Mala (caste)


Mala are Dalits from the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Mala groups are considered as Scheduled Castes by the Government of India.

History

Malas are said to be Hill Warriors and they were raiders and warrior for Polygars of Vijayanagara.
In 12th century, Palanati Brahmanaidu, the minister of Palnadu, adopted Kannamma Dasu, a Mala, who took part in the Battle of Palnadu and got martyred. His descendents were called Mala Dasulus who became head priests of Chennakesava Swamy Temples.
In 1917, Bhagya Reddy Varma & Aringe Ramaswamy organised Adi-Andhra movement led Malas alongside Madigas to be part of Dravidian ideology. In the census of 1931, about a lot of them mentioned their castes as Adi Andhra and were officially included into the list list of Depressed Classes in 1935 Govt. of India Acts and later got carried in 1950 Constitution of India.
Malas opposed the 'Madiga Dandora Movement' in 1990s related to categorisation of the Scheduled Caste quota and denied allegations of snatching major share of caste quotas and established 'Mala Mahanadu' to counter its demands.

Culture

The Mala of Andhra Pradesh are considered a right-hand community, whilst the Madiga of the region are the left-hand.

Distribution

According to Government of India census data from 2001, Malas constituted 41.6 percent of the Scheduled Castes population in the then state of Andhra Pradesh, which has subsequently been bifurcated by the creation of Telangana state.
They are also classified as a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka.

Mala Christians

A small section of the Mala also turned to Christianity but after noticing the similar caste politics in the Telugu Catholic church, shifted to Protestantism instead. They are mainly prominent in the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church and Church of South India.
They made good use of the Christian educational programs, elevating some of their social position and now form part of the lower middle class. These Christian Malas are commonly called Merugumala people, who came from Godavari Krishna basin. They falls under, "Backward Classes -C" category with 1% Reservation at state level and at national level they come under Other Backward Class.
They have been demanding central Government to accord them S.C status on par with Dalit Buddhists, Dalit Sikhs and not to discriminate them on religious grounds for being Dalit Christians. The case related to their demand is pending with the Supreme Court of India since 2005.