DALIT MOVEMENT AND RADICAL LEFT: A Study in Telangana

Telangana region of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state has a historical specificity of caste–class dynamics. A kind of solidarity exists between Dalit Movement and Radical Left Practice in this region. Analysing issues and problems of Dalit Movement and Radical Left Practice in this region, this study has put under lens various movements such as the Telangana Peasant Movement, Naxalite Movement, Dandora Movement and Telangana Separate Statehood Movement. Drawing heavily upon empirical evidences, the book closely scrutinizes how Dalits emerged into leadership from village committees and fought for economic betterments by joining hands with left movement in 1950s.
Both Dalit Movement and Radical Left Movement at their regional specifications have a long and cherished history of political struggles in raising demands for social equality and economic freedom. With all these ideological differences and limitations, the author has argued in this study that post-Ambedkarite Dalit movements in Telangana have got their roots in Radical Left Movement. Left movement has successfully exposed the hegemony of upper castes on Dalits and gave Dalits a cause and reason for united struggle against the oppressive regime. This consciousness has helped Dalits in furthering their cause and fight for social justice.
All in all, the book tries to understand the dynamics of caste and class in Dalit Movement and the Left Politics and study the impact of both these movements mutually and their consequences on Telangana politics in years to come.