Evaluating Dalit Leadership: P. R. Venkatswamy and the Hyderabad Example Author(s): Simon Charsley Reviewed work(s): Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 52 (Dec. 28, 2002 - Jan. 3, 2003), pp. 52375243 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4413021 . Accessed: 10/02/2012 09:01Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

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Evaluating DalitP R and Venkatswamy the

LeadershipHyderabad Example

The dalit movement in Hyderabad and Secunderabadthat had such promising beginnings in the early 20th century was soon beset by factionalism and division that developed among its leaders. This paper draws on an exceptional and event-filled record of those times provided by one of the movement'sprotagonists, P R Venkatswamy in an attempt to explore the local situation during those decades, the leadership of the time and predicanents they faced.SIMON CHARSLEY

fter its beginnings in the early 20th century, the dalitI movement in yderabadand Secunderabadwas soon beset by contention and division. Omvedt (1994) has noted the 'active but factionalised dalit leadership' which emergedin the 'specialised circumstances' of Hyderabadstate. For her 'the personal competition for leadership is striking' [Omvedt 1994:119, 125]. The purpose of this paper is to explore the local situation here in greaterdetail thanOmvedt with her wider focus was able to do and with different aims. It is to examine the issues which exacerbated conflict and gave it its form. In addition it seizes an unusual opportunity to gain insight into an early centre of dalit activity and those who were instrumental in it, from the time before Ambedkar's influence on the movement began and into the new era he established. Omvedt's analysis drew extensively on an exceptional document, Our Struggle for Emancipation by P R Venkatswamy. This consists of two substantial volumes compiled by one of the leading participants in many of the events he describes. The first volume covers the long period from about 1906, before he was born, to 1946. During the latter part of this time he was personally active in the story he tells. The second volume continues the story up to 1953, but during this period he was mainly an observer and collector of information.It is this scarce work which offers the unusual opportunity exploited here, particularly for its earlier years. Venkatswamy'saccount is full of human detail of the kind to fascinate an anthropologist. It is a commented archive

collectedoverthe yearsandsubsequently filled out with memorieswhichwere still availablewhenhe cameto compileit half a century Itis selectiveandfrequently ago. but partisan, the text itself is so strongly to motivated theimpulse tell it as it was, by 'wartsand all', thatthereis greatinsight intothepeopleandthetimesto be obtained fromit. Venkatswamy's passionis to tell things as they were and in termsof the involvedin them,even when individuals reflectsbadlyon himselfor the narrative as those he regards the greatdalitleaders M of the periodin Hyderabad, V Bhagya and Varma,Arigay Ramaswamy Reddy B S VenkatRao.2He recognisesthat he intemintervened himself has frequently andunwisely.He is even able to perately repeatrecognisehis own sharein damage edly done to the movement,which he is so readyto denouncein others.He almost in recognises that his final intervention the publishing bookwill provecontroversial too: by the time he came to present the second volume, the first had already excited strongreactions.3 Venkatswamy and'the Dalit Movement in Hyderabad was Venkatswamy bornabout1908,the son of a unani doctor practising in The Secunderabad. familybelongedto the mala caste community in the town. accountcontainsno sign Venkatswamy's thatthefamily,in thetimehe wasgrowing up,hadanylinksoutsidethecity,certainly none with ruralmalas.They seem not to in an havebeenunusual thisrespect: urban, was schooledgeneration growingupwho,

