Uppara

This article does not cite any sources. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Uppara (sagara Kshatriya) or Sagara a Telugu caste. The primary activity of Uppara members is the preparation of salt in 19th century (‘Uppu’ salt in telugu).

The members of Sagara (Uppara) community are also Known as "Suryavamshi Sagara Kshatriyas" the descendants of Emperor Sagara of Suryavamsha spread throughout the Country and all over the world. He is one of the six legendary emperors known as ‘Shat Chakravarthis’. The story of King Sagara is narrated in Vishnu Purana

History[]

According to Buchanan, the most important occupation of the Telugu Upparas at the beginning of the nineteenth century was the manufacture of salt.

Some members of the caste are Vaishnavites and others Saivites. They also worship various village deities, which vary according to the place of residence.

The one man commission constituted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, chaired by Sri Anantha Raman^[who?] in its report in 1968 made certain observations and recommendations regarding the Uppara or Sagara community. Some of the points mentioned in the report are as follows:

• Uppara or Sagara is a caste of workers engaged in agriculture.
• They also engaged in manufacturing salt.
• When private manufacture of salt was forbidden during the British rule, the people of the community turned to other occupations. The Uppara seem to have made little shifts in an agrarian context. Losing their caste based occupation as salt makers, they mainly did agriculture.
• The members of Sagara (Uppara) community are the descendants of Emperor Sagara of Suryavamsha spread throughout the Country and all over the world. He is one of the six legendary emperors known as ‘Shat Chakravarthis’. The story of King Sagara is narrated in Vishnu Purana.

Demographics[]

The "Chinnappa Reddy Report (1990)" indicates that the Uppara make up about 1.18 percent of the population of Karnataka.

References[]