Working Paper 179 Caste, Class and Social Articulation in Andhra Pradesh: Mapping Differential Regional Trajectories K. Srinivasulu Department of Political Science Osmania University, Hyderabad September 2002 Overseas Development Institute 111 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7JD UK ii K. Srinivasulu is Professor in the Department of Political Science, Osmania University. Contact details: Department of Political Science Osmania University Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh 500 007 India Email: [email protected] ISBN 0 85003 612 7 © Overseas Development Institute 2002 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. iii Contents Glossary of Terms iv Glossary of Castes vi Acronyms, Abbreviations and Definitions vii Summary viii 1 Introduction 1 2 Historical Context 3 2.1 Coastal Andhra region 5 2.2 Telangana region 6 3 Politics of Dominance and Co-option 7 3.1 Emergent contradictions and their political forms 10 3.2 Political developments since the 1970s 11 4 Political Articulation in Telangana: Class Dynamics and Agrarian Struggles 15 4.1 The split in the communist movement 16 4.2 The agrarian scenario in north Telangana 17 4.3 Agrarian struggles and class mobilisation 19 4.4 The Sircilla-Jagityal movement 20 4.5 The Peddapally struggle 23 4.6 Tendu struggles 25 4.7 The shift away from popular mobilisation 26 5TheDalit Movement in Coastal Andhra 28 5.1 Conceptualising caste: towards a critique of the modernist perspective 30 5.2 The political economy of change and atrocities against dalits33 5.3 The emergence of the Telugu Desam Party 35 5.4 Atrocities on dalits: three cases 35 5.5 Patterns 42 5.6 Dalit Maha Sabha 45 5.7 Ideological contours 45 5.8 Developments in the Dalit Maha Sabha 47 5.9 Summing up 50 6 Social Movements and State Politics 51 6.1 The dalit movement and hegemonic politics 53 6.2 The 1994 Assembly elections 54 6.3 The post-NTR phase and dalit support 56 7 Conclusions 59 References 61 Appendix The social and political context of the TDP’s electoral strategy of 1994 64 List of Tables Table 1 Percentage breakdown of total population of Andhra Pradesh by caste 4 Table 2 Distribution of castes in Andhra districts during the Madras Presidency, 1921 5 Table 3 Major incidents or atrocities on dalits43 Table 4 Scheduled caste population in the State of Andhra Pradesh 57 Table 5 Broad categorisation of the scheduled castes 57 iv Glossary of Terms Adivasi Aboriginal tribe Arrack Distilled liquor, often artisanal Bahujan Literally means ‘majority’; this is a term brought in to the Indian political lexicon and popularised by the Bahujan Samaj Party Bancharai Village grazing and waste land Bandh Strike Banjar Waste land Bedakaal Eviction of tenants from land by landlords Beedi Country cigar Chappal Country leather sandals Crore Ten million Dacoity Gang robbery Dalam Armed squad Dalari Broker or middleman Dandugalu Fines and penalties imposed by landlords for settling disputes Deshmukh Revenue collector turned landlord (Hindu) Dharna Sit-down strike Dora Landlord Emergency The period from June 1975 to March 1977, when the constitutional state of Emergency was invoked; during this period civil liberties and democratic rights were suspended Gaddi vamulu Fodder heaps Gadi Residence of landlord Garibi hatao Poverty elimination Gherao A protest in which workers prevent employees leaving a place of work until demands are met Goonda Goon; thug Gram Panchayat Village Panchayat; the third tier of the Panchayat Raj system Green Revolution The introduction of modern technological inputs and high yielding varieties of paddy and rice in agriculture in the late 1960s Gumpu Group Guntur palle The settlement of Andhra farmers in the Telangana countryside Inam Land grant made by the State in lieu of free services rendered Jagirdar Holder of land grant given for services rendered to the Nizam (Muslim) Jaithra Yatra Victory march Jajmani System of reciprocity of services and goods by different castes Jati Caste or sub-caste ; also used for nation Jeethagallu Farm servants Kalladar The employee of the tendu contractor who is in charge of kallam Kallam The place where tendu or beedi leaf is purchased by the contractor Kapudanam Farming Kisan Peasant Kulak Rich peasant Lakh One hundred thousand Lok Sabha Lower House of Parliament (Central Government) Mamool Gifts customarily demanded by the dora Mandal The restructured middle-tier of the Panchayat Raj system Mandal Praja The middle tier of the Panchayat Raj system in Andhra Pradesh Parishad v Mulki Mulki literally means ‘native’. It refers to the agreement entered into at the time of the formation of the State of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, providing safeguards to the people of Telangana