when they did eventuallygo out to the could come back with starcountryside, tling tales of the povertyand oppression there(pp 191, they hadfoundcontinuing 200). In the city, Venkatswamy'slife his couscontrasted anything country with ins, if he had any, were likely to experience. He attendedmala-founded primary and middle schools in the city. He was awardeda gold medalby a caste Hindu for socialserviceorganisation comingfirst in Telugu literature amongstcandidates from the Cantonment high schools in the matriculation exams of 1929. He graduated with a BA from Osmania,the first in in university Hyderabad, probably 1936. he Subsequently studiedLaw in Madras but seems never to have completedthe himself by tuition degree. He supported overtheyearsof his mainpoliticalactivity until, in 1943 havingfailed the previous year to obtainthe new post of inspector of depressedclass schools, he joined as He a teacherandleft Hyderabad. married SharadaBai, also a dalit and a graduate of Osmania,and they had a son. Both in 60 workedas teachers Nalgonda, miles fromHyderabad, wife beingheadmishis tressof the government girls high school andhe himselfanassistant theboyshigh at school.Brieflyandtumultuously were they involved in the conversionof the dalitowned middle school at which himselfhadstudied an into Venkatswamy school and its transferto governupper mentcontrol.In 1950,soonafterwards, he left teachingto set up a printing pressin Secunderabad 578). (p Thefirstorganisation whichheplayed in a leadingrole was the Friends'Union, a 5237

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young men's club which arose out of a bhajan-singing group. This met in when father's dispensary Venkatswamy's it fell out of use with his death in 1924 (pp 32 foil.). He and the Friends were mobilised,while still at school, by an established mala 'social worker',Arigay a Ramaswamy,railway employee,to work for the reformof caste custom in accordancewiththevaluesof reformist Hinduismof thetime.Theywereagainstalcohol, and againstmeat-eating animalsacrifice, and the of against dedication girlstodeities, as entailing it did a freeingof themfrom marriagewith its restrictionof sexual relationsto husbands.For progressives suchan institution was, as it still is, tantamount sanctioningprostitution. to The Friends tookpartin providing bothworkers and equipmentfor family festivals, weddingsparticularly, enablingthe poor - which was most of the fellow caste to members whomtheservicewas offered - to put on a decent show, on condition thateverything carriedout in accorwas dancewith the reformedvalues. Morepolitically,Arigay Ramaswamy wasthepioneer Secunderabad the idea in of in that developed Madras the 'Depressed or as Classes', 'Panchamas' theyhadoffibeen in were cially termed Madras, theoriginal inhabitants the country and as such of deserved thanobloquyand respectrather exclusion. wasexpressed theintroThis in duction threemain'Adi-' names:'Adiof Dravidas'meaningoriginal Dravidians, taken hereto meanTamils;Adi-Andhras, originalpeople of the Telugu-speaking country; and Adi-Karnatakasfor the Kannada In it speakers. Secunderabad was as below,'Adi-Hindu' however, discussed which seemed appropriate: in 1922 Ramaswamy started an 'Adi-Hindu This Sabha'. wasineffecta mala Jatiyonnati casteassociation with the possibility but gradually beingrealisedas timepassedof including madigasregardedas of lower status.The associationconvertedsubseto 'Adi-Hindu quently thegrander sounding with involvement Mahasabha', increasing withresident Tamilians Adi-Dravidas. or Venkatswamybecame Ramaswamy's man right-hand in this,eventuallybecoming generalsecretary 50 foll). (pp Inthe1930smoreradical anti-Hindu and These were perspectives beganto appear. concernednot with the reformof caste cultures changing imagesso much and their aswithasserting rights thedepressed the of classesandunderstanding and exploitation themechanisms upper of castedomination

