Kālingi (also Kalinga and Kālinji) is a
Hindu warrior
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also been u ...
caste residing in the Indian states of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
and
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
.
In Andhra, they are primarily found in the erstwhile Srikakulam district with smaller numbers in neighbouring districts.
They are predominantly a caste of cultivators. Some of the community members also served as temple priests in the past. They are categorized as an
Other Backward Classes (OBC) by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Demographics
Kālingis are one of the
dominant castes of Srikakulam district along with
Turpu Kapu
Turpu Kapu is an eastern area name of the kapu caste is an Indian caste in the state of Andhra Pradesh. They are primarily found in the erstwhile districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam with smaller numbers in other regions of the ...
and Polinati Velama.
Kālingis form around 10 percent of the total population of former Srikakulam district. They are heavily concentrated in the talukas of
Sompeta
Sompeta is a census town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Sompeta mandal in Tekkali revenue division.
Geography
Sompeta is located at . It has an average elevation of 8 metres ...
,
Tekkali
Tekkali is a census town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Tekkali mandal and Tekkali revenue division and is located at a distance of 51 km from the district headquarters.
Et ...
and parts of
Srikakulam
Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...
and
Palakonda
Palakonda is a town in Parvathipuram Manyam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a nagar panchayat and the mandal headquarters of Palakonda mandal in Palakonda revenue division
Geography
Palakonda is located at . It has an ...
in the district.
Divisions
In the Telugu parts, the caste is called Kalinga or Kālingi and in the Oriya country they are known as Kālinji.
There are four further divisions among Kalingas like Buragam and Kinthali Kalingas. The other two unpopularly subgroups were Kalinga Brahmana with titles Panda, Patro, Sahoo, Panigrahi and Kalinga Raju.
Both Kinthala and Buragam Kalingas are categorized as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Kinthala widows are permitted to remarry if they have no male heir, but Buragam widows are not.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Indian castes
Social groups of Andhra Pradesh
Social groups of Odisha
South Indian communities