Emergency debacle of the Congress in the parliamentary elections unsettled its role in national politics and ushered in coalition governments at the Centre. The return of the Congress Party for a brief period witnessed her assassination in the hands of her own security guards unleashing the accumulated anger of the Sikhs at the humiliation meted out to them by the Congress Party’s government at the Centre. In the meantime in Andhra Pradesh, politics took a different turn when the Telugu matinee idol NTR launched the Telugu Desam Party in March 1982. In AP Indira Gandhi succeeded in removing the dominant leader (Brahma Ananda Reddy, of the Reddy caste) and replaced him with Narasimha Rao, a Brahmin compromise candidate with no independent electoral base (Srinivasulu 1999). Rao sought to strengthen his position by forming an alliance outside of the Reddy and Kamma groups (Reddy 1990; Vakil 1990). This strategy received the high command's support in the larger, national game of securing Indira Gandhi's dominance by sidelining the dominant castes trying to destabilize her (represented, for instance, by the Syndicate, of which the Reddy leader Sanjeeva Reddy was a part). For instance, Bernstor (1973) wrote an article entitled “The Eclipse of Reddy Raj?”. Randa (1972) notes that 60% of Congress tickets in the 1972 state elections were given to women, backward classes, SCs, STs, youth, and labor, and a third of the sitting members of the Andhra Assembly were retired. In Rao's 26-member ministry, there were only 9 dominant castes (Brahmins, Reddys, Kammas). Srinivasulu (1999) writes: “In pursuit of his political survival in the political context dominated by the Reddy, Kamma, and Velama castes (three major land-owning castes), Rao sought to forge a social bloc consisting of backward castes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minorities by giving them political berths in the Cabinet, greater representation to this bloc, and reducing the Reddy preponderance in the 1972 assembly election. Corresponding to this, measures like the AP Land Ceiling Act of 1972 and the launching of anti-poverty programs, more than their reactive implementation played a catalytic role in furthering the social polarization within the Congress. While on the one hand it led to the closing up of ranks among the landed gentry, it contributed in a signicant way to the rise of awareness among the backward communities on the other.” [http://www.stanford.edu/~suraj/Public%20Spending%20and%20the%20Politics%20of%20Identity.pdf Trivia
FAITH The overwhelming majority of Reddys are Hindus but a sizeable amount have converted to Christianity. The first conversion of Reddys to Christianity took place at Madigubba in Anantapur District in 1850 where Thumma Hanumanta Reddy got converted as Thumma Rayapa Reddy. The Catholic Reddy women wear ''Talibottu'' and ''Bottu'' (Tilak). They wear ''mettalu'' and follow Telugu traditions and customs. There are few marriages of Catholic Reddys with the people of other castes. It is common for Catholic Reddys to have many Hindu relatives. Catholic Reddys are treated as a Forward caste by the government as they are landlords and enjoy their position in villages. IMMIGRATION OF COMMUNITY Indira Gandhi's land reform policy in 1969 affected the rich landlords. Other economic changes during the 1960's and 70's triggered the migration of the community to North America. {Link without Title} A survey by the American Medical Association in United States revealed that 4% of the practicing Physicians in the USA had Reddy as their Last Name . Many work in the Information Technology fields and there is a significant Reddy community in Academia and Research in American Universities. Reddys and the Andhra communities as a whole are a very influential and affluent group among the immigrated South Asian communities of North America. The Andhra community has been recently ranked as the second wealthiest minority community in the United States. The TANA and ATA associations have provided a vehicle for NRI Andhras to maintain their cultral affinity towards India. The Reddy Name Reddys use a surname followed by a given name and then a caste name, which is a common practice in all the communities of Andhra Pradesh. For example Kotla Vijaybhaskar Reddy. Kotla is his surname, followed by his given name and ending with his caste name. Many Reddys and members of Andhra community living outside of India all have adopted the practice of ommiting the caste name or using it as a middle name and use their actuall family name as their last name. Some others have chosen to eliminate Reddy altogether from their name. For example if K.V. Reddy were to have grown up in the US he probably would have his name as Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Kotla or Vijay Bhaskar Kotla. Surnames are generally from the names of villages and professions. Regarding gotras there are several versions about their formation. Once feeding cows and looking after them was the main profession to the majority of society. The community that looks after cows (Govulu) were named after the head of the community. In this way Gotra has formed. There is approximatly 10,000 surnames & gotras in the Reddy community. ''For more information on Indian naming conventions see Indian Family Name '' NOTABLE REDDYS The List Of Famous Reddys gives the names of several Reddys, born in India and abroad, who have become renowned figures in their lifetimes. Most of them however are known only among Telugu speaking people. NOTES |
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