(pp 75, 78). On the widerstagesuchperspectives were associatedwith Ambedkar and opposition to Congress and the Gandhians. was, Venkatswamy byhisown account,bowledover by his firstexperience of a largescale Ambedkarite conference at Pune in 1936 (p 90). Returning, he brokewith ArigayRamaswamy. With a wealthybusinessman,B S VenkatRao who had been sponsoring Adi-Hindu the for Mahasabha some years, they formed theYouthLeagueof Ambedkarites 93 (pp foil). This was an avowedlycadreorganieducateddalit youth to sation,recruiting awarenessof exploitationby propagate caste Hindusand the need to breakwith reformist activitysponsored them.As by a whole the movementremained,however, more preoccupiedwith religious issues than with politicalrights. Contention Hinduism relationover and was of shipswithHindus attheheart almost incessantdisputeand acrimonyamongst dalit in Hyderabad-Secunderabadthe in was often followingyears.Venkatswamy atthecentre it.As secretary theYouth of of League,on his own or with his president he quarrelled withall who failedto break off theirlinks with Hindus.Alreadyafter 'two long years of our feverishcrusade againstHinduism' 140),it becameclear (p thata newsituation neededanewresponse. It was notjust commitments Hinduism to whichhad to be opposed.Representative institutions electionswere becoming and relevantand political rights in the new orderhadto be claimed.A differentkind of organisationto representdalits was needed.The YouthLeaguewas therefore transformedinto the HyderabadState ClassesAssociation (HSDCA) Depressed had (pp 140 foll). Aspirations changedto fit the unitof politicalrepresentation now to be based on the state. In practice, however, the means to reach out and organise beyondthecity wereandforlong remained almostcompletelyunavailable. In the new context,since the government was Muslim,relatingto Muslimsbecame more crucial and the religious question would not go away. To its opportunities and dilemmasthe leadersresponded differentlyandoften, in one another's eyes, fell deviously.Venkatswamy out messily with Venkat Rao, the presidentof his HSDCA, first resigning,then being reTies called,thenexpelled. anddependences fromthepastrandeepandbitterness built up until it could be containedno longer. did Venkatswamy notleavetheassociation on his own but with a groupof his

supporters who were soon organising a 'Compromising Committee', ostensibly to heal the breach (p 193). This became, somewhat surprisingly and by a partial recombinationwith Arigay Ramaswamy's old Adi-Hindu Mahasabhawhich they had split in forming the Youth League, the Hyderabad State Adi-Hindu Mahasabha (HSA-HM) (p 205). Of this J H Subbiah, an up-and-coming leader, was the president and Venkatswamy, as usual, the general secretary. There was now direct and bitter conflict with Venkat Rao's HSDCA, also with the premierorganisation in Hyderabad city itself, the Adi-Hindu Social Service League. Bhagya Reddy, its founder and the most widely known dalit leader from the Nizam's dominions, had died in 1939 and his organisation now tendedto ally with HSDCA againstSubbiah andVenkatswamy's HSA-HM. At the same time madiga organisations were beginning increasingly to contest the right of these mala-based associations to represent either Adi-Hindus or Depressed Classes, categories in which they were to be included. Indeedthey were already beginning to claim, as the idea of representativedemocracy spread and the Census of 1941 was conducted, that they were more numerous than the malas and therefore deserved the leading consideration (pp 166, etc). The census - action in relation to it and figures resulting from it - became, at least in the capital, a focus of intense disputation, amongst dalit organisations as well as between them and Hindus (pp 189, etc). The final episode, a strategy in the competition, was a name change at the instigation of Ambedkar with whom Venkatswamy had discussions at the AllIndia Depressed Classes Conference at Nagpur in July 1942 as partof a delegation from the HSA-HM. The name was now to be the HyderabadStateScheduled Castes (Adi-Hindu) Federation, an appropriate variant of the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation which Ambedkarenvisaged as a suitable umbrella for reunification (pp 227 foll). Apart from the name, little changed,however. Soon Venkatswamyhad fallen out with his president, Subbiah, on whom he had failed to impose a restricting constitution. He resigned, to take up another school post, in Gulbarga. He made almost his last effort to reconcile the contending parties at the end of 1945. When this was unsuccessful it was effectively the end of his active political career. His book is, therefore, on the face of it a recital of the troubles of leadership such

