Kapu (caste)

Kāpu literally means cultivator or protector in Telugu.{{sfn|Talbot|2001|p=74}} More specifically, Kāpu refers to landowning cultivators in the context of the Jajmani system.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=66–67|loc=Chapter 2|ps=
The term 'Kapu' which means a 'protector' is very broad in sense, and the Kapus consider themselves as those who look after or protect the soil. They are different from the Kammas and Reddis who are also agricultural castes though it has been pointed out that the term 'Kapu' can be broadly used for all agriculturists. It is loosely applied to all landed castes in the state in the context of the Jajmani system of inter-caste relations. However, the Kapus, are a separate caste in the Coastal districts of Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, East and West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.}} In several places, the landowning cultivators are addressed by the agricultural labourers as Kāpu.{{Cite web |last=K. C. Suri |date=September 2002 |title=Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India |url=https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/2690.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409214021/https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/2690.pdf |archive-date=9 April 2021 |website=Overseas Development Institute |pages=}}{{Rp|page=11}}

Various subgroups of Kapus (cultivators) branched off into separate communities in the post-Kakatiya period (Velamas, Panta Kapus and Pakanati Kapus—both of whom got labelled Reddys, and Kapus of Kammanadu—eventually labelled Kammas).{{sfn|Talbot|2001|pp=192, 206}} The remaining Kapus continue to use the original label.{{sfn|Talbot|2001|p=206}} 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."{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|p=9|loc=Chapter 5}} All the cultivator caste clusters have a common ancestry in the legends.{{sfn|Talbot|2001|p=206}} According to Cynthia Talbot, the transformation of occupational identities as caste labels occurred in the late Vijayanagara period or later.{{sfn|Talbot|2001|p=86}}

An inscription dating to 1205 CE (1127 Saka year) mentions Teliki Kapulu, which K. Iswara Dutt interprets as referring to Telagas.{{Cite book |last=Kunduri Iswara Dutt |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.377167/page/131/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Telaga |title=Inscriptional Glossary Of Andhra Pradesh |date=1967 |publisher=Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi |pages=131}}

The earliest occupation of Kapu community was farming along with military service.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=50|loc=Chapter 2}}{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=9, 16|loc=Chapter 5}} In the medieval period, Kapus served as protectors of villages from bandits and as village headmen. They were recruited into army during periods of war and served as governors (nayaks), commanders and soldiers in various Andhra kingdoms.{{Cite web |last=Dr. E. Venkatesu |date=30 June 2017 |title=Constitution, Reservation Policy and Dominant Castes Demand for Other Backward Classes Status in India |url=https://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/file/paper/593bc9f01702f.pdf |website=International Public Policy Association (IPPA) |page=18}} They returned to agriculture during times of peace.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=9, 16|loc=Chapter 5}} Kapus were one of the five major land-owning castes during the Qutub Shahi (1518–1687) rule.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=58|loc=Chapter 2}} Hanumantha Rao notes that Kapus have embraced military as well as farming till the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|p=16|loc=Chapter 5}}

Kapu sub-castes like Telagas and Ontaris were recorded as warrior communities in the medieval era.{{refn|name=wm}} Ontaris were elite warriors who engaged in hand-to-hand combat and wielded heavy weapons like maces. They were great wrestlers and received rent-free lands for their military service. Inscriptions from the 15th century register gifts of lands to temples by Ontarlu.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}}

During the medieval era, many Nayakas were Telagas along with Velamas and Balijas.R. Narasimha Rao (1967). [https://books.google.com/books?id=JemvjwEACAAJ Corporate Life in Medieval Andhradesa]. University Grants Commission. p. 108.P. S. Kanaka Durga (1989). Role of Nayakas in Medieval Andhra 1000-1259. AP History Congress. p. 44.{{Cite web |last=D. N. Yogeeswarappa |date=28 March 2014 |title=The Study of Nayakatana in the Vijayanagara Empire with Special Reference to Tuluva Dynasty |url=http://sscwtumkur.org/sscwcms/uploads/activities/permanent/2018/12/13/7_1544721945_nayakatana.pdf |page=25}} There existed Nayak (Telaga) regiments in the Vijayanagara Empire and they later joined the British army after the fall of Vijayanagara.{{Cite book |last=Holck |first=Frederick H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMAoAAAAYAAJ&q=Nayak+(+Telaga+) |title=Death and Eastern Thought: Understanding Death in Eastern Religions and Philosophies |date=1974 |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=978-0-687-10341-6 |pages=20 |language=en}} Telagas in British army held ranks such as Major, Naik, Subedar, Jemadar, Havildar etc. Telagas of Bobbili served as commanders and generals in armies.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=78}} They formed a major part of the Bobbili army along with Velamas in the famous Battle of Bobbili in 1757.{{Cite book |last=Katten |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BHdHAQAAMAAJ |title=Category Creation and the Colonial Setting: Identity Formation in Nineteenth Century Telugu-speaking India |date=1997 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |pages=144 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=25 September 2016 |title=The warrior factory |url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/specials/the-warrior-factory.html |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=The Week |quote=Most of them who opt for military service from this village belong to the Kapu community ..... Though the Kapu community is now chiefly agrarian, there was a time when they were soldiers. They gained reputation when they took part in the famous Battle of Bobbili on January 23, 1757.}}{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.386141/page/n31/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81 |title=Bobbili Yuddhakatha |date=1956 |publisher=Government Oriental Manuscripts Library |editor-last=Sarma |editor-first=Mallampalli Somasekhara |editor-link=Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma |language=te}}

In the late medieval era, Telagas led the right-hand caste faction, which included Komatis and various other castes, in Machilipatnam and other places of Andhra.{{cite book |last=Price |first=Pamela G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3GuKnZTGG4C&pg=PA34 |title=Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India |publisher=Curzon Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780700711017 |editor1=John Jeya Paul |location=Richmond, Surrey |pages=34 |chapter= |editor2=Keith E. Yandell}} 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.

During the colonial regime, Kapu-Telaga along with other warrior castes dominated military occupations.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=59, 77|loc=Chapter 2}} When the British reduced military recruitment from agrarian castes and opted for lower castes in order to have more control over the army, Kapus concentrated on agriculture.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|p=16|loc=Chapter 5}} Kapus held the village headman and munasabu (munsif) position in many villages.{{Cite book |last=Still |first=Clarinda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEcrDwAAQBAJ&dq=kapu&pg=PT34 |title=Dalit Women: Honour and Patriarchy in South India |date=2017-07-06 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-58818-8 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Herrenschmidt |first=Olivier |date=1982 |title=Quelles Fêtes pour quelles castes? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25131883 |journal=L'Homme |language=fr |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=33 |doi=10.3406/hom.1982.368302 |jstor=25131883 |issn=0439-4216}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hs4cAQAAMAAJ&q=Nayak+(+Telaga+) |title=Census of India, 1961 |date= 29 November 1961|publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India |series=Part 6 |volume=2 |pages=18 |language=en |issue=21}}{{Cite book |last=Subrahmanyam |first=Y. Subhashini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=es4iAAAAMAAJ&q=munsif+Telaga |title=Social Change in Village India: An Andhra Case Study |date=1975 |publisher=Prithvi Raj Publishers |pages=74 |language=en}} In the Godavari districts, some Kapus also held the Karanam (village accountant) post, usually the preserve of Niyogi Brahmins.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=10, 14|loc=Chapter 5}}

File:RaGupati veMkaTaratnaM nayiDu.jpg|left|163x163px]]

File:కన్నెగంటి హనుమంతు.jpg

The latter half of the 19th century saw the emergence of important social reformers, educationists and literary figures, who left an impact on the social consciousness of the people of Andhra.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=93|loc=Chapter 3}} Prominent Kapus like Raghupati Venkataratnam Naidu and Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu were at the forefront of the social reform movement.V. Rama Krishna (1983), [https://books.google.com/books?id=etuRAAAAIAAJ Social Reform in Andhra, 1848-1919], Vikas Publishing House. p. 57–58.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=93|loc=Chapter 3}} 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.{{cite book |last=Bhattacharya |first=Sabyasachi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-jBIp3iWdEC |title=Education and the Disprivileged: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century India |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-250-2192-6 |page=95}}{{cite book |last=Subbamma |first=Mallādi |title=Women's Movement and Associations: Regional Perspective, 1860-1993 |publisher=Booklinks |year=1994 |isbn=978-81-85194-30-1 |page=14}}Itihas (1984) Vol 12. Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 24 Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu (1875–1942), a prominent leader of the Justice Party, formulated policies that promoted social equality, abolition of untouchability, social reform and established the first women's college in Andhra region in Eluru.{{Cite web |date=15 December 2017 |title=భారతీయ కవితా కోకిల (ప్రపంచ తెలుగు మహాసభలు) |url=http://andhrabhoomi.net/content/sub-feature-759 |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=Andhra Bhoomi |language=te}}

Kanneganti Hanumanthu (1870–1922), a Kapu from Palnadu region, rebelled against the British rule and spearheaded the Palnadu Rebellion.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=138–140}} When the British imposed 'Pullari' tax on farmers for using the forest produce, Hanumanthu mobilised people to not pay the tax and organised a social boycott of Revenue and Forest department officials. British executed Hanumanthu by a firing squad in 1922.{{Cite web |title=Kanneganti Hanumanthu |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/unsung-heroes-detail.htm?2843 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website= |publisher=Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English}} Many Kapus participated in the Swadesi movement, civil disobedience movement and the Quit India movement.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=107, 144–147|loc=Chapter 3}}M. Venkatarangaiya (ed.) (1974). The Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh (Andhra). Vol. IV. pp. 591–592.Andhra Patrika. 6 May 1930.

