In the 1872 census, the Kammas made up 40 per cent of the agricultural population of the Krishna district (which included the present Guntur district until 1904). Along with Brahmins, they formed the dominant community of the district. By 1921, their population in the district increased to 47 per cent, representing a large in-migration. Following Brahminical traditions, Kammas emulated the rituals of the Brahmins, and the literate Kammas learned the Vedas, wore the sacred threads, taught Sanskrit and even performed pujas for the lower-caste members, which is said to have generated controversies. Despite their attachment to Brahminical orthodoxy, the Kammas also related to the Kapus in a narrative. Kammas formed the "Kamma Mahajana Sabha", a caste association, in 1910, which received encouragement from the political leaders. Ranga also started a Madras Kamma Association in 1919 and founded a journal "Kamma Patrika", later renamed to "Ryot Patrika". Kamma caste associations also spawned in Tamil Nadu in the 1920s, with two Kamma zamindars leading the "Kamma Mahajana Sabha" and the "Dakshina Desa Kamma Mahasabha". Kammas constituted 6 per cent of the population in the Telugu-speaking areas of the Madras Presidency in 1921, a figure slightly higher than Brahmins, but lagging far behind the 'Kapu or Reddi'.