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his caste to protecthimself fromsocial through broader the 'Adi-Hindu' category intended subsumemalas,madigas,adito 76, 78; also pp 159, 162). stigma' (pp At the beginningof the centuryit was dravidas, and mahars, mangs laterchamars. clear thatmalasand madigasalso shared Bhagya Reddy followed the initiativein themin theeyes namebutin practice whichdamaged retained focus on his practices of Hindu reformers. They shared an the distinctivenessof his own caste. On alcoholicculturewhichit was easy to see the basis of his earlier work and wide and asdamaging economically forthe travelsitwashe,however, both whowasknown violence it engendered; sharedthe widelyacrossIndiaas theDepressed Class they of actidedication girlsto deitiesas 'devadasis' leaderof Hyderabad. Ramaswamy's whowouldoftenbe,whatever religious vities remainedlocalised. Significantly, the componentsof their roles, involved in the 'Adi-Andhra' categoryseems hardly and prostitution; they sharedthe sacrifice to have appearedin the Twin Cities. of animalsto theirlargelyfemaledeities. A major identity dilemma faced and Innoneof thesewerethemembers these dividedthedalitleadership, whichhas of one generationalsuccession. They were sharp- castes unique,but for each the otherwas not faced CasteHinduleadersin seeking to consolidateand advance their castes of ened by the practicalities mobilising the most conspicuousfellow sufferer. Thefirstdilemma therefore was whether [Charsleyand Karanth1998:265-67].In These are reviewed in turnin resources. in should look exclusively to consequenceof it, dalit organisations the remainder the paper. of organisations went throughan evolutionof their own castes as defined in the city, Hyderabad malasor madigas, whether or Caste Identity theyshould identity markersin their titles. Though seek to workforbothandto overcomethe they were not necessarilyequally meanCaste identityas a dilemmaappeared barriers betweenthem.The chief opposi- ingful to all who accepted them, their almostfrom the beginningof the move- tion here was between Bhagya Reddy's general significances were clear: ment in Hyderabad.Already when the orientation to the former position in 'Mahanati'signified mala, 'Arundatiya' and to madiga, and for larger categories there storybeginsin thefirstdecadeof the 20th Hyderabad ArigayRamaswamy's century,amongstthe urbanpopulationa the latterin Secunderabad. Ramaswamy were 'Adi-Hindu','DepressedClasses', firm division was established between movedcautiously secureinter-marriage 'Harijan'-thedistinctively to Gandhian term malasandmadigas.Both were coalitions whilst Bhagya Reddy allied with older -and ultimately 'scheduled castes'. 'Dalit' of people differing somewhat amongst malaleadersin fiercelyopposingit, seek- itself was formallyintroduced 1949 by in themselves theirlocal social,economic ing to interveneeven in Ramaswamy's the 'Hyderabad in StateDalitJatiyaSangh'. is andcultural but (pp origins,4 Venkatswamy own territory 36 foll). Thoughthis was perhapsat this stage no Thesimpleopposition extended was able in mostcontextsto writeof themas and morethana Hindiversionof 'Depressed and From complicated the presencein the city of ClassesAssociation'[Omvedt1994:314], categories. by unitary unproblematic his own side of the divisiontherewas no representativesof other regional caste it was a harbinger things to come. of and doubt malas that of The nameof this organisation weresuperior madigas orders.As well as the Telugu-speakers pointsto bothin