Kamma (caste)

Kamma
Kamma
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Telugu;
Country	India;
Region	Andhra Pradesh; Telangana; Tamil Nadu; Karnataka;
Status	Forward caste

Kamma is a largely Hindu caste from South India. The community of Kammas is believed to have originated from agriculturists of the Kammanadu region of the erstwhile Guntur district and Ongole division in Andhra Pradesh.^[1]^[2] Propelled by their military activity in the Vijayanagara Empire, Kammas are believed to have spread out from the region during the Vijayanagara period, followed by some in-migration during the British period and out-migration again during the twentieth century.^[3] Today they are regarded as one of the richest groups in Andhra Pradesh^[4] and are a dominant caste from Coastal Andhra with socio-economic and political prominence throughout the Telugu-speaking regions of India (the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).^[5]^[6]

They also have a notable, albeit smaller, presence in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.^[7] In recent times, a sizeable number of Kammas have migrated to the United States.^[8]

^ Nāgabhūṣaṇaśarma, M.; Sastry, M. V.; Śēṣagirirāvu, C. (1995), History and culture of the Andhras, Telugu University, p. 80, ISBN 9788186073070 Quote: "Next to birth and profession, it was region which accounted for sectarian sub-divisions in all the castes like those of Kammanadu being called Kamma-Brahmana, Kamma-Kapu, Kamma-Sresthi and so on."
^ Cite error: The named reference Sastry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^
- Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 6–7: "These waves of military migration towards the South of the Indian peninsula from the fifteenth century onwards explain the significant presence of Kammas in Tamil Nadu, where they again turned into agriculturalists in times of peace."
- Keiko, Politics and representation of caste identity (2008), pp. 357–359: "Interestingly, their population in the Krishna delta in the 1872 census was one-fourth of their total strength in the entire Madras Presidency, but had increased by 1921 to about 47 per cent."
- Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), p. 14: "The post-independence territorial recompositions provided them with new opportunities for investment in Telangana, where they bought land in the proximity of irrigation projects."
^ Xiang, Biao (2007). Global "Body Shopping": An Indian Labor System in the Information Technology Industry. Princeton University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-691-11852-9.
^ Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 2–3; Keiko, Politics and representation of caste identity (2008), p. 356
^ Cite error: The named reference Srinivasulu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 6–7, 25–29, 29–30
^ Bhaskar, T. L. S.; Bhat, Chandrashekhar (2007). "Contextualising Diasporic Identity". In Oonk, Gijsbert (ed.). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 108–109, 112. ISBN 978-90-5356-035-8.

[TeluguUni-1] Nāgabhūṣaṇaśarma, M.; Sastry, M. V.; Śēṣagirirāvu, C. (1995), History and culture of the Andhras, Telugu University, p. 80, ISBN 9788186073070 Quote: "Next to birth and profession, it was region which accounted for sectarian sub-divisions in all the castes like those of Kammanadu being called Kamma-Brahmana, Kamma-Kapu, Kamma-Sresthi and so on."

[Sastry-2] Cite error: The named reference Sastry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] 
Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 6–7: "These waves of military migration towards the South of the Indian peninsula from the fifteenth century onwards explain the significant presence of Kammas in Tamil Nadu, where they again turned into agriculturalists in times of peace."

Keiko, Politics and representation of caste identity (2008), pp. 357–359: "Interestingly, their population in the Krishna delta in the 1872 census was one-fourth of their total strength in the entire Madras Presidency, but had increased by 1921 to about 47 per cent."

Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), p. 14: "The post-independence territorial recompositions provided them with new opportunities for investment in Telangana, where they bought land in the proximity of irrigation projects."

[4] Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 6–7: "These waves of military migration towards the South of the Indian peninsula from the fifteenth century onwards explain the significant presence of Kammas in Tamil Nadu, where they again turned into agriculturalists in times of peace."

[5] Keiko, Politics and representation of caste identity (2008), pp. 357–359: "Interestingly, their population in the Krishna delta in the 1872 census was one-fourth of their total strength in the entire Madras Presidency, but had increased by 1921 to about 47 per cent."

[6] Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), p. 14: "The post-independence territorial recompositions provided them with new opportunities for investment in Telangana, where they bought land in the proximity of irrigation projects."

[:3-4] Xiang, Biao (2007). Global "Body Shopping": An Indian Labor System in the Information Technology Industry. Princeton University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-691-11852-9.

[:4-5] Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 2–3; Keiko, Politics and representation of caste identity (2008), p. 356

[Srinivasulu-6] Cite error: The named reference Srinivasulu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:5-7] Benbabaali, Caste Dominance and Territory in South India (2018), pp. 6–7, 25–29, 29–30

[:6-8] Bhaskar, T. L. S.; Bhat, Chandrashekhar (2007). "Contextualising Diasporic Identity". In Oonk, Gijsbert (ed.). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 108–109, 112. ISBN 978-90-5356-035-8.

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