Kapu (caste) - Kapu Titles

Kapu Titles

Aside from noting that the Kapu were a high caste agricultural Shudra community, Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya recorded in 1896 that in common with others of their type in the "Telegu country", "They enlist in the army as common soldiers. ... follow the local Kshatriyas in all matters relating to religion and diet. They eat almost every kind of meat excepting beef. They also drink spirituous liquors, though in privacy, and with great moderation." He lists the "Telega" (an alternate spelling for Telaga) separate from the Kapu but makes no reference to the Balija.

More recently, in 2002, 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 Baliji as a peasant caste who hold Lingayat beliefs. The 1921 census of India was the last to collect data regarding the caste. It predates the creation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 and also the post-Indian independence socio-economic classification system, Further, it treated Reddys as being among the Kapu community for enumeration purposes because of the generic definition of kapudanam as people involved with farming. Srinisavulu has analysed the 1921 census data to cause alignment with the new state and classification system, from which he concludes that Kapus (including Reddys) amounted to around 17 percent of the state's then population and are a Forward caste, whilst the Balija and Telaga are Backward castes and comprised 3 percent and 5 percent of the 1921 population, respectively.

Srinivasulu notes that the Reddys and Kammas are the politically dominant communities of Andhra Pradesh as a whole, rather than just the coastal areas, and that the Kapus are among a group with lesser but still significant influence, despite their small population. They are particularly effective in the districts of East Godavari and West Godavari, although Srinivasulu notes that "The Kapus of the coastal districts are distinct from the Munnur Kapus of Telangana. While the former are fairly prosperous, the political emergence of the latter, who are part of the OBC category, is a recent phenomenon."