traditions casteranking surrounding of the of a finalemergingdilemmaof identities for inferior, Telengana, Dominions andin their socio-economic theNizamincluded areas Marathi organisations, notfor individuals. the if In contemporary speaking This meant,most signifi- firstdecadesof thecentury wasclearthat achievements[cf Sackett 1930:128-29]. and Kannada. it a Butatthesametimetheyshared common cantly,thatboththe leadingdalitMarathi their intendedconstituencieswere resiin dentlocalcastecommunities. was often to and It positionin relation therestof theHindu castes,mahars mangs,werepresent the Both of population. werebeingdiscriminated the city, introducing parallelopposi- clearthatthey wereorganisations eduand excludedas 'Untouchables', tions of theirhome region.Malaswould cationalandeconomicelites, often repreagainst on thoughnot perhapsin such radicaland see maharsas their Marathiequivalents sentedas educated youth,working and FromMadras for the widergroup.The emergingalterways as in ruralareas.At least andmangsas theirmadigas. damaging in the amongst malastherewasalready the presidencytherewere, as well as fellow native was often signalled by including urban environment directknowledge Telugumalasandmadigas little fromthecoast, 'Hyderabad State' in the name: the inof the lot of ruralcousins.5For both,the alsoTamilians from time register tendedconstituencybecamethe caste or the they who, urbandilemmaof 'passing' in the storyandin contrast the Marathi a set of castesover the whole of thiswide to distinctively The at tend as could relevant. doctor Mushirabad group, to be recorded 'Adi-Dravidas' area. Such organisationsmight then be be in concernedwith changingthe law for the dispensary the city providesa striking withoutinternalcaste distinctions. 'He Fromthe early 1920s, with the 'Adi-' benefitof the constituency a whole,for as gentleexample. wasanold fashioned and man,veryamiable affable...He always ideas and distinctionsfiltering in from instanceto eliminate 'begari'or 'vetti', worea silksherwani donneda Turkey Madrasand implyingseparate and and labour language- caste-based compulsory unpaid or cap'. He had publisheda bookleton the based aboriginalities, any policy of (p 138),orto claimeducational political of but cate- advantages them.Inthesetheyachieved for upliftment the downtrodden, under inclusivitywould requirea broader a pseudonym. oneof themosteducated gorywhichcouldembrace theseothers. some success. Whetherthe city organiAs all andbestplacedmembers themalacom- 'Adi-Hindu' as a common designation sationscould properly of claim to represent and munity a friendof BhagyaReddy,he offered the possibilityof achievingthis. such constituencies was, however, an of wastempted theprospect leadership ArigayRamaswamy 25) expanded his issue. Initiallytherewere no channelsof by (p butresisted 'Hewas afraidof revealing range, seeking to mobilise and work communication, alone any dispersed it: let to as are often thought have plaguedthe sinceits earlyyears.Such dalitmovement to troubles oftenattributed the private are of concerned. wickedness the individuals Thispaper seeks,not to suggestthatdalit leadershaveon the contrarybeen saints - though theyhave includedsome of the and mostcourageous sociallyconstructive oftheir placeandtime- butto underpeople stand someof thefactorswhichhavemade it difficultto achieveeffective leadership in themovement. problems The conspicuousinthefirsthalfof thetwentieth century inHyderabad chieflythree: were overcaste and over identity, religiousaffiliation over

