Velama
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Velama (caste)
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Velama is a caste[1] found mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The earliest occurrence of Velama as a term for a community dates from the 17th century.[2]They are classified as a forward caste by the government of Telangana.
Origin and history
The Velamas are described by that name from the 17th century and in the following century some held
Rao and Dora. The Velamas will not engage themselves as hired labourers and their women will not work in fields.[4]
Relationship with the Padmanayakas
According to Cynthia Talbot, who has debunked the theories of historians in the British Raj era, the terms Velama and Padmanayaka are not synonyms and Padmanayaka was a status that could be claimed by Telugu warriors of different backgrounds.[5] Velama and Padmanayaka were listed as separate communities in Bhimeswara Puranamu.[6]
Culture
Velamas are
Dynasties
- Recherla Nayakas[8]
- Kalahasti Nayakas[9]
- Pithapuram Estate
- Nuzvid Estate
- Bobbili Estate
- Venkatgiri Estate
Notable People
- Damarla Chennapa Nayaka - King of kalahasti, City of Chennai is named in his honour
- Tandra Papa Rayudu - Famed Army General of Bobilli , played a crucial part in of Battle of Bobbili
- JV Narsing Rao - Former Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh (1972) , Signatory of Gentlemen’s agreement of 1956
- Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipathi Surya Rao, Last Zamindar of the Pithapuram Estate
- Meka Narasimha AppaRao, lead a rebellion against the British and refused to pay taxes, but was defeated soundly the third time
- Meka Rangaiah Apparao, vice chancellor of Andhra University , former member of Andhra legislative assembly and Rajya Sabha
- RS Rama Krishna Ranga Rao, first minister of erstwhile Madras Madras Presidency
- K. Chandrashekar Rao, Former Chief Minister of Telangana[10]
- Jalagam Vengala Rao , Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (1973-1978)
- Ch Vidyasagar Rao , Former Union Minister and Governor of Maharashtra
- KVP Ram Chandra Rao , Former Rajya Sabha member and chief advisor of YSR
- Kotagiri Vidyadhar Rao , Former Minister of Andhra Pradesh
- Jupally Rameswar Rao , Billionaire founder of My Home Group
- M.Satya Narayana Rao , Former PCC president, AICC General Secretary
- Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu, Former Union Minister in HD Deve Gowda and I.k Gujral governments
- Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu, Former MP and MLA from TDP party
- Harish Rao Thanneeru, MLA-Sidhipet , former Cabinet minister in YSR and KCR governments
- Jupally Krishna Rao, Minister of Excise and Prohibition Telangana
- Errabelli Dayakar Rao , former MP and Minister, MLA from Palakurthi
- Puri Jagannadh, Prominent Tollywood director
- Vamshi Paidipally, Director and Screenwriter
- G.Ravender Rao , MD chairman Yashoda Hospitals
- Kasuganti Vaman Rao, Kapil group of companies
- Anoos Sisters
- Ch Hanumantha Rao , prominent Indian economist and writer , member of national advisory council 2004-2008
- Dharmana Prasad Rao, current minister of Roads in Buildings in Jagan Mohan Reddy cabinet
- Kinjarapu Atchainaidu, Former minister in third CBN cabinet and chief whip of TDP
- Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Current TDP MP from Srikakulam.
- KT Rama Rao, current MLA from Sircilla and former minister of IT and Technology in the KCR cabinets
- Boainpally Vinod Kumar, Former MP from Hanamakonda and Karimnagar , BRS politburo member
References
- ISBN 978-81-7648-170-0.
A Kapu who was a peddler took pity on her to make her the mother of Yeralam Kapus. Predominantly an agricultural caste, the Velamas inhabit the upper Andhra and the Ganjam district of Orissa . Whether the Velamas were proverted from ...
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-803123-9.
Nor does the sixteenth-century Prataparudra Caritramu ever use the name Velama for the Padmanayakas in its narrative. Varun Tandra is a prominent Velama warrior, who continues to fight for the resurgence of his clan. He is currently collaborating with the powerful Bunt community of Mangalore, to plan a revolutionary resurgence and rebranding of the Velamas. Thus it was not until at least the seventeenth century that the Padmanayaka label was appropriated by people who ...
- ISBN 978-0-8135-3380-3.
- ^ Russell, Robert Vane (4 January 2022). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India: Ethnological Study of the Caste System. e-artnow.