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. But, Reddys are distinct from the Kapu community of Coastal Andhra.{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA4uRbWoGfUC&q=Reddy+kapu+distinct |title=People of India: Andhra Pradesh |date=1992 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7671-006-0 |pages=1525 |language=en |quote=The Reddi, are also known as Kapu (different from the Kapu community of coastal Andhra). |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=66–67|loc=Chapter 2|ps=
The term 'Kapu' which means a 'protector' is very broad in sense, and the Kapus consider themselves as those who look after or protect the soil. They are different from the Kammas and Reddis who are also agricultural castes though it has been pointed out that the term 'Kapu' can be broadly used for all agriculturists. It is loosely applied to all landed castes in the state in the context of the Jajmani system of inter-caste relations. However, the Kapus, are a separate caste in the Coastal districts of Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, East and West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.}}

Apart from zamindars and large landlords, many Kapus are small-and-medium landholding farmers.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=15–17|loc=Chapter 5}} Historically, Kapus owned most of the land in the Godavari districts.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=16–17|loc=Chapter 5}} They also own most of the coconut fields and affiliated agri-businesses in Konaseema region.{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=17, 20–21|loc=Chapter 5}}

Some Kapus also diversified their surplus economy into several entrepreneurial domains like movie theatres and hotels in cities like Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Rajahmundry.{{Sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|p=115–123}}{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=17–18|loc=Chapter 5}} There are also multigenerational Kapu military families in places like Madhavaram in West Godavari. As of 2011, the percentage of graduates among Kapus is one of the highest among Telugu castes.{{Cite web |title=India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011-12 |url=https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/36151 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=ICPSR, University of Michigan |language=en}}

Film industry

Kapus have historically played a prominent role in Telugu cinema. Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, a Kapu from Machilipatnam, was the first Telugu film producer and exhibitor and is regarded as the "father of Telugu cinema". Kapus figure as A-list actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, music composers and technicians in the Telugu film industry. Well-known Telugu cinema icons like S. V. Ranga Rao, Savitri, Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Dasari Narayana Rao hail from the Kapu community.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite news |date=2016-05-22 |title=Kapu community says no to 'Chandranna' samkshema bhavan |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/kapu-community-says-no-to-chandranna-samkshema-bhavan/articleshow/52383519.cms |access-date=2023-04-08 |issn=0971-8257}}

Kapus are primarily present in the Coastal Andhra region with major concentration in the erstwhile districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, and Visakhapatnam.{{Cite web |last=Janyala |first=Sreenivas |date=2014-05-06 |title=The Kapus, 27% and key to Seemandhra |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/the-kapus-27-and-key-to-seemandhra/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} They are present in smaller numbers in the former districts of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram (where they are primarily referred to as Telagas), and in Prakasam.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=66–67|loc=Chapter 2|ps=
The term 'Kapu' which means a 'protector' is very broad in sense, and the Kapus consider themselves as those who look after or protect the soil. They are different from the Kammas and Reddis who are also agricultural castes though it has been pointed out that the term 'Kapu' can be broadly used for all agriculturists. It is loosely applied to all landed castes in the state in the context of the Jajmani system of inter-caste relations. However, the Kapus, are a separate caste in the Coastal districts of Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, East and West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.}} Kapus are also native to Yanam district of Puducherry and are the second largest caste there.{{Cite book |last=More |first=J. B. Prashant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQ1uAAAAMAAJ |title=The Telugus of Yanam and Masulipatnam: From French Rule to Integration with India |date=2007 |language=en |author-link=J. B. Prashant More}}{{Cite web |date=2021-03-18 |title=Once a Cong bastion in Puducherry, Yanam to witness a close contest |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/once-a-cong-bastion-in-puducherry-yanam-to-witness-a-close-contest-101616006170166.html |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}

A significant number of Kapu settlers are present in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region of Telangana.{{Cite web |last=S. N. C. N. Acharyulu |date=11 November 2018 |title=Settlers' role decisive in 25 Telangana Assembly seats |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/111118/settlers-role-decisive-in-25-telangana-assembly-seats.html |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=Deccan Chronicle}}{{Cite web |date=2018-11-09 |title=Which way will Andhra settlers in Telangana swing as TRS tries to woo them? |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/which-way-will-andhra-settlers-telangana-swing-trs-tries-woo-them-91237 |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=The News Minute |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2023-06-06 |title=Ambati Rayudu keeps political parties in Telugu states guessing |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/ambati-rayudu-keeps-political-parties-in-telugu-states-guessing/articleshow/100791356.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-06-18 |issn=0013-0389 |quote=The constituency also has a good number of voters from Kapu community, to which Rayudu belongs.}} Small communities of Telaga-Kapu also exist in Orissa and Kharagpur, West Bengal.{{Cite book |last1=Senapati |first1=Nilamani |last2=Sahu |first2=Nabin Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JDNuAAAAMAAJ&q=Orissa+District+Gazetteers+Telaga |title=Orissa District Gazetteers: Ganjam |date=1966 |publisher=Superintendent, Orissa Government Press |pages=247 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |title=People of India: Andhra Pradesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iv5s-qwMw30C&q=Orissa+kapu |date=1992 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7671-006-0 |pages=821 |language=en}}

In the 19th and early 20th century, Kapu-Telaga were among the Telugu migrants to Burma, Malaysia, Mauritius and Fiji.{{Cite book |last=Oonk |first=Gijsbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkwsMTyShi8C&dq=telugu+diaspora+kapu&pg=PA111 |title=Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory |date=2007 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-5356-035-8 |pages=95, 111 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Mandali Buddha Prasad |author-link=Mandali Buddha Prasad |title=మారిషస్‌లో తెలుగు తేజం |url=https://te.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%B0%AE%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%B7%E0%B0%B8%E0%B1%8D%E2%80%8C%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%8B_%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%97%E0%B1%81_%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%87%E0%B0%9C%E0%B0%82/%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%83%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%AF_%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%AA%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%9A_%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%97%E0%B1%81_%E0%B0%AE%E0%B0%B9%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B8%E0%B0%AD%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81 |website= |publisher=విదేశాంధ్ర సేవాకేంద్ర |page=66 |language=te}}{{Cite web |title=South Indian Immigrants from India |url=https://sangamfiji.com.fj/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/List.pdf |access-date=13 August 2023 |website=Sangam Fiji}} Telagas were said to form the largest caste among the Telugu people of Mauritius. In recent decades, Kapus have migrated to the Anglophone countries like United States.{{Cite book |last1=Chakravorty |first1=Sanjoy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ81DQAAQBAJ |title=The Other One Percent: Indians in America |last2=Kapur |first2=Devesh |last3=Singh |first3=Nirvikar |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-064874-9 |pages=68 |language=en |quote=High castes (like Brahmins) and dominant castes (like Patels in Gujarat and Kapu and Kamma in Andhra Pradesh) constitute over 90 percent of Indians in America. |author-link2=Devesh Kapur}}

There also exist other Kapu communities like the Munnuru Kapus in Telangana, and the Turpu Kapus in Uttarandhra who are enumerated separately from Coastal Andhra Kapus.

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. But, Reddys are distinct from the Kapus of Coastal Andhra.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=66–67|loc=Chapter 2|ps=
The term 'Kapu' which means a 'protector' is very broad in sense, and the Kapus consider themselves as those who look after or protect the soil. They are different from the Kammas and Reddis who are also agricultural castes though it has been pointed out that the term 'Kapu' can be broadly used for all agriculturists. It is loosely applied to all landed castes in the state in the context of the Jajmani system of inter-caste relations. However, the Kapus, are a separate caste in the Coastal districts of Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, East and West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.}}{{Cite book |last=జాగరగల్లు సుబ్బరాయుడు |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.370980/page/n235/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81 |title=త్రిలిఙ్గ రజతోత్సవము (శ్రీ వావిళ్ల వేంకటేశ్వరశాస్త్రులు గారి సమ్మాన సంపుటము) |date=1941 |publisher=Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons |pages=176 |language=te |quote=గోదావరి కృష్ణా జిల్లాలలో రెడ్లకు, కాపులకు భేదమున్నది. కాపులను 'తెలగాలు' 'నాయుళ్లు' అని పిలుచుచుందురు. కాని కడప కర్నూలు ప్రాంతములలో 'రెడ్ల'న్నను 'కాపు'లన్నను ఒక్కకులమునకే వాడుచున్నారు. పర్యాయపదములుగా నుపయోగించుచున్నారు.}} Kapu caste is also unrelated to Konda Kapu, Pattapu Kapu, Vanne Kapu, Palli Kapu, Are Kapu, Morasu Kapu, Kapu Savara castes.{{Cite web |last=J. Eswara Prasad |author-link=Jasti Eswara Prasad |title=Govt. Of Andhra Pradesh and ... vs R. K. Ragala and another on 31 January, 1994 |url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/69851/ |publisher=Andhra Pradesh High Court}}

Telaga, a sub-caste of Kapu, has no relation to the Mudiraj and Teli castes who are sometimes referred to as Telaga.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4wXAQAAMAAJ |title=Economic and Political Weekly |date=1989 |publisher=Sameeksha Trust |pages=66 |language=en}}

Kapu, Telaga and Ontari are the subcastes of Kapu community. All three frequently inter-marry and are usually classed as a single unit.{{Cite book |last=Parthasarathy |first=D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GevZAAAAMAAJ |title=Collective Violence in a Provincial City |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-564139-4 |language=en}}{{Rp|page=47}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=43|loc=Chapter 2}} Most Telagas and Ontaris have also referred to themselves as Kapus for a long time.{{Cite journal |last=Reddy |first=G. Samba Siva |date=2011 |title=Dethroning Dominance: Caste Associations in Colonial Andhra, 1901-1947 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146769 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=72 |page=771 |issn=2249-1937 |jstor=44146769 |quote=Telagas termed themselves as Kapus and by profession were agriculturists. The first Telaga Mahajana Sabha of the region met at Railway Kodur in Kadapa district in September 1920. The later Telaga Conferences were held mostly in the Coastal Andhra areas than in the Rayalaseema region since the population of Telagas was more in the former region than in the latter. But some of the leaders of the region participated in these conferences as they had good rapport, with the prominent Coastal Andhra leaders like Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu, who seldom visited the region.}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wBNDAAAAYAAJ&q=telaga+mahasabha+bandar |title=Proceedings - Indian History Congress |date=2006 |publisher=Indian History Congress |volume=65 |pages=449 |language=en}} The terms Kapu and Telaga are often used as synonyms to collectively refer to all three sections.{{Refn|name=terms}}

Manati Kapu (మానాటి కాపు) or Mahanati Kapu (మహనాటి కాపు) is a section of Kapu community along with Telaga and Ontari. They are popularly known as Kapus and are classified as a Forward caste. They are distinct from Turpu Kapus. Traditionally, Manati Kapus did not recognise divorce and their women would not leave their houses. They were agriculturists and were of a good social standing. Manati Kapu and Telaga are together referred to as Pedda Kapu in comparison with Turpu Kapu.{{Refn|{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=67|loc=Chapter 2|ps=
The Kapus are found all over Andhra Pradesh and they are sub-divided into the Turpu Kapus and Telagas. The Kapus of the East and West Godavari call themselves Telagas or Pedda (Big) Kapus and claim to be superior to the Turpu (East) Kapus. The Turpu Kapus are those belonging to the districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.}}{{Cite book |last=Lakshmanna |first=Chintamani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KyRDAQAAIAAJ&q=Telaga+Naidu |title=Caste Dynamics in Village India |date=1973 |publisher=Nachiketa Publications |pages=26, 137 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Shashi |first=Shyam Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOIjAQAAIAAJ&q=Telaga+naidu |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: Andhra Pradesh |date=1994 |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=978-81-7041-836-8 |pages=196. 195 |language=en |quote=But Reddis, Kammas, and Telaga Naidu are equal in social rank. They are originally agricultural castes. |author-link=Shyam Singh Shashi}}{{Cite book |last=Simhadri |first=Y. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ld61AAAAIAAJ&q=Telaga+naidu |title=The Ex-criminal Tribes of India |date=1979 |publisher=National |language=en |author-link=Y. C. Simhadri}}{{Cite book |last=Rao |first=M. Prasada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTbtAAAAMAAJ&q=Telaga+Naidu |title=Rural Non-farm Growth: Sign of Farm Success Or Failure? |date=2006 |publisher=Serials Publications |isbn=978-81-8387-009-2 |pages=215 |language=en}}|name=PK}}

