Published Paper Details:

Telangana region of Hyderabad State is considered one of the cradles of Dalit enlightenment in the Indian peninsula; much earlier than the independence, and before the merger in India, Dalits organized with a progressive, reformistic agenda in erstwhile Hyderabad State. Jagan Mithramandali (1906) is considered the first rallying point for former untouchables, and the legacy of the independent Dalit movement continued till the communist parties started their activities in the region. Among early consolidations, Manyasangham (1911) the Adi-Hindu movement provided an ideological base on the philosophy of equality and a strategy for the Dalits to do better in everyday life. The movement also nursed a political culture for organized protest among the Dalits to fight for their civil rights. After the 1930s, the activities of Andhra Jana Sangham and Andhra Mahasabha appear to be addressed the social and cultural issues related to Dalits that have hijacked the agenda of the Dalit movement. This paper gives a preliminary understanding of the early Dalit movement in the princely state. Further, the paper explains how the communist parties hijacked the whole issue and subjugated the Dalit movement and its reformist agenda; both Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle to the popular Maoist-Naxalite movement.