Kalingi (also spelt as Kalinga & Kalinji) is a

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

residing in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

states 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

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. They are found mainly in

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 Vaa ...

, Vizianagaram, Vishakapatnam, and are also found on the borderland between the districts of

Ganjam Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha is situated in this district. Geography Ganjam is located at in the Ganjam district of Odisha with an ...

and

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

. They are an endogamous population. These people wear sacred threads (yagnopavita) across the shoulders. The same class of people are known as the Kalinjis in the country north of the

Vamsadhara river River Vamsadhara or River Banshadhara is an important east flowing river between Rushikulya and Godavari, in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states in India. The river originates in the border of Thuamul Rampur in the Kalahandi district and Kalyansin ...

. There are four groups of Kalingas today, Buragam and Kinthali Kalingas especially in andhra state with titles Naidu,Chowdhary,Rao.Other two unpopularly subgroups were Kalinga Brahmana with titles panda,patro,sahoo,panigrahi and Kalinga Raju. These groups generally distinguished by sacred threads and gotras. Those who are not wearing sacred thread were considered as Agrarian clan and those who wear sacred threads and having Brahmin gotras were themselves considered as direct descendants of the former rulers of the region who fought with Ashoka. In the Telugu parts they are called Kalingis and in the Oriya country they are known as Kalinjis. The Kalinjis do not wear the sacred thread. 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. These Kalingis are not found south of Chipurupalle in the

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram is a city and the headquarters of Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is central Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapatnam. The city has a population of 228,02 ...

district. These were the original people that gave their name to the region; most of them are now found confined to the south of Ganjam district, but some are found scattered all over the Oriya country along the coast.

References

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* {{Authority control Indian castes Social groups of Andhra Pradesh