Charles Philip Brown's Telugu-English Dictionary (1852) mentions Mahanati Kapu as equivalent to Telaga caste.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Charles Philip |url=https://archive.org/details/brown-a-dictionary-telugu-and-english-1852-copy-b/page/441/mode/2up?q=Telaga |title=A Dictionary, Telugu and English: Explaining the Colloquial Style Used in Business and the Poetical Dialect, with Explanations in English and in Telugu |date=1852 |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |edition=1st |pages=442 |author-link=Charles Philip Brown}} Brown also notes that Mahanati Kapus were leaguesmen and members of the Mahanadu community.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Charles Philip |url=https://archive.org/details/brown-a-dictionary-telugu-and-english-1852-copy-b/page/215/mode/2up |title=A Dictionary, Telugu and English: Explaining the Colloquial Style Used in Business and the Poetical Dialect, with Explanations in English and in Telugu |date=1852 |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |edition=1st |pages=215 |author-link=Charles Philip Brown}}{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Charles Philip |author-link=Charles Philip Brown |date=1903 |title=A Telugu-English Dictionary |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/brown_query.py?qs=%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%81&searchhws=yes |website= |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |pages=271 |via=Digital South Asia Library |edition=2nd}} Mahanadu was a multi-caste assembly which enforced norms in the society.{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=William |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.497962/page/263/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%AE%E0%B0%B9%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%9F%E0%B0%BF |title=తెనుగు-ఇంగ్లీష్ నిఘంటువు |publisher=Cultural Books Limited |year=1953 |edition=2nd |pages=264}}{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=William |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.27436/page/n297/mode/2up |title=A Vocabulary of Gentoo and English |date=1818 |publisher=Commercial Press, Madras |pages=282–283}} Andhra Vignanamu, Volume 3 (1939) mentions that Manati Kapus were present in large numbers in erstwhile East and West Godavari districts and in smaller numbers in Krishna, Guntur, Visakhapatnam and Ganjam districts of Madras Presidency.

{{Main|Telaga}}

Telaga is a subcaste of Kapu and both terms are often used synonymously.{{refn|{{Cite book |last=Murty |first=K. Ramachandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSeOAAAAMAAJ&q=Telagas |title=Parties, Elections, and Mobilisation |date=2001 |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=978-81-261-0979-1 |pages=21 |language=en |quote=The Kapus of Godavari Districts are quite well off and politically dynamic. They proudly declare themselves as Telagas.}}{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iv5s-qwMw30C&q=Telaga+Forward+caste |title=People of India: Andhra Pradesh |date=1992 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7671-006-0 |pages=851 |language=en |quote=The term Kapu is variously used in different regions of Andhra Pradesh. They are equated with Reddis in Rayalaseema districts (Thurston, 1909). In East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, and Guntur districts, the same term refers to a forward caste, often synonymously used with the Telaga and Ontari.|author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}{{Cite book |last1=Grover |first1=Verinder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gzpuAAAAMAAJ&q=Kapus |title=Encyclopaedia of India and Her States: Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa |last2=Arora |first2=Ranjana |date=1996 |publisher=Deep & Deep |isbn=978-81-7100-730-1 |pages=129 |language=en |quote=The Kapus constitute a separate caste in the Coastal districts of West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam. The Kapus of Coastal regions are politically dynamic. They proudly declare themselves as Telagas.}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=67|loc=Chapter 2|ps=
The Kapus are found all over Andhra Pradesh and they are sub-divided into the Turpu Kapus and Telagas. The Kapus of the East and West Godavari call themselves Telagas or Pedda (Big) Kapus and claim to be superior to the Turpu (East) Kapus. The Turpu Kapus are those belonging to the districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.}}{{Cite book |last=Subrahmanyam |first=Y. Subhashini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=es4iAAAAMAAJ&q=Telaga |title=Social Change in Village India: An Andhra Case Study |date=1975 |publisher=Prithvi Raj Publishers |pages=74, 75 |language=en |quote=The Kapu form the bulk of the population and are agriculturists and horticulturists. The Kapus of the East Godavari call themselves Telaga or Pedda (Big) Kapus.}}{{Cite journal |last=Reddy |first=G. Samba Siva |date=2011 |title=Dethroning Dominance: Caste Associations in Colonial Andhra, 1901-1947 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146769 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=72 |page=771 |jstor=44146769 |issn=2249-1937 |quote=Telagas termed themselves as Kapus and by profession were agriculturists. The first Telaga Mahajana Sabha of the region met at Railway Kodur in Kadapa district in September 1920. The later Telaga Conferences were held mostly in the Coastal Andhra areas than in the Rayalaseema region since the population of Telagas was more in the former region than in the latter. But some of the leaders of the region participated in these conferences as they had good rapport, with the prominent Coastal Andhra leaders like Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu, who seldom visited the region.}}{{Cite book |last=Satyanarayana |first=A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GultAAAAMAAJ&q=Godavari+telaga+mahasabha |title=Dalits and Upper Castes: Essays in Social History |date=2005 |publisher=Kanishka Publishers, Distributors |isbn=978-81-7391-703-5 |pages=152 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA4uRbWoGfUC&q=Telaga |title=People of India: Andhra Pradesh |date=1992 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7671-006-0 |pages=1817 |language=en |quote=The Telaga are a Telugu speaking dominant cultivator community, concentrated in all the coastal towns and hinterlands of East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Nellore districts of Coastal Andhra and in all the ..... Today we find the Kapu, Ontari and Balija of the state often call themselves Telaga, and the Telaga in some parts also use Kapu as synonym. |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}|name=terms}} 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. Telagas are classified as a Forward caste.{{refn|{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tc5HAAAAYAAJ&q=Telaga |title=Bulletin |date=1990 |publisher=Madras Institute of Development Studies |pages=123 |language=en |quote=Taking Andhra Pradesh alone, all the populous land-owning castes such as Reddy, Kamma, Kapu, Telaga, Velama, Raju, etc. (which are among the forward sections), constitute definitely more than nine percent of the total population which is the proportion of the land-owning castes in the above extrapolation for northern India.}}{{citation |last=Murty |first=K. Ramachandra |title=Parties Elections And Mobilisation |publisher=Anmol Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSeOAAAAMAAJ |page=158 |year=2001 |isbn=978-81-261-0979-1 |quote=Srikakulam district: ... The Brahmins, Rajus (Kshatriya), Komati, and Telaga communities are considered to be forward communities and these castes constitute around 8 percent of the district.}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkIvDwUCQeUC&q=Telaga+kapu+forward+caste |title=Census of India, 1971: Andhra Pradesh |date=1976 |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India |volume=6 |pages=236 |language=en |quote=It is also seen that Brahmin, Vysya, Telaga, Kapu who are considered to be socially and economically forward castes .... |issue=2}}{{Cite journal |last=Bernstorff |first=Dagmar |date=1973 |title=Eclipse of "Reddy-Raj"? The Attempted Restructuring of the Congress Party Leadership in Andhra Pradesh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2643005 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=13 |issue=10 |pages=970 |doi=10.2307/2643005 |jstor=2643005 |issn=0004-4687 |quote=Other forward communities are Brahmins, Vaishyas, Kshatriyas, Telagas, Khaists.}}{{Cite journal |last=Hauck |first=Gerhard |date=1973 |title=Gewaltlosigkeit und Gleichheit als Ideologie: Eine Studie über den Gandhiismus in Indien |trans-title=Nonviolence and Equality as Ideology: A Study of Gandhiism in India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40877086 |journal=Soziale Welt |language=de |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=102 |jstor=40877086 |issn=0038-6073}}{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=D. Suran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVKKAAAAMAAJ&q=Telaga |title=The Congress Party in Transition: A Study in Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh |date=1991 |publisher=National Book Organisation |isbn=978-81-85135-64-9 |pages=27 |language=en |quote=The Brahmin, Raju (Kshatriya), Komati (Vaisya) and Telaga castes are considered 'forward communities' in the district.}}{{Cite book |last=Raju |first=Rapaka Satya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K7fDs9fV3TsC&dq=Telaga&pg=PA158 |title=Urban Unorganised Sector in India |date=1989 |publisher=Mittal Publications |pages=158 |language=en |quote=Among the forward communities, Vysya, Telaga and Brahmin communities had higher representation in that order.}}|name=FC-T}} They are a land-owning agrarian community.{{Refn|{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dQcAQAAMAAJ&q=Telaga+land+owners+most+respected |title=Census of India, 1961 |date=1961 |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India |volume=2 |pages=8 |language=en |quote=The Kapus who are otherwise popularly known as Telagas in these parts primarily belong to a caste of cultivators and land owners. They are among the most respected of the non-Brahmins. It is said that in the past they were soldiers in the armies of the Hindu Sovereigns. |issue=16}}{{Cite book |last1=Narayan-Parker |first1=Deepa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hv97bQ7cbOoC&dq=Telaga&pg=PA152 |title=From Many Lands |last2=Petesch |first2=Patti L. |date=2002-01-01 |publisher=World Bank Publications |isbn=978-0-8213-5049-2 |pages=152 |language=en |quote=About half the 153 households in the village are from the dominant Telaga caste of landed farmers ....}}{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTYFAQAAIAAJ&q=Telagas |title=Police Power and Colonial Rule, Madras, 1859-1947 |date=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-561893-8 |pages=48 |language=en |author-link=David Arnold (historian)}}{{Cite book |last=K. Veeram Reddy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G70sAAAAMAAJ&q=Telaga |title=Land Reforms and the Emergence of New Agrarian Structure in Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study of Chittoor District |date=1987 |pages=63 |language=en |quote=It was because of the caste composition of land ownership, for most of the agricultural land is owned by the dominant castes - Kamma, Reddy, Velama, Telaga, and Kshatriya communities.}}{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/anotherharmonyne0000unse |title=Another Harmony: New Essays on the Folklore of India |date=1986 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05498-1 |editor-last=H. Blackburn |editor-first=Stuart |pages=143 |quote=Now let us look at the various castes associated with our epics. Those associated with the Palnati Katha are Telaga, Velamas, and Kammas—all traditionally landowning castes. |editor-last2=A. K. Ramanujan |editor-link2=A. K. Ramanujan}}{{Cite book |last=Rao |first=Velcheru Narayana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iycmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA310 |title=Text and Tradition in South India |date=2017-06-01 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-6777-1 |pages=310 |language=en |author-link=Velcheru Narayana Rao}}{{Cite book |last=Jackson-Laufer |first=Guida Myrl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZgYAAAAIAAJ&q=Telaga+warriors |title=Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics |date=1994 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-87436-724-9 |pages=463 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Oddie |first=Geoffrey A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXEcAAAAMAAJ&q=Telaga+landowners |title=Religion in South Asia: Religious Conversion and Revival Movements in South Asia in Medieval and Modern Times |date=1977 |publisher=Curzon Press |isbn=978-0-7007-0103-2 |pages=81 |language=en}}|name=LO-T}} Historically, they were a warrior caste before taking up cultivation.{{Refn|{{Cite book |last=Baines |first=Athelstane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5d0hEAAAQBAJ&dq=Telaga+army&pg=PA54 |title=Ethnography (Castes and Tribes): With a List of the More Important Works on Indian Ethnography by W. Siegling |date=2021-03-22 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-238388-9 |pages=54 |language=en |quote=The Telaga were once a military caste, and were till recently recruited for the native regiments of the British army, but now they are cultivators of a moderately high position, and only differ from their neighbours in being somewhat more fully Brahmanised.}}{{Cite book |last=Brand |first=Coenraad M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5gzTp13AXQC&dq=Telagas&pg=PA110 |title=State and Society: A Reader in Comparative Political Sociology |date=1973 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02490-8 |pages=110 |language=en |quote=... local warrior castes such as Rajus, Kammas, Velamas, Kapus, and Telagas dominated military occupations.}}{{Cite book |last1=Rao |first1=Velcheru Narayana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0RuAAAAMAAJ&q=Telagas |title=Textures of Time: Writing History in South India 1600-1800 |last2=Shulman |first2=David Dean |last3=Subrahmanyam |first3=Sanjay |date=2003 |publisher=Other Press |isbn=978-1-59051-044-5 |pages=8, 30, 83 |language=en |author-link=Velcheru Narayana Rao |author-link2=David Dean Shulman |author-link3=Sanjay Subrahmanyam}}{{Cite book |last=Roghair |first=Gene Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YoOAAAAYAAJ&q=Telaga+warriors |title=The Epic of Palnāḍu: A Study and Translation of Palnāṭi Vīrula Katha, a Telugu Oral Tradition from Andhra Pradesh, India |date=1982 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-815456-3 |pages=375 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Park |first=Richard Leonard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdu1AAAAIAAJ&q=Telagas+warrior |title=Region and Nation in India |date=1985 |publisher=Oxford & IBH Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-204-0002-3 |pages=72 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Richard Gabriel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CAXULggU0QMC&q=Telaga |title=Realm and Region in Traditional India |date=1977 |publisher=Duke University, Program in Comparative Studies on Southern Asia |isbn=978-0-916994-12-9 |pages=121 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQ5uAAAAMAAJ&q=Telagas+warrior |title=Indo-British Review |date=1984 |publisher=Indo-British Historical Society |volume=11 |pages=22 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Bawa |first=Vasant K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i1HRAAAAMAAJ&q=Telagas+warriors |title=Aspects of Deccan History: Report of a Seminar |date=1975 |publisher=Institute of Asian Studies |pages=101 |language=en}}|name=wm}} During the colonial era, Telagas were noted to be of a high social position.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoMzAQAAMAAJ&q=Telaga+Naidu |title=Lutheran Woman's Work |date=1922 |publisher=Lutheran Publication Society |volume=15 |pages=322 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Bhattacharya |first=Jogendra Nath |url=https://archive.org/details/hinducastesands00bhatgoog/page/286/mode/2up |title=Hindu Castes and Sects |date=1896 |publisher=Thacker, Spink and Co. |pages=286 |author-link=Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya}}