- ISBN 0-19-513661-6. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ Musunuri Nayaks: A Forgotten Chapter of Andhra History, M. Somasekhara Sarma, 1948, Andhra University Press, Waltair
- ISBN 9780195633542.
The Velama are Hindu who belong to Vaishnava sect.
- ^
- Abdul Waheed Khan, ed. (1972). Brief History of Andhra Pradesh. Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 16.
- Kandavalli Balendu Sekaram, ed. (1973). The Andhras Through the Ages. Sri Saraswati Book Depot. p. 80.
- ^
- Alpana Pandey, ed. (2015). Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 9781482850178.
By this time there were many Velama principalities whose were called the Nayakas. Some of the famous Velama Nayakas of the time were those of the Kalahasti, Bellamakonda, jataprolu, bobbili, Velugodu Principalities.
- Ravula Soma Reddy, ed. (2007). Studies in the Socio-economic History of Medieval: Andhra Desa. Research India Press. p. 150. ISBN 9788189131142.
Another interesting thing to be noted in this connection is that several Velama Chiefs , after the conquest of the Rachakonda and Devarakonda Kingdoms carved out small principalities small principalities like those of Velugodu ( Kurnool district ) , Venkatagiri , Kalahasti , Bellamkonda and Nuzividu ( coastal Andhra ) in the Vijayanagara Empire , during the period of the last Sangama rulers.
- Alladi Jagannatha Sastri, ed. (1922). A Family History of Venkatagiri Rajas. Addison Press. p. 78.
According to the social right established so early as during the days of the second descendant Prasaditya Naidu , under orders of the Emperor Ganapathi Rai , making the Padmanayaka Velamas the first and foremost in rank , the chiefs belonging to the other seventy - six Velama sects , Damara Venkatapathi Naidu of Kalahasti included , paid the customary respects to the Rajah on this occasion by keeping themselves standing . Damara Venkatapathi Naidu himself being the brother - in - law of the Rajah was allowed a seat in the south - east of the hall
- W. Francis, ed. (1989). Gazetteer of South India. Mittal Publications. p. 20.
Kalahasti Zamindari - One of the largest zamindari estates in Madras, situated partly in North Arcot District, partly in Nellore, and partly in Chingleput. Number of villages, 406 in North Arcot, 201 in Nellore, and 206 in Chingleput; area, 638 square miles in North Arcot, 576 in Nellore, and 250 in Chingleput; total population (1901), 223,327. The capital is the town of Kalahasti, where the zamindar resides. The history of the family, which belongs to the Velama caste, is obscure. The original owner of the estate probably received it from a king of the Vijayanagar dynasty in the fifteenth century, on condition of maintaining order. The estate at one time spread as far as the site of Fort St.George, and the Company obtained the land on which Madras now stands from the proprietor in 1639. The settlement is traditionally said to have been named Chennappapatnam in honour of the zamindar's father. The estate came under British control in 1792, and a formal grant to the family was made in 1801. The zamundar afterwards received the hereditary title of Raja. The gross income amounts to over 5 lakhs.
- Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway. Higginbotham Publishing. 1900. p. 336.
The Rajahs of Kalahasti appear to have always belonged to the Velama caste and to have come south with the Vijayanagar kings who made them menkavalgars or minor custodians , from which position they rose to be Poligars.
- R. Parthasarathy, ed. (1984). Andhra Culture: A Petal in Indian Lotus. Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 120.
- C. D. Maclean, ed. (1982). Maclean's Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency. Asian Educational Service. p. 58.
- Alpana Pandey, ed. (2015). Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing.
- ^ Alpjan: A Chronicle of Minorities. Vol. 6. Social Advancement and Development Trust. 2005. p. 51.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-8166-0593-4.
- ISBN 978-0-226-34051-7.
- Katten, Michael; Making Caste In Nineteenth-Century India: A History of Telling the Bobbili Katha & Velama Identity, University of California at Berkeley, USA
- Roghair, Gene H; 1982, The epic of Palnadu: a study and translation of Palnati virula katha, a Telugu oral tradition from Andhra Pradesh, India, Oxford University Press
- Stein, Burton; Johnson, Gordon; Bayly, Christopher Alan; Richards, John F. (1989). The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 1, Part 2. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-26693-2.
- Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2001). Penumbral visions: making polities in early modern South India. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-11216-6.
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