No. 13, December 2008 TheDalitMovementand Democratizationin AndhraPradesh K.Y.Ratnam East-West Center Washington WORKINGPAPERS EastWestCenter TheEastWestCenteris=an internationallyrecognizededucation andresearchorganization establishedbytheU.S.Congressin 1960tostrengthenunderstanding and=relations=betweenthe=United= Statesandthe=countriesofthe=Asia Pacific.Throughitsprogramsof cooperativestudy,training,= seminars,andresearch,theCenter= workstopromotea=stable,peaceful andprosperousAsiaPacific communityinwhichtheUnited= Statesisaleadingandvalued partner.=Funding=for=the=Center= comesfortheU.S.government, privatefoundations,individuals, corporationsandanumberof=Asia Pacificgovernments. EastWestCenterWashington EstablishedonSeptember1,2001,the= primaryfunctionof=theEastWest CenterWashingtonistofurtherthe= EastWest=Centermissionandthe= institutionalobjective=ofbuildinga peaceful=andprosperous=AsiaPacific communitythroughsubstantive programmingactivitiesfocusedon thethemeofconflictreductioninthe= AsiaPacificregionandpromoting Americanunderstandingofand engagementinAsiaPacificaffairs. ContactInformation: Editor,=EWCWWorkingPapers EastWest=CenterWashington 1819L=Street,NW,=Suite200 Washington,D.C.20036 Tel:(202)2933995 Fax:(202)2931402 [email protected]= K.Y.RatnamiscurrentlyaLecturerintheDepartmentofPoliticalScienceatthe UniversityofHyderabad. EastWestCenterWashingtonWorkingPapers ThisWorkingPaperis=aproductoftheEastWestCenterinWashingtonSouth AsiaFellowshipProgram.Seepage41fordetails. No. 13, December 2008 TheDalitMovementand Democratizationin AndhraPradesh K.Y.Ratnam EastWestCenterWashington WorkingPapers arenonreviewed anduneditedprepublicationsreportingonresearchinprogress.= TheseworkingpapersarealsoavailableinPDFformatonthe EastWestCenterWashington’s=websitePublicationspageat www.eastwestcenterwashington.org/publications.Additional papercopiescanbeobtainedbycontactingthetheEastWest CenterWashingtonoffice.ThepriceforEWCWWorkingPapers is$3.00eachpluspostage. EastWestCenter Washington = = = = = = = = = = = = TheDalitMovementand Democratizationin AndhraPradesh= = = = Thisstudyargues=thatthedemocratic=statein= scheme of power, domination, privilege, and India is an historical product of very specific hierarchy. Its= very foundation remains= a= circumstances; as such the broader idea of central obstacle in the path of democratic= democracy is not consistent with the specific redistributionofpower.= Caste system. Therefore, there is serious The main focus of the study is to grasp= juxtaposition= between the institutional the significance and the extent to which the= promiseofdemocracyand=therealpracticeof Dalit movement shapes the meaning of democracy= in relation to= the victims of the= democratization. While= realizing= the= caste system,= the Dalits. However, the= caste substance of= democracy, it goes beyond the basedhierarchicalrelationsofdominanceand= impasse of liberal strategies such as subordination have provided sufficient= reservation policy/affirmative action= and= conditions for the rise of Dalit consciousness proposes a= further kind of inclusive= and these= objective conditions have democracywitha=proportionaldistributionof transformed= into the sites of democratic benefits.Inthispredicament,howwell=Indian= struggles when the Dalits are affronted= with democracy= works for the historically the real operation of liberal democratic= disadvantagedDalitsisthecentralpuzzle.In principles of, equality,= freedom, fraternity,= order to understand this puzzle, the study and social justice. Caste conflict, thus, lies at seekstoengageina=widesetofquestions:To= thestructuraldimensionsofIndiansocietyin= what= extent is the contradiction between the= the form of exclusion, discrimination, and= Dalits’ belief of inequality and reality of economicinequality.Inequalitiesbased=onthe= inequality= being= resolved= in the caste divisions are intrinsically anti postindependentdemocratic=setup?Howand= democratic, and the caste system as an why is the= annihilation of caste= more oppressiveideologicalsystemrepresentsthe important than anything else in actualizing a= K.Y. Ratnam substantive= democracy?= How has caste colonialism. The nature of that concerted violenceonDalitsproduceda=movementthat unison has been politically indicated= in the= has to do something with the process of configuration= of unceasing hegemony of democratization= in Andhra Pradesh society? native upper caste feudalists over the= Why have the Karamchedu and Chundur= wretched Dalits. Even the colonial= incidents become a= swarming point for the modernization= process,= that included the emergenceoftheDalitdemocraticmovement restructuring=ofrelationstoaccommodatethe= inAndhraPradesh?