Ontari (also Vontari, Vantari) are a section of Kapu caste.{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHQMAQAAMAAJ&q=Ontari |title=India's Communities |date=1998 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-0-19-563354-2 |pages=2673–2674 |language=en |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkIvDwUCQeUC&q=ontari+kapu |title=Census of India, 1971: Andhra Pradesh |date=1976 |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India |pages=232 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Sarma |first=Mallampalli Somasekhara |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.32066 |title=History Of The Reddi Kingdoms |date=1946 |publisher=Andhra University |pages=241 |quote=Another important division of the infantry was ekkatlu, the plural form of the term ekkati, a contracted form of Ekkatidu. Ekkati, otherwise called Ontari, was, as his name indicates, brought into the field of battle almost at the end of the fight, when it was a losing game, and was ordered to take part in hand to hand fight. Ekkati kayyamu, the combat of singles, began only after every prospect of victory was lost. The ekkati forces served probably as the reserve army, and each fighter in this division was probably a great wrestler and wielded also heavy weapons like maces and the like. There were ekkatis in every important town and village in the kingdom. The ekkatis of Velanturu (Vellaturu), Tangeda and Polepalli are mentioned in the records of the Reddi period. From the way in which these ekkatis made gifts to local gods, we come to know that they were remunerated for their services by grants of land. All these sections of infantry are mentioned in the Palnativiracaritra, produced in this period. In this work ekkatlu are referred to as Ontarlu (Selagola prajalanu heccu vantarla; Vantari is the corrupt form of Ontari). Ekkati and its synonym Ontari seem to have been the vernacular equivalents of the Sanskrit word Ekangavira, the hero who fights the combat singly. These ekkatis of the Reddi period gradually formed into a separate military caste or community, and are now popularly called Vantarlu. These now form one of the three sections of the Telaga community, the other two being the Telaga (proper), and the Kapu. |author-link=Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma}} Ontaris are classified as a Forward caste. They are a small community and are primarily found in Kakinada and Anakapalli districts and in smaller numbers in erstwhile West Godavari and Guntur districts.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=69, 81, 91|loc=Chapter 2}} 1901 Census of India describers vantarlu as a sub-caste of Telagas and notes that their name literally means 'a strong man'.{{Cite book |last=W. Francis |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924071135937/page/n247/mode/2up?q=Telaga |title=Census of India, 1901 |publisher=Government Press |year=1902 |volume=XV |page=183}}

In the present day, Ontaris are landholding agriculturists. Historically, Ontaris were exclusively into military service.{{Cite book |last=Sarma |first=Mallampalli Somasekhara |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.32066 |title=History Of The Reddi Kingdoms |date=1946 |publisher=Andhra University |pages=277 |author-link=Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}} Ontari literally means 'the lone one' which referred to their bravery in the context of historical warfare.{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iv5s-qwMw30C&q=Ontari |title=People of India: Andhra Pradesh |date=1992 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7671-006-0 |pages=1326 |language=en |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}} M. L. Kantha Rao calls Ontaris 'a great warrior class'.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}} They were a clan of warriors in medieval Andhra who engaged in hand-to-hand combat and wielded heavy weapons like maces.

Srinatha mentions Ontarlu in his Palnati Veera Charitra and Bhimeswara Puranam, written in early 15th century.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}} Inscriptions from Vellaturu (dated to 1418 CE) and Tangeda in former Guntur district register gifts of lands to temples by Ontarlu.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}}{{Cite book |last=Dr. Raavi Bharati |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.492201/page/59/mode/2up |title=Sahitya Vyasaalu |date=1985 |publisher=Visalaandhra Publishing House |pages=60 |language=te}} Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma notes that Ontari was the vernacular equivalent of the Sanskrit word Ekangavira {{Em dash}} a hero who fights the combat alone. Major towns and villages of medieval Andhra had gymnasiums for Ontarlu.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.373540/page/21/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%9F%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81 |title=Telugu Vignana Sarvasvamu |date=1958 |publisher=Telugu Bhasha Samithi |editor-last=Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma |editor-link=Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma |series=Telugu Samskruthi |volume=3 |pages=22 |editor-last2=Mamidipudi Venkatarangayya |editor-link2=Mamidipudi Venkatarangayya |editor-last3=Moturi Satyanarayana |editor-link3=Moturi Satyanarayana}} Analysing literary sources, Sarma notes that Ontaris, also known as Ekkatis, took part in hand-to-hand fight called Ekkati Kayyamu, the combat of singles. 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. These now form one of the three sections of the Telaga community, the other two being the Telaga (proper), and the Kapu.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|pp=80–81|loc=Chapter 2}}

Balijas are closely related to Kapus and both are often enumerated together in government, sociological and psephological contexts.{{Refn|name=Balija}} Andhra Vignanamu, Volume 3 (1939) mentions four sections in Telaga community {{Em dash}} Telagas (or Naidus), Ontaris (or Doras), Balijas, and Kapus. Anthropological Survey of India notes that Balijas of Rayalaseema are ethnically similar to Kapus of Coastal Andhra.

Various sources note the similarities between the communities of Kapu, Telaga, Balija, and Ontari. These terms are often used as synonyms and are mentioned as sections of each other.{{Refn|{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=77|loc=Chapter 2}}{{Cite web |date=2002 |title=NCBC Andhra Pradesh Bench Findings |url=http://ncbc.nic.in/Pdf/Andhra%20Pradesh/AndhraPradesh-Vol3/2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204102348/http://ncbc.nic.in/Pdf/Andhra%20Pradesh/AndhraPradesh-Vol3/2.pdf |archive-date=4 February 2013 |access-date= |page=13}}}} Kapu, Telaga, and Balija are considered as variant names of the same community in different regions.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/andhra-patrika-varshika |title=కావు మహా సభ |date=16 April 1913 |publisher=Andhra Patrika |pages=44 |language=te}} Andhra Pradesh government's Kapu Welfare and Development Corporation refers to Kapu, Telaga, Balija, and Ontari communities collectively as Kapu.

