Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Kapu (caste)" in English language version.
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.
(p. 97) తాము చతుర్ధ వంశస్టులమని, దుర్జయ కులోద్భవులమని వెలనాటి చోడులు చెప్పుకున్నారు. మిగతా తెలుగు చోడులు తాము సూర్యవంశజులమని, కరికాల చోళుని వంశస్థులమని చెప్పుకున్నారు. కాని వాస్తవానికి అందరూ ఒకే కుదురునుండి ప్రారంభమైన చతుర్ధ వంశస్థులే తప్ప వేరు కారు. వీరందరికీ కాలక్రమేణా తెలగాలు లేక కాపులు అను పేరు స్థిరమైంది. (p. 114) కోట బేతరాజు మొదలైనవారు తెలుగుచోడులు. వీరు క్రమంగా తెలగాలుగా మారారు.
గోదావరి కృష్ణా జిల్లాలలో రెడ్లకు, కాపులకు భేదమున్నది. కాపులను 'తెలగాలు' 'నాయుళ్లు' అని పిలుచుచుందురు. కాని కడప కర్నూలు ప్రాంతములలో 'రెడ్ల'న్నను 'కాపు'లన్నను ఒక్కకులమునకే వాడుచున్నారు. పర్యాయపదములుగా నుపయోగించుచున్నారు.
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.
The Kapus, concentrated in Guntur, Krishna, West and East Godavari districts are listed among the forward castes. In Rayalaseema districts they are known as Balijas.
In Andhra Pradesh, the forward castes (mainly Brahmins, Kapu, and Kamma) ....
The Forward Castes comprise the Brahmin, Kapus, Kamma, Reddys, Komati, Kshatriya, Velama.
It is also seen that Brahmin, Vysya, Telaga, Kapu who are considered to be socially and economically forward castes ....
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.
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.
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.
.... belongs to the Hindu upper (landed) caste Kapu, one of the dominant castes in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
In Andhra Pradesh, at the state level, one might mention a few castes such as Reddy, Velama, Kamma, Raju, Kapu / Telaga / Balija castes as the dominant (cultivator) castes.
..... and all of them were contested against the dominant caste candidates like Reddy, Kamma, Kapu, etc.
The Telugu word kapu means protector or cultivator. They use the suffix – Naidu – in the East and West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur.
The group is also known as Kapu, Naidu, Telaga in coastal districts of the state and is ethnically similar to Balija Naidus of Rayalaseema area of Andhra Pradesh.
... Velanadu (Krishna and Penna Doab) was ruled by Velanati Chodas and other areas were ruled by Telugu Chodas. In course of time, these were called Telagas, one of the important non-Brahman castes.
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.
The Reddi, are also known as Kapu (different from the Kapu community of coastal Andhra).
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.
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.
But Reddis, Kammas, and Telaga Naidu are equal in social rank. They are originally agricultural castes.
The Kapus of Godavari Districts are quite well off and politically dynamic. They proudly declare themselves as Telagas.
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.
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.
The Brahmin, Raju (Kshatriya), Komati (Vaisya) and Telaga castes are considered 'forward communities' in the district.
Among the forward communities, Vysya, Telaga and Brahmin communities had higher representation in that order.
About half the 153 households in the village are from the dominant Telaga caste of landed farmers ....
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.
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.
... local warrior castes such as Rajus, Kammas, Velamas, Kapus, and Telagas dominated military occupations.
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.
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.
It is important to recognise here that 'farmers' refers to members of the non-Brahmin upper castes, particularly the Reddy, Kamma, and Kapu castes.
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.
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.
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.
.... granted by Gopisetti Narayanaswami Nayudu garu, son of Narasimhulu Nayudu garu, Telaga, residing at .....
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.
C. K. Nayudu is today universally acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian cricketers that ever lived.
First woman producer Dasari Kotiratnam produced Anasuya in 1935.
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.
The community also has zamindars who are of the ruling class including the samsthans of Athili.
Other forward communities are Brahmins, Vaishyas, Kshatriyas, Telagas, Khaists.
Kapus are a community of land-owning cultivators and are one of the dominant castes of Andhra Pradesh, generally affiliated to like Balijas, Telagas and Ontaris.
.... as there are good number of Balija voters in the constituency. The community is the equivalent of the Kapu community in the Rayalaseema region.
The constituency also has a good number of voters from Kapu community, to which Rayudu belongs.
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.
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.
Other forward communities are Brahmins, Vaishyas, Kshatriyas, Telagas, Khaists.
Allu Arjun reportedly hails from the Kapu community ....
He hails from the Kapu community ...
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.
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.
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.
.... as there are good number of Balija voters in the constituency. The community is the equivalent of the Kapu community in the Rayalaseema region.
The constituency also has a good number of voters from Kapu community, to which Rayudu belongs.
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.
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.
Other forward communities are Brahmins, Vaishyas, Kshatriyas, Telagas, Khaists.
He hails from the Kapu community ...
