Two truths stand together in Padmasaliyar life today: there are firms known across the world and people who have received national awards; at the same time handloom weaving remains an insecure livelihood for many families. This chapter illustrates both from sources that can be checked. Rather than drawing up a list of “celebrities”, we have included only what is confirmed.
Living community
Written / statistical evidence
Yet to be verified / collected
Classification and numbers
Nalli — a weaving family past its century
Other achievers
Handloom weaving today
Not all Padmasaliyar are weavers; nor are all weavers Padmasaliyar. But as the state of the handloom sector touches many Padmasaliyar families, it is necessary to look at it.
Community identity today
Yet to be collected
At a glance
Statement
Category
BC-B in Telangana, about 11.82 lakh (3.3%)
Statistics (the survey’s accuracy is under debate)
Nalli: started 1928; Padma Shri 2003, Padma Bhushan 2025
Written evidence
Handloom: 35.2 lakh people; declining for many years
All India census
Fall in looms at Pochampally and Chirala
Media report
Gajam Anjaiah
Yet to be verified
Education, occupation, associations
Yet to be collected
Next chapter
14. The spread of the Padmasaliyar community around the world — families who moved abroad, associations overseas, connections through the internet.
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