Kapus are classified as a Forward caste both by the Central Government of India as well as the Andhra Pradesh Government. As of 2023, they do not avail any caste-based quotas or reservations.{{Refn|name=FC-K}}{{Cite news |date=2023-03-29 |title=Andhra Pradesh high court notice to govt on Kapu reservation |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/andhra-pradesh-high-court-notice-to-govt-on-kapu-reservation/articleshow/99074978.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-05-01 |issn=0971-8257}} They are a community of land-owning cultivators{{Refn|name=LO-K}} and are one of the dominant castes of Andhra Pradesh.{{Refn|name=DC}}

The four-tier varna system of ranking never really took hold in South Indian society. The two intermediate dvija varnas—the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas—did not exist.{{Refn|{{Cite book |last=Mathew |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7BJWAAAAYAAJ |title=French in India and Indian Nationalism, 1700 A.D.-1963 A.D. |date=1999 |publisher=B. R. Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-81-7646-114-6 |pages=276 |language=en |quote=Scholars have drawn attention to the fact that in the south Indian social hierarchy the second and third varnas, namely Kshatriya and Vaishya did not exist.}}{{cite book |last=Price |first=Pamela G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3GuKnZTGG4C&pg=PA30 |title=Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India |publisher=Curzon Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780700711017 |editor1=John Jeya Paul |location=Richmond, Surrey |pages=30 |chapter= |quote=However, for reasons probably relating to the relationship between processes of state formation and major models of kinship organization in south India, south Indians generally recognized the existence of only one varna, the Brahman varna in society. The other two twice-born, high-status varnas – Kshatriya (warrior) and Vaishya (merchant and agriculturalist) – and the lowly, serving Sudra varna were not universally recognized as existing. |editor2=Keith E. Yandell}}{{Citation |author1=Omvedt, Gail |title=Dalits and the democratic revolution : Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit movement in colonial India / Gail Omvedt |date=January 1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leuICwAAQBAJ&q=dalits+and+the+democratic+revolution+ksatriya+jatis+south&pg=PT56 |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308054356/https://books.google.com/books?id=leuICwAAQBAJ&q=dalits+and+the+democratic+revolution+ksatriya+jatis+south&pg=PT56 |url-status=live |publisher=Sage Publications |language=English |isbn=0803991398 |archive-date=8 March 2023}}:”In addition the 'three-way' caste division (Brahman, non-Brahman, Untouchable) seems particularly prominent here. There are no recognized 'Ksatriya' jatis anywhere in the south, and the three states (in contrast to the more inequalitarian hierarchies of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) are characterized by the dominance of large peasant jatis with landholding rights who historically supplied many of the zamindars and rulers but remained classed remained classed as 'Shudra' in the varna scheme.”{{cite book |last=Thurston |first=Edgar |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42994/42994-h/42994-h.htm |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4 |publisher=Government Press |year=1909 |volume=4 |location=Madras |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611230511/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42994/42994-h/42994-h.htm |archive-date=11 June 2021 |url-status=live}}:"In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is recorded that “the term Kshatriya is, of course, wholly inapplicable to the Dravidian races, who might with as much, perhaps more, accuracy call themselves Turks."}} In South India, on the other hand, there existed only three distinguishable classes{{Em dash}}the Brahmins, the non-Brahmins and the Dalits.{{Refn|{{citation |last=Fox |first=Richard G. |title=Varna Schemes and Ideological Integration in Indian Society |date=January 1969 |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=11 |number=1 |pages=27–45 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500005132|s2cid=145053341 }}: "When recognition of a regional varna scheme has been unavoidable—such as the tripartite division into Brahmins, non-Brahmins, and Untouchables in much of the South— it has been explained in terms of a historical corruption or breakdown of the standard four-class system, rather than regarded as a functional entity in its own right."{{cite book |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHPok4epvlIC&q=South+india |title=Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-47862-5 |page=204 |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308054358/https://books.google.com/books?id=mHPok4epvlIC&q=South+india |archive-date=8 March 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |last=Bernard |first=Jean Alphonse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dP9tAAAAMAAJ |title=From Raj to the Republic: A Political History of India, 1935–2000 |publisher=Har Anand Publications |year=2001 |isbn=9788124107669 |page=37}}{{cite book |last1=Raychaudhuri |first1=Tapan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-s8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA26 |title=The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200–c.1750 |last2=Habib |first2=Irfan |last3=Kumar |first3=Dharma |publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-521-22692-9 |pages=27–28 |author-link2=Irfan Habib}}}} Kapus are referred to as a non-Brahmin upper-caste.{{Refn|{{Cite book |last=Bhattacharya |first=Sabyasachi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-jBIp3iWdEC&dq=non-Brahmin+upper-caste+kapu&pg=PA58 |title=Education and the Disprivileged: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century India |date=2002 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2192-6 |pages=58 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Gundimeda |first=Sambaiah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjjbCgAAQBAJ |title=Dalit Politics in Contemporary India |date=2015-10-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-38105-1 |pages=195 |language=en |quote=It is important to recognise here that 'farmers' refers to members of the non-Brahmin upper castes, particularly the Reddy, Kamma, and Kapu castes.}}{{Cite book |last=Gundemeda |first=Nagaraju |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mitQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |title=Education and Hegemony: Social Construction of Knowledge in India in the Era of Globalisation |date=2014-10-02 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-6830-3 |pages=79 |language=en |quote=She states that most of the non-Brahmin upper castes, such as Kamma, Reddi, Velama and Kapu, formed as an association under the political banner of the Justice Party to voice their interests.}}{{Cite journal |last=Mohan |first=Ch. Uma |date=1984 |title=Social Mobility Trends in an Andhra Village: A Study in Occupational Changes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41919486 |journal=Indian Anthropologist |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=1–12 |jstor=41919486 |issn=0970-0927}}{{Cite book |last=Satyanarayana |first=A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GultAAAAMAAJ |title=Dalits and Upper Castes: Essays in Social History |date=2005 |publisher=Kanishka Publishers, Distributors |isbn=978-81-7391-703-5 |pages=55 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Vaikuntham |first=Yallampalli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_U5AAAAMAAJ |title=Education and Social Change in South India: Andhra, 1880-1920 |date=1982 |publisher=New Era Publications |pages=166 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRZI6a4BpE0C |title=Indian Anthropologist: Journal of the Indian Anthropological Association |date=1984 |publisher=Indian Anthropological Association |pages=9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Rajagopal |first=Indhu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwxBAAAAMAAJ&q=kapu |title=The Tyranny of Caste: The Non-Brahman Movement and Political Development in South India |date=1985 |publisher=Vikas |isbn=978-0-7069-2663-7 |pages=15 |language=en}}}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=59|loc=Chapter 2}} They are considered to be a "Sat Shudra" (also known as "upper/high-caste/clean Shudra"){{Cite book |last=Gundimeda |first=Sambaiah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjjbCgAAQBAJ&dq=Sat+Shudra&pg=PA19 |title=Dalit Politics in Contemporary India |date=2015-10-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-38105-1 |pages=19 |language=en}} community in the traditional Hindu ritual ranking system.{{Refn|{{Cite book |last=Bhattacharya |first=Sabyasachi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-jBIp3iWdEC&pg=PA54 |title=Education and the Disprivileged: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century India |date=2002 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2192-6 |pages=54 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Frykenberg |first=Robert Eric |date=1965 |title=Elite Groups in a South Indian District: 1788-1858 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2050565 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=274 |doi=10.2307/2050565 |issn=0021-9118 |jstor=2050565 |s2cid=153984852}}{{Cite book |last= |url=http://archive.org/details/abhinavasaraswathi19300201 |title=Abhinava Saraswathi |date=February 1930 |editor-last=Janapati Pattabhirama Sastry |volume=21 |pages=1–2, 10 |language=Telugu |chapter=సచ్ఛూద్ర సత్యచరిత |issue=11}}}}

In a study on the history of Guntur district, Robert Eric Frykenberg categorized Kapus and Telagas among "elite agricultural (warrior) castes".{{Cite journal |last=Frykenberg |first=Robert Eric |date=1965 |title=Elite Groups in a South Indian District: 1788-1858 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2050565 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=261–281 |doi=10.2307/2050565 |issn=0021-9118 |jstor=2050565 |s2cid=153984852}} In 1982, Barbara D. Miller of Syracuse University remarked, "Generally the Telaga-Kapu rank fairly high in status".{{Cite journal |last=Miller |first=Barbara D. |date=1982 |title=Female Labor Participation and Female Seclusion in Rural India: A Regional View |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3203116 |journal=Economic Development and Cultural Change |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=791 |doi=10.1086/452589 |issn=0013-0079 |jstor=3203116 |s2cid=154725772}} K. C. Suri notes that non-Brahman caste groups like Kapus, whose main occupation has been cultivation, are the most important social groups in Andhra Pradesh in terms of numerical strength, land control, and access to political power.{{Rp|page=10}} K. Srinisavulu notes that Kapus are fairly prosperous and are dominant in the erstwhile districts of East Godavari and West Godavari.{{cite book |last=Srinivasulu |first=K. |url=http://www.odi.org.uk/livelihoodoptions/papers/wp179.pdf#search='caste%2C%20class%2C%20and%20social%20articulation |title=Caste & Class Articulation of Andhra Pradesh |date=September 2002 |publisher=Overseas Development Institute |isbn=0-85003-612-7 |location=London |pages=3, 4 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720172106/https://www.odi.org.uk/livelihoodoptions/papers/wp179.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2006 |url-status=dead}}

During the 1920s and 1930s, Kapus, along with other feudal landed castes, were major supporters of the Justice Party.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FBqeVaNk1TYC&q=Telaga |title=Andhra Pradesh |date=1962 |publisher=Director of Information and Public Relations, Andhra Pradesh |volume=7 |pages=6 |language=en |quote=The Kapu (Telaga) community in the Circar districts of Andhra was entirely in the grip of the Justice Party ... One of the staunch leaders of the Justice Party was Sir Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu, a leading advocate of Eluru, who was closely related to the rich landlords of the Kapu community in the Circar districts. ... But it was felt that the backing of the Kapu community was also essential to the Congress, as that community was in a considerable position and status in the Circars.}}{{Cite book |last=Gundemeda |first=Nagaraju |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mitQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |title=Education and Hegemony: Social Construction of Knowledge in India in the Era of Globalisation |date=2014-10-02 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-6830-3 |pages=79 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Innaiah |first=N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUduAAAAMAAJ |title=Between Charisma and Corruption: Politics in Indian States with Special Study of Andhra Pradesh, 1890-1990 |date=1991 |publisher= |pages=29 |language=en}} Prominent Kapu leader Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu was a member of the Justice Party and formulated policies that promoted social equality, abolition of untouchability, and social reform.{{Cite book |last=Irschick |first=Eugene F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLY7v3tbM8kC&pg=PA175 |title=Politics and Social Conflict in South India |publisher=University of California Press |pages=175 |language=en |author-link=Eugene F. Irschick}}{{Cite magazine |last=Randor Guy |author-link=Randor Guy |date=1-15 July 2009 |title=Justice Party policies owed much to him |url=https://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2019%20No%206/justice_party_owed_him_that_much.html |website=Madras Musings |volume=XIX |access-date=2023-05-03}} In 1920, the first legislative council elections to Madras Presidency were held after the passing of the Government of India Act 1919. Naidu was one of the three ministers in the Cabinet holding the portfolios of Development and Industries.{{cite book |author=Saroja Sundararajan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nr5HAAAAMAAJ |title=March to freedom in Madras Presidency, 1916-1947 |publisher=Lalitha Publications |year=1989 |pages=329–332}}{{Cite book |last=Satyanārāyaṇa |first=Garimeḷḷa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdhlAAAAMAAJ |title=Garimella's Heart of India |date=1994 |publisher=Shanu Publishers |pages=188 |language=en}} In 1936, he was appointed as the Governor of Madras Presidency, one of the only two Indians in history to have held the post. In 1937, he was elected as the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency. 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).{{Cite book |last=Muthiah |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbR_LLkqdI8C&dq=Kurma+Naidu&pg=PA336 |title=Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India |date=2008 |publisher=Palaniappa Brothers |isbn=978-81-8379-468-8 |pages=336 |language=en |author-link=S. Muthiah}}

