Hinduism: Details about 'Reddy'
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Reddy is a caste (community) mainly from the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. They are generally Telugu-speaking farming community originally from the state of Andhra Pradesh, though there are considerable number of Reddys with roots in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
OriginsThere are many theories put forth about the origins of Reddys. But none of them is conclusively proven. The word Reddy in particular refers to the Reddy dynasty that ruled in the region around present day Vijayawada, Guntur, Kurnool and Rajahmundry towns for nearly a hundred years (1328-1428). The Name "Reddy" originated as the head of a village appointed by the king as a rakshaka bata/rashta kuta (Police) to supervise the law and order of the village. Reddys are believed to be an offshoot of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. After the decline of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the ruling clan broke off and settled in North and South India. Rashtrakutas were a Rajput clan. The settlers in the north are called Rathods/Rathores, and ruled Marwar in western Rajasthan, while the southern settlers were called Reddys.However, historical evidence for this is lacking. Reddy as a titleIn Ancient India, Reddy is the title of the headman of the village. Since these positions were mostly hereditary their offspring retained the title. Sometime in the medieval period it came to represent the community as of the present. Even at present some families of non-Reddys bear the lastname or (titlename) of Reddy. For example J Geeta Reddy, Minister of Tourism and Sugar, Andhra Pradesh, India does not belong to Reddy caste.. The saying kapu balisthe reddi refers to the fact that many kapu families around Hyderabad have Reddy at the end of their names. Some Reddys who are living in Adilabad and Karimnagar districts are impoverished. Reddy sub castesSome of the well known sub castes of Reddys are Ayodhi Reddys (in Tamil Nadu), Motati Reddys, Neravati reddy, Pedakanti Reddy, Chowdary Reddy(saudary Reddy), Gudati Reddy, Reddy Gandla, Pakanati Reddys, Velanati Reddys,Palnati Reddys, Namadarlu, Vadde Reddys, Panta Reddys,Gandla reddy, Ganjam Reddy (in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa), Pakanati Reddys, Pokanati Reddys Nanugonda Reddys, Gone Kapu and Palle Reddy. Hyderabad and Rangareddy are dominated by Gudati, Gone Kapu and Reddy Kapu sub castes. Adilabad and Karimnagar have Reddy Gandla, Gudati and Motati in majority. They vary in some of their customs. For example, Pedakanti Reddy women do not wear talibottu and Kapu Reddy women wear saree with one belt like thing coming from the middle. The most popular among Reddy's are Motati, Pedkanti, Pokanati and Panta Reddys.But after moderenisation and urbanisation the sub castes is in Reddy community is being erased slowly and it is very difficult to find out the sub caste of reddys. There are now marriages among all the sub castes. Most of the Reddy's now don't know about their sub castes. Reddy pwnz IVI@j0r Ñ00135 Reddy kings and the DynastyMain article: Reddy dynasty Reddys ruled Andhra Pradesh area from 1353 to 1448. The initial capital of the kingdom was Addanki and then Kondavidu and later shifted to Rajahmundry. Some of the major cities of the kingdom included Orugallu (present Warangal), Bezawada (now Vijayawada), Devagiri (present Davanagere in Karnataka state), Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu), Rayagada (Orrisa), Ratnagiri (Maharashtra). Reddys rose to power by starting a revolt against the Muslim rulers in Andhra Pradesh under the Nayak Confederation led by Musunuri Prolaya Nayaka. The dynasty had its decline due to the wars with Recharla chiefs and Gajapathis of Orissa. Ratnagiri fort was built by reddys but was captured by muslims and the small community of reddy's fled to andhrapradesh border districts like Adilabad and Karim nagar and there was few cultural gaps between the local reddys and the migrated Ratnagiri reddys who are locally known as reddy gandla and saudars. The Reddys were known for their fortifications. Two major hill forts, one at Kondapally 20 km north west of Vijayawada and another at Kondavidu about 30 km west of Guntur bear testimony of the fort building skill of the Reddi kings. The other fort which the Reddis were partially involved in building was the Khammam fort. Reddys also ruled many local dominions (samsthanams) until the british seized their power. Role in politicsHistorically, Reddys have played an important role in South Indian politics. Interestingly, the sixth president of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and some of the chief ministers of the State of Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Bejawada Gopalareddy served as the chief minister of Andhra State from March, 1955 to October, 1956. Ten of the twenty elected Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh including the present chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr. Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy are from the Reddy community. The sixth president of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who was in office from 1977 to 1982, is also from the Reddy community. Even though the population of Reddys is 11% in the state of Andhra Pradesh, they have traditionally occupied 40% of the state legislative assembly seats (MLA) and had played a vital role in the social and economic development of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The situation has been changing over the last ten years because of changing voter demographics and reservations for disadvantaged groups.The Reddy community is divided because of the many sub-castes and varying religious affiliations, sometimes segmenting political power. Out of the five Reddy chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh: one is Christian (YSR), two were actually of the Kapu caste (Janardhan Reddy and Kasu Brahmananda Reddy), one was of the Gudati sub-caste (Chenna Reddy), and one was of the Gone sub-caste (Anjaiah Reddy). Neelam Sanjiva reddy bolonged to pakanati. The present Chief Minister YS Rajashekar Reddy is Reddy by caste and Christian by religion. There are many Reddy's who are Catholics in Andhra Pradesh. The towns of Guntur, Warangal, Hyderabad, Mahaboobnagar, Ranga-Reddy have many Reddys who are Catholics. The first conversion of Reddy's took place at Madigubba in Anantapur district in 1850 where Thumma Hanumnata Reddy got converted into Thumma Rayapa Reddy. Prior to that it was Velamas and Bhramins who were converted into Christianity in Andhra Pradesh. The Catholic Reddy women wear Talibottu and bottu. The wear mettalu they follow most Indian and Telugu traditions and customs. There are no marriages of these Catholic Reddy's with the people of other castes. Other castes in India also have a Christian sub-caste. It is common for Catholic Reddys to have many Hindu relatives, as in the case of YSR. Catholic Reddys are treated as OC's or Forward caste by the government as they are landlords and enjoy their position in villages. Facts:
Immigration of communityIndira Gandhi's land reform policy in 1969 of putting a ceiling on personal income and private property affected the rich Reddy land lords in the state of Andhra Pradesh and most of them now live in Middle class. Economic changes that took place during the 1960's and 70's triggered the migration of the community to North America. In the 2004, the American Medical Association survey of last or middle names in United States revealed 4.02% of the practicing physicians had Reddy as their Middle or Last Name. Most of them work in the Information Technology fields and there is a significant Reddy community in Academia and Research at American Universities. Reddys are a very influential and affluent group among the immigrated South Indian communities of North America. Many Reddys who were educated between 1940 and 1950 migrated to USA and UK, but Reddy communities from places where reservations are 100% are leading hand to mouth as agricultural labor. The Reddy community is also a major comunity in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. As northern Tamilnadu a predominantly Telugu dominated region due to historical backgrounds. (Madras and almost whole Northern Tamilnadu was suppose to be part of Andhra Pradesh but due to political influences of Rajaji Madras became part of Tamilnadu )and importance of Telugu is slowly lost. Confusion with the Reddy NameReddys like most of the Telugus have the system of a family name or last name, followed by a given name or first name and then a caste name. Many Reddys in North America have chosen to change their family name to the last name to avoid confusion. Others have chosen to eliminate "Reddy" altogether from the name. for more information on Indian naming conventions see Indian family name Notable ReddysPoliticians
Non-Politicans
See also
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