region in education and employment Nizam The ruler of Hyderabad State Paise One-hundredth of a Rupee Paleru Farm servant Palle Village or rural locality Panch A committee of five elders Panchayati Raj System of rural local government with three ascending tiers, viz., Gram Panchayat, Mandal or Panchayat Samithi and Zilla Parishad Panchayat Samithi The middle tier of the pre-TDP Panchayat Raj system; In the place of Panchayat Samithis a number of smaller units called Mandalswerecreated by the TDP government in the mid-1980s Penta Organic manure Pettandar The dominant caste landlord/headman Pettandari Economic and social dominance Poramboku Government waste land Rasta roko Road blockade – a form of protest Ryot Cultivator Sangham Association Sarpanch Chairman of the Gram Panchayat – the lower tier of the Panchayat Raj system Shikam Tank bed land Taluq Sub-division of a district Tendu leaf The leaves of an ebony tree, gathered in India as a cheap tobacco substitute Upasarpanch Vice Chairman of the Gram Panchayat Varna The four-fold hierarchical ordering of the Hindu society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras; the ‘untouchables’, being outside the classical Hindu varna system, are seen as constituting the fifth or panchama varna Veedi Street Vetti Forced, unpaid labour Wada Locality Zamindar Large landowner, engaged by the British to pay land revenue and receive rent, and abolished after Independence Zilla Parishad Top tier corresponding to the district in the three-tier Panchayat Raj system vi Glossary of Castes Adi-Andhra Literally means the original people of Andhra; a term used by a section of the dalits especially in coastal Andhra to describe themselves Balija A Lingayat business caste Besta A caste of traditional fisherfolk Boya Traditional hunter caste Brahmin The highest rank in the four-fold varna hierarchy Chakali Washer folk caste Dalit Untouchable caste Dasu Slave Devanga A weaver caste Dudekula A backward class Muslim caste Dhobi Laundry caste Golla Cattle breeder and backward peasant caste; Gollas are also called Yadavas Gouda Toddy-tapper caste Harijan Literally means, ‘child of God’; the name given by M.K. Gandhi to the untouchables Idiga Toddy-tapper caste in Rayalaseema Jangam A shaivite begging backward caste. Beda Jangam, Buduga Jangam and Mala Jangam are dalit castes Kammari Blacksmith Kamma A dominant peasant caste in coastal Andhra Kapu A dominant peasant caste in coastal Andhra Koeri A peasant caste in the Hindi belt Komati Trader caste, also known as Vaishya Kshatriya Ruler or warrior varna; the second varna in the four-fold Hindu varna system Kummari Potter caste Kurma Shepherd and wool weaver caste Madiga Untouchable leather worker caste Mala Untouchable agrarian labour caste Mangali Barber caste Munnuru Kapu A peasant caste in Telangana Mutrasi Traditional fisherfolk caste Padmasali Weaver caste Raju Ex-warrior caste in coastal Andhra Reddy Untouchable caste Relli A dalit caste dominant in northern coastal Andhra Sale Weaver caste Shudra The lowest rank in the four-fold varna system Telaga A backward peasant caste Uppara Stonecutter caste Vadla Carpenter caste Vaishya Trader caste Velama A dominant caste Vishwa Brahmana Refers to a caste cluster comprising Kamsali (goldsmith), Kanchari (brass smith), Kammari (blacksmith), Vadrangi (carpenter) and Shilpi (sculptor) Waddera Caste of traditional well-diggers and stone-cutter/suppliers Yadava Cattle breeder and backward peasant caste; Gollas are called Yadavas Yanadi A semi-nomadic community of rat-catchers Yerukala A semi-nomadic caste involved in basket-making and pig-rearing vii Acronyms, Abbreviations and Definitions AMS Andhra Maha Sabha (Andhra Conference) AP Andhra Pradesh APCLC Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee APDMS Andhra Pradesh Dalit Maha Sabha BAMCEF All India Backwards and Minorities Employment Federation BC Backward Caste BJP Bharatiya Jana Party (a Hindu nationalist political party) BSP Bahujan Samaj Party (a dalit political party with a major presence in Uttar Pradesh) CI Circle Inspector of Police CPI Communist Party of India CPI(M) Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(ML) Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) CRPF Central Reserve Police Force DARAKAME Dalita Rachayitala Kalakarulu Medavula Aikya Vedika (Dalit Writers, Artists and Intellectuals Forum) DMS Dalit Maha Sabha (a dalit organisation in Andhra Pradesh, formed in response to the Karamchedu massacre, 17 July 1985) Dalit Minority Prajaswamya Democratic Action Forum for Dalits and Minorities, Karyacharana Vedika DAFODAM DS4 Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangarsh Samithi (Struggle Committee of the Oppressed Dalit Society) HYV High Yield Variety