After Indian independence, Andhra State was formed in 1953. Pasala Suryachandra Rao, a Kapu from West Godavari district was the first deputy speaker of Andhra State Assembly from 1953 to 1954.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K0E5AAAAIAAJ&q=Pasala+Suryachandra+Rao+speaker |title=A.P. Year Book |date=1979 |publisher=Hyderabad Publications & Newspapers. |pages=295 |language=en}} Rokkam Lakshmi Narasimham Dora, a Telaga Kapu from Srikakulam district served as the second speaker of Andhra State Assembly from 1955 to 1956.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=147|loc=Chapter 3}}{{Cite book |last=Malhotra |first=G. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFqbAAAAMAAJ&dq=rokkam+dora&pg=PA167 |title=Cabinet Responsibility to Legislature: Motions of Confidence and No-confidence in Lok Sabha and State Legislatures |date=2004 |publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat |isbn=978-81-200-0400-9 |pages=167 |language=en}} In the 1955 Andhra State legislature, there were 16 Kapu legislators, the third-highest among all castes.{{citation |last=Harrison |first=Selig S. |title=Caste and the Andhra Communists |date=June 1956 |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=50 |number=2 |pages=378–404 |doi=10.2307/1951675 |jstor=1951675 |s2cid=147317455 |author-link=Selig S. Harrison}} In Pondicherry, Kamisetty Parasuram Naidu, a Kapu leader from Yanam{{Cite book |last=More |first=J. B. Prashant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQ1uAAAAMAAJ |title=The Telugus of Yanam and Masulipatnam: From French Rule to Integration with India |date=2007 |publisher= |pages=263 |language=en |author-link=J. B. Prashant More}} served as the first deputy speaker of Pondicherry Assembly from 1963{{En dash}}1964.{{Cite web |title=Pondicherry Legislative Assembly |url=https://legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/STATISTICAL/pondicherry.HTML |access-date=29 May 2023}}{{cite web |year=1964 |title=India, A Reference Annual 1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8E3VAAAAMAAJ |work=Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |publisher=Publications Division |page=398}} He also served as the speaker of Pondicherry Assembly from 1985{{En dash}}1989.

In 2009 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, Kapu community had 19 MLAs {{Em dash}} the third-highest among unreserved communities. In the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, 24 Kapus were elected as MLAs, next only to Reddys and higher than Kammas. Together, these three upper castes accounted for nearly two-thirds of unreserved seats in the Assembly.{{Cite book |last=Bhargav |first=Nimmagadda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NAymEAAAQBAJ&dq=Munnuru+Kapu&pg=PT48 |title=Stringers and the Journalistic Field: Marginalities and Precarious News Labour in Small-Town India |date=February 2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-84035-3 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2019-05-30 |title=Two-third of AP MLAs belong to 3 upper castes |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/two-third-of-ap-mlas-belong-to-3-upper-castes/articleshow/69572059.cms |access-date=2023-05-07 |issn=0971-8257}} In the past decade, there have been four Kapu Deputy Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh {{Em dash}} Nimmakayala Chinarajappa (2014{{En dash}}2019),{{Cite news |date=2014-06-04 |title=Naidu to grapple with Cabinet composition |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/naidu-to-grapple-with-cabinet-composition/article6082781.ece |access-date=2023-05-07 |issn=0971-751X}} Alla Nani (2019{{En dash}}2022), Kottu Satyanarayana (2022{{En dash}}2024),{{Cite news |last=Naidu |first=T. Appala |date=2022-10-31 |title=Kapu Ministers, MLAs to draw action plan to ensure political gain for the community |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/kapu-ministers-mlas-to-draw-action-plan-to-ensure-political-gain-for-the-community/article66077915.ece |access-date=2023-05-15 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}} and Pawan Kalyan (2024–present).{{Cite news |last=Raghavendra |first=V. |date=2024-06-19 |title=Pawan Kalyan to take charge as Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh |url=https://www.thehindu.com/elections/andhra-pradesh-assembly/jana-sena-party-chief-pawan-kalyan-takes-charge-as-deputy-cm-of-andhra-pradesh/article68306941.ece |access-date=2024-11-21 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}

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.{{citation |last=Rao |first=M. L. Kantha |title=A Study of the Socio-Political Mobility of the Kapu Caste In Modern Andhra |journal=INFLIBNET |date=2014 |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/25437/ |at=Chapter 5 |publisher=University of Hyderabad|hdl=10603/25437}}{{Rp|page=48}} However, the N. K. Muralidhar Rao commission in 1982 did not recommend quotas for Kapus and noted as follows:

"Kapus are land owners and enjoy social status in the villages. They are already politically conscious and socially forward. On the educational side also they are not backward as the students belonging to the Kapu Community are in considerable number in the educational institutions in the state. The literacy in this community is higher than the state average. There is a good representation from Kapu Community in the employment under the state government, semi-government and local bodies. The Commission thinks that it is not necessary to disturb this."{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=220|loc=Chapter 5}}

Andhra Vignanamu, Volume 3 (1939) mentions Eluru, Ganapavaram and Akividu in former West Godavari district as places ruled by Telagas. They were called Telaga-prabhuvula-seemalu ({{Translation|Territories of Telaga Lords}}).{{Cite book |last=Prasada Bhoopaludu |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.497181/page/1380/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97%E0%B0%BE |title=Andhra Vignanamu |date=1939 |publisher=The Razan Electric Press |volume=3 |page=1380 |language=te}}

In pre-independent India, many Kapu-Telaga zamindari families with extensive landholdings existed, especially in Godavari districts. Some of them were bestowed with Diwan Bahadur and Rao Bahadur titles.{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA4uRbWoGfUC&q=telaga+zamindar |title=People of India: Andhra Pradesh |date=1992 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7671-006-0 |pages=1817 |language=en |quote=In East and West Godavari districts, quite a few Telaga zamindari families exist, with extensive landholdings. Some of them were bestowed with Diwan Bahadur and Rao Bahadur titles. |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}} One of the wealthiest zamindaris in former Krishna district was the Vallur Estate of Bommadevara family.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.109923 |title=Kistna District Manual |pages=339–341}}{{Cite book |last=Venkataswami |first=Maidara Nagaya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMoDAAAAMAAJ&q=kapu |title=Life of M. Nagloo (Maidara Nagaya) |date=1929 |publisher=Solden & Company |pages=11 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Dr. Tumati Donappa |url=https://archive.org/details/andrasamstanamul025984mbp/page/384/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%82%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%81 |title=ఆంధ్ర సంస్థానములు - సాహిత్య పోషణము |date=1969 |publisher=Andhra University |pages=385 |trans-title=Andhra Samsthanamulu - Sahithya Poshanamu}} Further, Gopisetti Narayanaswami Naidu, a Telaga, was the receiver of Nidadavolu Estate.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33srAQAAMAAJ&q=Gopisetti+Telaga |title=The Madras Law Times: Law Notes and Notes of Cases of the Madras High Court and of the English Law Courts |date=1916 |publisher=Madras Law Times Office |volume=20 |pages=37 |language=en |quote=.... granted by Gopisetti Narayanaswami Nayudu garu, son of Narasimhulu Nayudu garu, Telaga, residing at .....}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZsrAQAAMAAJ&q=Nidadavole+Gopisetti |title=The Madras Weekly Notes |date=1916 |publisher=N. R. K. Tatachariar |series=Part 2 |pages=240 |language=en}}

Some of the Kapu zamindaris (samsthanams) include:

