The Gamalla are an Indian caste whose traditional occupation was that of

toddy tapping Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in vari ...

. They also produced and sold the

arrack Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origin ...

. The Gamalla community of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and the then

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and ...

was classified by the First Backward Classes Commission as an

Other Backward Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, ...

in India's positive discrimination system for socio-economically deprived communities. Those of

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

were similarly classified by the Second Backward Classes Commission, and in both cases they were listed with the Gouds and the Kalalis. Richard Eaton believes that

Papadu Sardar Sarvai Papanna Goud (also known as Nasagoni Papanna) (died 1710) was the 17th century king of Quilashapur located in Telangana and bandit of early-18th century India who rose from humble beginnings to become a folklore hero. His deeds have ...

, the

social bandit Social banditry or social crime is a form of lower class social resistance involving behavior that by law is illegal but is supported by wider "oppressed" society as being moral and acceptable. The term ''social bandit'' was invented by the Marx ...

who died in 1710, was a member of the Gamalla or Gavandla community.

References

{{reflist Social groups of Andhra Pradesh Brewing and distilling castes Social groups of Puducherry