=Inlightofthese,thestudy= natives, reflected the political interest of explains the impressive connection between dominant upper caste Hindu landlords. And= the Dalit movement and the process of thesubalternDalitswere=furthermarginalized= democratization=inAndhraPradesh.The=Dalit in this artful contract between their caste8 movement has been spurred on by= new centered feudal and the British colonial= understandings and invigorated by= new masters.= visions provided by its intellectuals and= The colonial regime was able to impose ideologues. Its concerns= are serious and itsauthoritybycooptingnativeelitesthrough= genuine. As= a= collective action, the Dalit= the initiation= of a series of accommodative movement in Andhra Pradesh, that began to= measures. The introduction of the Ryotwari= articulateafreshconcerningabouttheprocess system, the construction of KrishnaGodavari= of democratization,= provides broad irrigation= projects, the establishment of more approachesnotonlyfor=theacademicpursuits durablepoliticalandbureaucraticinstitutions= butalsoinstitutionbuildersandpolicymakers. has greatly contributed to significant This study is divided into= four= sections:= economic and= social structural changes. Thus= the first section deals with the nature of the= the modernization= process initiated during earlyphaseofDalitmobilization=inTelangana= colonial= rule= not only empowered the= native and Andhra regions that include the elites but reinforced their social dominance. Rayalseema. The second section explains the The net effect of these= changes on= the political formation of Andhra Pradesh= based hierarchical Indian society was seen “as= on the languages and= the socioeconomic settinginmotionparallelhorizontalmobilities location of= the Dalits. The third section= both at the top and bottom of the social= analyzesthespecificityof=historicaland=social ladder, thus widening and deepening the= context of contemporary, political culture of already= existing cleavages within society.”1= Andhra Pradesh. Lastly, the course of Dalit= The rapidly growing educated urban middle= movement, and its efforts to democratize class section= of the dominant upper castes, Andhra Pradesh and the issues before the along with the upper caste Zamindars and= Dalitmovementarediscussed. Jagirdars= took the preeminent position in= == articulating the need for an effective struggle TheEarlyPhaseofDalitMovement against colonialism= and= for Swaraj= (self inTelanganaandAndhraRegions government)orindependence. The anticolonial= consciousness was The evolution of the Dalit movement in articulatedandorganized=throughthe Indian= Teluguspeaking regions of Telangana and NationalCongressontheassumptionthatall Andhra has a= long history that parallels the people, irrespective of their specific= India’s liberal parliamentary democratic= interests,= must engage= in a= nationalist= transitionfromcastebasedtoafeudalcolonial movementtowinindependenceso=astogain state.Thishistoryofdemocratictransitionhas political= power from= theBritish= colonial= rule, the elongated allegory tied up with= the= in order to= determine= the future= India’s configuration= of power between the caste destiny. The universal democratic, libertarian= based Indian= feudalism and British imperial principlesoflibertyandequalityhavebecome 2 The Dalit Movement and Democratization in Andhra Pradesh endemictothemandposedasthechampions process of reform initiated by Hindu social of the anticolonial liberators defining= their reformers. Prominent among them were own public sphere and political community= KandukuriVeereshalingamPantulu,Gurajada while circulating the idea of nationalism and AppaRao,ChilakamarthiLaxmiNarasimham, nationyetrimmingthelowercasteDalitsand Raghupati Venkata Ratnam Naidu, Narala other artisan landless,= illiterate mass. Every Setti= Devendrudu, Vemula= Kurmayya, communitywas taught to know onesingular= Guduru= Ramachandra= Rao, Vemuri Ramji enemy––the colonial power. The= entire Rao,NallapatiHanumanthaRao,andVellanki struggle was= simplified and exemplified in= Krishna Murthi. Hindu reformist= certain= slogans such= as Maa= koddi Tella organizationsliketheAryaSamajandBrahmo Doratanam= (We Don’t Want This White Man Samajalsoactivelyworkedfortheeradication Rule). of social evils like untouchability. The great= = However,inthisbroad,=popularattempt philanthropist, the Maharja= of Pithapuram,= to dismantle= the colonial= state, the spurred= established hostels and schools for the= Dalits impulsion towards the democratic transition= aiming to conduit the vehicle of democracy= was conspicuously influenced by the towards the= annihilation= of caste and class alternative articulations that had come from= divisions.5== the anticaste= and antiBrahmin movements. InspirationhasalsocomefromMahatma Thus, along= with the mass anticolonial Jyotiba