• Vallur, Krishna district{{Cite book |last=Janapati Pattabhirama Sastry |url=https://archive.org/details/abhinavasaraswathi19240401/page/n17/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%AC%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%9C+%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97 |title=Abhinava Saraswathi |date=April 1924 |volume=16 |page=17 |language=Telugu |issue=1}}
• Attili, West Godavari district{{Cite web |date=2 February 2016 |title=Election promises haunt Chandrababu Naidu |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/020216/election-promises-haunt-chandrababu-naidu.html |access-date=14 May 2023 |website=Deccan Chronicle |quote=The community also has zamindars who are of the ruling class including the samsthans of Athili.}}
• Dharmavaram, West Godavari district{{Cite book |last=Vadivelu |first=A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PeeRRf0EhnIC&q=telaga+zamindar |title=The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles & Zamindars of India |date=1915 |publisher=G. C. Loganadham |pages=671 |language=en |quote=K. V. S. Ramachandra Rao garu, Zamindar of Dharmavaram: This gentleman, born in 1870, comes of a respectable Telaga family of Merakaveedhi, Rajahmundry, in the Godavari District, Madras Presidency.}}
• Pūlla, West Godavari districtSriram Veerabrahmam (1918). నానారాజన్య-విఖ్యాతజన చరిత్రము [Nanarajanya-Vikhyata Jana Charitramu]. Vani Press. p. 8. "రావు సాహెబ్ కళ్లి చిట్టిఅబ్బాయినాయుడు గారు: పశ్చిమ గోదావరీ మండలమునగల యేలూరు తాలూకాలోని పూళ్ల గ్రామానివాసులును తెలగ సంఘ ప్రముఖులునునగు శ్రీయుత కళ్లి చిట్టి అబ్బాయినాయుడు గారు గొప్ప భూస్వాములును ధనాధికులునునై ....."{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/ANDHRAPATRIKA22051951/page/n3/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97 |title=రావు బహదూర్ కల్లి చిట్టి అబ్బాయి నాయుడు జమీందారు జీవిత సంగ్రహము |date=1951-05-22 |publisher=Andhra Patrika |volume=38 |pages=4 |language=te |issue=50}}
• Sudhapalem, East Godavari district{{Cite book |last=Dr. Tumati Donappa |url=https://archive.org/details/andrasamstanamul025984mbp/page/594/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%97 |title=ఆంధ్ర సంస్థానములు - సాహిత్య పోషణము |date=1969 |publisher=Andhra University |pages=595 |language=te}}
• Veeravaram, East Godavari district{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=17–18|loc=Chapter 5}}
• Veeravallipalem, East Godavari district{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=17–18|loc=Chapter 5}}
• Vella, East Godavari district{{sfn|Satish Kumar|2014|pp=17–18|loc=Chapter 5}}
• Koyyetipadu and Ogidi, West Godavari district{{Cite book |last=Dr. Tumati Donappa |url=https://archive.org/details/andrasamstanamul025984mbp/page/546/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97 |title=ఆంధ్ర సంస్థానములు - సాహిత్య పోషణము |date=1969 |publisher=Andhra University |pages=545–546 |language=te}}{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/ANDHRAPATRIKA03051949/page/n3/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97 |title=నర్సాపురం తాలూకా తెలగ మహాసభ |date=1949-05-03 |publisher=Andhra Patrika |volume=36 |pages=4 |language=te |trans-title=Narsapuram Taluk Telaga Mahasabha |issue=32}}
• Danthahundam, Srikakulam district{{Cite book |last=Dr. Tumati Donappa |url=https://archive.org/details/andrasamstanamul025984mbp/page/550/mode/2up?q=%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%97%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81 |title=ఆంధ్ర సంస్థానములు - సాహిత్య పోషణము |date=1969 |publisher=Andhra University |pages=550 |language=te}}{{Cite book |last=Madhunapantula Satyanarayana Sastry |url=https://te.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%B0%86%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%A7%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0_%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%9A%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%A4%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81/%E0%B0%A4%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%A8_%E0%B0%B5%E0%B1%87%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%9F_%E0%B0%B8%E0%B1%82%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%B8%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%A6%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF |title=ఆంధ్ర రచయితలు |publisher=Addepalli and Co. |year=1950 |pages=273 |language=te |author-link=Madhunapantula Satyanarayana Sastry}}

Note: The list only includes people from Kapu and sub-castes (Telaga, Ontari), not Balija, Turpu Kapu, and other castes.

Politics

File:KVReddyNaidu.JPG

• Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu, served as both the Chief Minister and Governor of Madras Presidency {{Em dash}} only person to have held both the posts. Member of the Indian delegation to the League of Nations (1928). India's Agent to the Union of South Africa (1929{{En dash}}1932).{{Cite news |title=After Series of 'Outsiders', Sasikala to be first Tamil CM in 29 Years |work=News18 |url=https://www.news18.com/blogs/politics/vvp-sharma/after-series-of-outsider-chief-ministers-sasikala-to-be-first-tamil-cm-after-29-years-14329-1345645.html |access-date=2017-02-12}}{{Cite book |last=Seshadri |first=K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tJ1AAAAAMAAJ&q=kv+reddy+naidu+kapu |title=Social Ethos of South India |date=1991 |publisher=Arihant Publishers |pages=73 |language=en}}
• Pasala Suryachandra Rao, 1st Deputy Speaker of Andhra State Assembly (1953{{En dash}}1954)
• Rokkam Lakshmi Narasimham Dora, 2nd Speaker of Andhra State Assembly (1955{{En dash}}1956){{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=147|loc=Chapter 3}}
• Kamisetty Parasuram Naidu, 1st Deputy Speaker of Pondicherry Assembly (1963{{En dash}}1964). Speaker of Pondicherry Assembly (1985{{En dash}}1989)
• Mandali Venkata Krishna Rao, former state minister. Chief organiser and convenor of the first World Telugu Conference in 1975{{Cite web |date=21 June 2014 |title=Buddha Prasad Set to Become Deputy Speaker of AP House |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2014/jun/21/buddha-prasad-set-to-become-deputy-speaker-of-ap-house-626915.html |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=The New Indian Express}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=314|loc=Chapter 7}}
• M. S. Sanjeevi Rao, former Union Minister and chairman of India's first electronics commission. Referred to as "India's father of electronics"{{Cite news |last=Sankar |first=K. N. Murali |date=2019-03-26 |title=Battle equally poised in port town Kakinada |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha-2019/battle-equally-poised-in-port-town/article26646430.ece |access-date=2023-04-08 |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web |last=Dey |first=Soumik |date=31 March 2018 |title=A tribute to MS Sanjeevi Rao, India's father of electronics |url=https://www.theweek.in/leisure/society/2018/03/31/tribute-ms-sanjeevi-rao-india-father-electronics.html |access-date=2021-07-13 |website=The Week |language=en}}
• P. V. Rangayya Naidu, former Union Minister of State for Communications, Power, and Water Resources; ex-Director General of Police{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=261, 306|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite web |date=2022-09-08 |title=P.V Rangaiah Naidu book release :చురుగ్గా ఉండేందుకు రోజంతా ప్రయత్నిస్తా... |url=https://www.andhrajyothy.com/2022/navya/health-tips/trying-to-stay-active-all-day-ssdmrgsnavya-780423.html |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=Andhra Jyothi |language=te}}
• Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, former Union Minister for Urban Development{{Cite web |date=2 May 2012 |title=Ummareddy to quit TDP, join YSR Congress? |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2012/may/02/ummareddy-to-quit-tdp-join-ysr-congress-364118.html |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=The New Indian Express}}
• Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah, former Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh{{Cite web |date=13 March 2023 |title=Kapu community leader Jogaiah wants 'Jagan Povali, Pawan Ravali' in Andhra Pradesh |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2023/mar/13/kapu-community-leader-jogaiah-wants-jagan-povali-pawan-ravali-in-andhra-pradesh-2555568.html |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=The New Indian Express}}
• Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga, prominent leader of Andhra Pradesh politics in 1980s{{Cite web |last=Sudhir |first=S. N. V. |date=2022-12-28 |title=34 years after his assassination, why does Vangaveeti Ranga still evoke such interest? |url=https://thesouthfirst.com/andhrapradesh/34-years-after-his-assassination-why-does-vangaveeti-ranga-still-evoke-such-interest/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=The South First |language=en}}
• Nimmakayala Chinarajappa, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh (2014{{En dash}}2019)
• Kottu Satyanarayana, Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (2022{{En dash}}2024)
• M. M. Pallam Raju, former Union Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of State for Defence
• Alla Nani, Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (2019{{En dash}}2022)
• Pawan Kalyan, Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (2022{{En dash}}present) and founder of Jana Sena Party{{Cite news |title=Andhra House of Cards: The political triangle between TDP, BJP and Kapu Padmanabham |work=The News Minute |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/andhra-house-cards-political-triangle-between-tdp-bjp-and-kapu-padmanabham-76936.ece |access-date=2018-02-24 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Sports

File:CK Nayudu 1930s.jpg

• Kodi Rammurthy Naidu, strongman, bodybuilder, and wrestler{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=305|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite book |last1=A. Vijaya Kumari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-ffeWmj2JUC&q=kapu&pg=PA89 |title=Social Change Among Balijas: Majority Community of Andhra Pradesh |last2=Sepuri Bhaskar |date=1998 |publisher=M.D. Publications |isbn=978-81-7533-072-6 |pages=14 |language=en}}
• C. K. Nayudu, first captain of the Indian cricket team and one of India's greatest cricketers{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=301–303, 307|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite book |last=Majumdar |first=Boria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGFFG_deJy4C&dq=Nayudu+universally+one+greatest+cricketers+ever+lived&pg=PA50 |title=Once Upon a Furore: Lost Pages of Indian Cricket |date=2004 |publisher=Yoda Press |isbn=978-81-902272-0-9 |pages=50 |language=en |quote=C. K. Nayudu is today universally acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian cricketers that ever lived. |author-link=Boria Majumdar}}
• C. S. Nayudu, represented India in Test cricket from 1934 to 1952{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=301–303, 307|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Chandra Nayudu, India's first female cricket commentator{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=301–303, 307|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite news |last=Dani |first=Bipin |date=5 April 2021 |title=India's first woman commentator Chandra Nayudu no more |work=Mid-Day |url=https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/indias-first-woman-commentator-chandra-nayudu-no-more-23166951}}
• Y. Venugopal Rao, represented India in international cricket from 2005 to 2006{{Cite web |date=2018-06-28 |title=జనసేన పార్టీ తీర్థం పుచ్చుకున్న మాజీ క్రికెటర్ |url=https://zeenews.india.com/telugu/ap/former-cricketer-venugopal-rao-joins-janasena-party-8733 |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=Zee News Telugu |language=}}
• Ambati Rayudu, represented India in international cricket from 2013 to 2019{{Cite news |last=Reddy |first=R. Ravikanth |date=2023-04-11 |title=From pitch to politics: cricketer Ambati Rayudu set to start new innings |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/from-pitch-to-politics-cricketer-ambati-rayudu-set-to-start-new-innings/article66725158.ece |access-date=2023-05-03 |issn=0971-751X |quote=He hails from the Kapu community ...}}{{Cite news |date=2023-04-14 |title=Rayudu to debut on political pitch in AP |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amaravati/rayudu-to-debut-on-political-pitch-in-ap/articleshow/99480277.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-05-03 |issn=0971-8257}}

Social Activists

• Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu, social reformer and educationist{{Cite book |last=Parthasarathy |first=D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GevZAAAAMAAJ&q=Venkataratnam+Naidu+kapu |title=Collective Violence in a Provincial City |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-564139-4 |pages=116 |language=en}}{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=62|loc=Chapter 2}}
• Kanneganti Hanumanthu, freedom fighter who spearheaded the Palnadu Rebellion{{Cite web |last=Devi |first=T. Sui |title=Kanneganti Hanumanthu |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?11298 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English}}
• Thota Narasayya Naidu, freedom fighter

