Madiga is a Telugu caste from southern India. They mainly live in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, with a small minority in Tamil Nadu. Madigas are historically associated with the work of tannery, leatherwork and small handicrafts. Today, most are agricultural labourers. They are categorized as a Scheduled Caste by the Government of India. Within the Madiga community, there are various sub-castes include Bindla, Chindu, Dakkali, Mashti, Sangaris and the priestly class is known as Madiga Dasu.

Edgar Thurston and Siraj-ul-Hasan speculated Madiga derived from Mahadige or maha dige ra (transl. great man come down). This is related to the common origin story that the Madigas originated from Jambavanta, who helped the gods out of a difficulty.

Madigas live mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, with small minorities in neighboring states. As per the 2011 census, in United Andhra Pradesh Madigas constituted 48.27% of the total Scheduled Caste population with a population of 6,702,609. While Malas constituted 40.11%. Around 3.4 million Madigas live in Andhra Pradesh and another 3.3 million throughout Telangana.

In Karnataka, the Madigas make up 9.1% of the total Scheduled Caste population, totaling 953,913 individuals. In Old Mysore, the Madigas were one of the main Dalit communities, along with the Holeyas.

In Tamil Nadu, their population is recorded at 5,929, and in Maharashtra at 15,318.

In 2009, the term "Arunthathiyar" in Tamil Nadu was officially designated as an umbrella term encompassing various communities, including Arunthathiyar, Chakkiliyan, Madari, Madiga, Pagadai, Thoti and Adi Andhra with a combined population of 2,150,285.

The occupation of the Madiga community is primarily associated with tanning leather, making footwear, belts, pouches, toddy-containers and bags which were provided to different castes as needed. Additionally, the Madiga community is known for their expertise in crafting the traditional drum called the Dappu. A significant portion of the Madiga population traditionally worked as cobblers. They specialized in crafting and repairing footwear. They are also village drummers who use Dandora or Dappu in festivals, death and marriage ceremony and announcements.

Some Madigas were traditionally engaged in various village services, including activities like horn-blowing, drum-beating, removal of animal carcasses, cleaning of public spaces and menial tasks. In exchange for their services, they received inam land. Those specifically involved in menial work were referred to as etti-Madiga. Their responsibilities included street cleaning, carrying government officials luggage, helping with revenue collection, maintaining peace as watchmen, household and farm chores for their landlord family. In the past, Madigas were obligated to provide free labor under the vetti system to landlords for a certain number of days during peak periods of agricultural labour. When payment was made, it was less than what was paid to the rest of the farmers. In some areas, landlords allocated land to Dalits, mainly Madigas, and provided initial resources. In return, tenants worked on the landlord's fields for nominal wages and received only 1/3 of the crop after harvest, maintaining their economic dependence.