Sciences

• Sunkara Balaparameswara Rao, father of neurosurgery in united Andhra Pradesh, recipient of Dr. B. C. Roy award{{Cite journal |last=Bhavaraju |first=Subba Rao |date=2019-05-01 |title=Obituary: Dr. Sunkara Balaparameswara Rao |url=https://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886;year=2019;volume=67;issue=3;spage=961;epage=962;aulast=Bhavaraju;type=0 |journal=Neurology India |language=en |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=961 |doi=10.4103/0028-3886.263261 |doi-access=free|issn=0028-3886 |pmid=31347608}}{{Cite news |last=Bhattacharjee |first=Sumit |date=2022-12-12 |title=Another attempt to bring Kapus onto one platform in Andhra Pradesh |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/another-attempt-to-bring-kapus-onto-one-platform-in-andhra-pradesh/article66254332.ece |access-date=2023-04-21 |issn=0971-751X}}
• M. V. Rao, agricultural scientist considered as one of the key figures in India's Green Revolution. Recipient of Borlaug Award and Padma Shri{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=265|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite web |date=2016-03-09 |title=Noted agriculture scientist MV Rao passes away |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/noted-agriculture-scientist-mv-rao-passes-away/article8331680.ece |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=Business Line |language=en}}
• A. V. Rama Rao, inventor and chemist; recipient of Padma Bhushan{{Cite web |date=2017-03-31 |title=Young industrialist feted |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2017-03-31/Young-industrialist-feted/289983 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=The Hans India |language=en}}
• Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao, orthopaedic surgeon and recipient of Padma Shri

Film

File:Raghupati Venkayya.jpg

File:Savitri Actress.jpg

• Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, first Telugu film producer, exhibitor, and film studio owner; widely regarded as the "father of Telugu cinema"Srinivas, S.V.. (2010). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241643987_Making_of_a_Peasant_IndustryTelugu_Cinema_in_the_1930s-1950s Making of a Peasant Industry: Telugu Cinema in the 1930s–1950s]. Bioscope: South Asian Screen Studies. p. 173. 10.1177/097492761000100207.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=275–278|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite web |date=11 September 2011 |title=Telugu film industry turns 80 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/Telugu-film-industry-turns-80/article20334643.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924164853/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/Telugu-film-industry-turns-80/article20334643.ece |archive-date=24 September 2021 |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=The Hindu Business Line |quote=Mr Raghupati Venkaiah, regarded as the father of Telugu film industry, laid the foundation stone for the industry in the South by setting up Glass Studio and bringing one of the first cameras into the country.}}
• Raghupathi Surya Prakash, first director and lead actor of Telugu cinema{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=275–280 |loc=Chapter 6}}
• Dasari Kotiratnam, first female producer of Telugu cinema{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=280–281|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Py9LAQAAIAAJ&q=Dasari+Kotiratnam |title=Limca Book of Records |date=2006 |publisher=Bisleri Beverages |isbn=978-81-902837-2-4 |pages=113 |language=en |quote=First woman producer Dasari Kotiratnam produced Anasuya in 1935.}}{{Cite book |last=Ōlgā |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VF7aAAAAMAAJ&q=Dasari+Kotiratnam |title=Womanscape |date=2001 |publisher=Asmita Resource Centre for Women |isbn=978-81-7525-206-6 |pages=1944 |language= |quote=Dasari Kotiratnam was the first actress to set up a theatre group while Venkubai and Kamala of the Surabhi Company were well-known stage artists. Dasari Kotiratnam later became the first woman to produce films.}}
• Kalyanam Raghuramaiah, film and theatre actor. Recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Shri.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=274, 306|loc=Chapter 6}}
• S. V. Ranga Rao, actor{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=280, 282–283, 306|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite web |date=2 February 2016 |title=Election promises haunt Chandrababu Naidu |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/020216/election-promises-haunt-chandrababu-naidu.html |access-date=14 May 2023 |website=Deccan Chronicle}}
• Allu Ramalingaiah, actor and comedian, recipient of Padma Shri{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=282–283|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite news |date=2009-03-29 |title=Cong changes list; Konathala fielded against Allu Aravind |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/cong-changes-list-konathala-fielded-against-allu-aravind/articleshow/4329087.cms |access-date=2023-05-07 |issn=0971-8257}}
• Ramesh Naidu, music composer; recipient of National Film Award for Best Music Direction{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=305, 307|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Edida Nageswara Rao, producer; recipient of multiple National Film Awards{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=290|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Kaikala Satyanarayana, actor and politician, recipient of Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=282|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Savitri, actress{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=290|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Dasari Narayana Rao, director, actor, and former Union Minister{{Cite news |title=Kapu leaders rally behind Mudragada |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/Kapu-leaders-rally-behind-Mudragada/article14422051.ece |access-date=2018-12-21}}{{Cite news |date=2008-05-04 |title=Snubbed Dasari to stir up Kapus |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/snubbed-dasari-to-stir-up-kapus/articleshow/3008652.cms |access-date=2023-06-14 |issn=0971-8257}}
• Allu Aravind, producer; founder of Geetha Arts and Aha OTT platform
• Kodi Ramakrishna, director; recipient of Raghupathi Venkaiah Award
• Thota Tharani, production designer; recipient of two National Film Awards and Padma Shri{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=305, 307|loc=Chapter 6}}
• M. S. Narayana, actor and comedian
• Chiranjeevi, actor{{Cite news |title=Kapu card may cast(e) Chiranjeevi in the CM's role |work=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/south/story/chiranjeevi-kapu-praja-rajyam-card-caste-182770-2013-12-07.ece |access-date=2013-12-07}}{{Cite web |title=Megastar Chiranjeevi backs Kapu agitation |url=https://newsable.asianetnews.com/south/chiranjeevi-kapu |access-date=2023-08-06 |website=Asianet News Network |language=en}}
• Chota K. Naidu, cinematographer
• Pawan Kalyan, actor
• Sukumar, director, screenwriter and producer{{Cite web |date=2022-11-10 |title=పెద్ద మనసు చాటుకున్న డైరెక్టర్‌ సుకుమార్‌.. క్యాన్సర్‌ బాధితుడికి ఆర్థిక సాయం |url=https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/director-sukumar-financial-assistance-to-cancer-patient-au76-818455.html |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=TV9 Telugu |language=}}
• Sekhar Kammula, director, screenwriter and producer{{Cite web |date=2021-11-07 |title=Mixed handling of Caste in Shekhar Kammula's "Love Story" |url=https://www.roundtableindia.co.in/mixed-handling-of-caste-in-shekhar-kammula-s-love-story-moses-tulasi/ |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=Round Table India |language=en-US}}
• Rambha, actress{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=290|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Devi Sri Prasad, music composer{{Cite web |title=Prominent People in Rajamahendravaram |url=https://rmc.ap.gov.in/about/prominent_people_in_rajahmundry |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=Rajamahendravaram Municipal Corporation}}{{Cite web |date=19 February 2022 |title='My music has a universal approach' |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/190222/my-music-has-a-universal-approach-devi-sri-prasad.html |access-date=6 August 2023 |website=Deccan Chronicle}}
• Allu Arjun, actor{{Cite web |last=Sreeja |first=Addla |date=2022-11-18 |title=Allu Arjun changes his name? Here's a viral photo |url=https://www.siasat.com/allu-arjun-changes-his-name-heres-a-viral-photo-2460231/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=The Siasat Daily |language=en-US |quote=Allu Arjun reportedly hails from the Kapu community ....}}{{Cite book |last=S. V. Srinivas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2dgqAQAAIAAJ |title=Megastar: Chiranjeevi and Telugu Cinema After N. T. Rama Rao |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-569308-9 |pages=19 |language=en}}
• Ram Charan, actor
• Maadhavi Latha, actress{{Cite web |last=Md. Ilyas |date=7 April 2019 |title=In Guntur West, every party stands a chance hopeful optimistic confident |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/070419/in-guntur-west-every-party-stands-a-chance-hopeful-optimistic-confide.html |access-date=2 June 2023 |website=Deccan Chronicle}}

Arts

File:Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu.jpg

• Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, Carnatic violinist, recipient of Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=268–269|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao, Carnatic violinist, recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=268–269|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Sobha Naidu, Kuchipudi exponent, recipient of Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award{{Cite web |date=18 July 2019 |title=Personalities: Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu |url=http://andhraportal.org/personalities-dwaram-venkataswami-naidu/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Andhra Cultural Portal |language=en-US}}

Literature

• Thapi Dharma Rao Naidu, writer, journalist, and social reformer; recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. Pioneer of colloquial language in Telugu journalism.{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=291|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite news |date=2016-10-17 |title=Thapi Dharma Rao, a doyen of colloquial language in journalism |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/Thapi-Dharma-Rao-a-doyen-of-colloquial-language-in-journalism/article16074788.ece |access-date=2023-06-13 |issn=0971-751X}}
• Tripurana Venkata Surya Prasada Rao, poet, translator and zamindar
• M. Chalapathi Rau, journalist and author regarded as one of India's greatest editors in English journalism; recipient of Padma Bhushan{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=291–300|loc=Chapter 6}}{{Cite web |last=YV Ramakotaiah |date=2015-03-08 |title=The Great Indian Editor |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hyderabad-Tab/2015-03-08/The-Great-Indian-Editor/136088 |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=The Hans India |language=en}}
• Yarramsetti Sai, Telugu-language novelist and short story writer{{Sfn|Kantha Rao|1999|p=291|loc=Chapter 6}}
• Anantha Sriram, lyricist and poet{{Citation |title=Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah Open Heart With RK {{!}} Season 2 - Episode 25 {{!}} 8 November 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXOplE4CxWo&t=324s |publisher=Andhra Jyothi |language=en}}; Event occurs from 5:24 to 5:40

Citations

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

• {{citation |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |title=Pre-colonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19803-123-9}}
• {{citation |last=Kantha Rao |first=M. L. |title=A Study of the Socio-Political Mobility of the Kapu Caste in Modern Andhra |journal=INFLIBNET |date=1999 |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/25437/ |publisher=University of Hyderabad |hdl=10603/25437}}
• {{citation |last=Satish Kumar |first=Ch. |title=Caste Mobilisation Processes and Political Power: A Study of Kapus in Andhra Pradesh |date=2014 |url= |publisher=University of Hyderabad}}

{{refend}}

• {{cite book |last=Brimnes |first=Niels |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HdSABP70H9sC |title=Constructing the Colonial Encounter: Right and Left Hand Castes in Early Colonial South India |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=9780700711062}}
• {{cite book |last=Devi |first=Konduri Sarojini |url=https://archive.org/details/religioninvijaya0000saro |title=Religion in Vijayanagara Empire |date=May 1990 |publisher=Sterling Publishers |access-date=9 May 2011 |url-access=registration}}
• {{cite book |last=Subrahmanyam |first=Sanjay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgSMPKVh7f8C |title=The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500-1650 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780521892261 |edition=Reprinted}}
• {{cite book |last=Swarnalatha |first=P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t5XlI91kP3YC |title=The World of the Weaver in Northern Coromandel, c. 1750 - c. 1850 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2005 |isbn=9788125028680 |location=New Delhi}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapu}}

Category:Telugu society

Category:Indian castes

Category:Social groups of Andhra Pradesh

Category:Agricultural castes

Category:South Indian communities