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to organisation, groundsuch claims. One themesover the years of Venkatswamy's of is thebidding of thenumbers people up claimed in leadersof such organisations their rhetoricto represent,rising amazinglyfrom15lakhs(1.5 million)to, in one 90 instance, lakhsover a generation.He such claims with amusedscorn, presents attention mainlyto theimpossible drawing whichsuch claims increase population in it However, wasonlyasthesecond implied. world war approached that branchesin to be created, this and other districts began was quicklyundermined the new preby of occupations wartime.Therewas little in choice:itbecame essential theemerging politicalsituationfor every organisation in to claimlegitimacy theseterms,exposwho ing itself to the ridiculeof observers of sawnothing morethana handful largely leadersand theirfollowself-proclaimed ers confinedwithinthe city. It was a situationeasy to ridiculebut one which was difficulrootedin the immensepractical of ties of anywidespread mobilisation the dispersed Theymade poorandoppressed. up the overwhelming majorityof a conhavebeen whichwouldotherwise stituency withoutany voice at all.

life of a cosmopolitan city.6 Lower castes and their Muslim opposite numbers enjoyed extensive participation in many of each other's cults and local festivals. Mala Hindu religious activity was well established in Secunderabad when Venkatswamy was growing up there. Two of their own temples had been set up, with mala priests. Bhajan-singing groups were and continued to be a common form of collective activity in the circles from which the movement was springing. No difficulty was initially seen in adopting the 'Adi-Hindu' designation fororganisations. The learned, such as Arigay Ramaswamy, began to investigate how different the ancient religion of the Adi-Hindus could have been to contemporaryHinduism, but it was only word of Ambedkar's emotional rejection of Hinduism at a Depressed Classes Conference at Yeola in western in Maharashtra, 1935, thatturnedreligious affiliation problematic(p 86 foll).7 On that occasion, frustrated by efforts to change orthodox Hindu minds in relation to untouchability, he identified dalits' placing within the Hindu order as the root of their problem. As Keer (1971:253) reportshim, he asserted that 'The disabilities they were labouring under and the indignities they had to put up with...were the result of their Religion being members of the Hindu community. Thesecondfocuswhichdividedleaders He inquired if it would not be better for and led to acute animositiesand percep- them to abjurethat fold and embrace some was religion,but it was other faith that would give them an equal tions of betrayal after 'thunderbolt' the [Keer1971:251 status, a secure position and rightful treatonly declaration ment'. The conference resolution which foll] of Ambedkar's startling Hinduism October 1935that followed endorsed separation: 'fruitless of 13, against it took hold. In the first decades of the attempts' to change the Hindu order and no that century onehaddoubted 'Untouch- 'frittering away their energies' on this ables'wereontheHindu of theHindu- should be abandoned (ibid). side Muslim division. Hinduism had been In Hyderabad, according to Venkatassumedto cover a rangeof practiceand swamy the groundhad indeed alreadybeen than and prepared by the teaching of one Pyaram belieffarbroader thebrahminical exclusions from aspects of brahminical Gangadhar, a mala tutor and radical. He religionwere of variablesignificance.In was already arguing that the supportdalits brahmins werein anycase not had long been courting and receiving from Hyderabad and prominent dalitsthereconspicuously Hindu reformist organisations was selfshared and beliefsandpractices much interested, that there was no possibility many interactionwith other castes. that upper castes could be honestly assistreligious WhencasteHindureformists turned their ing the destructionof the exploitative order attention such practicesthey were at- of which they themselves were the main to to tempting put theirown housein order. beneficiaries (p 75). Ambedkar's striking Few can haveimagined otherway of pronouncement thereforequicklytaken was any the understanding situation.At the same up in Hyderabad by a few minds already time therewas a long-standing often prepared: Venkatswamy was himself and robust accommodation between Hindus prominent amongst them. The secret of andMuslimsat mostlevels of thesociety. lack of progress - or of sufficient progress seen - had, they thought, been revealed. The Manytookpridein 'Deccani'culture as a Muslim-Hindu and as the unmaking of the Hindu identity of dalits synthesis basis for the prosperous harmonious andtheirdissociationfromtheircasteHindu and

became the projectfor some supporters leadersto pursuewith zeal. This was a new dilemmawhich would bitterlydividedalit leaders.Hereas elsewhere[Pradhan 1986:244-45; 152]there p were now amongstthem pro- and antiHindu standes to decide between. If anti-, there was a furtherdilemmaover conversion,whetherthis was to be only in principle - as turned out to be Ambedkar'sown recommendation or encouragingimmediateconversionto a Waitreligionclaimingto be egalitarian. ing untilthe timewasripeandthedoctor's order for a mass conversionwas given became the Ambedkarite policy for the next 20 years. In contrast,the claims of IslamandChristianity wereclearanda lot closer to home.8 who had Those of the oldergeneration their in constructed own identities relation to Hinduism,sometimes with religious and disturbed learning piety,wereseriously by the message that Hinduismhad to be abandoned. Arigay Ramaswamy and Palayam Pillai (p 239) were the most eminentof these. Of the former,Venkatswamy writes that 'of course his philoGita sophyandinterpretation ofBhagawat andHinduism so deepthatit was not was to intelligible thecommonman'(p 93; see alsopp25, 63). Fortheyounger generation it mightbe easierto acceptthe anti-Hindu policy in principlebut it still proveddifficultto pursueconsistently practice. in It was the basisfor accusation counterand of accusation deceitandbetrayal, only not betweenthoseembracing thoserefusand ing it, buteven betweencolleagueswithin an organisation suchas the YouthLeague of Ambedkarites whichhad been formed outof thismoment fundamental of change andcrisis. At the oppositeextremeto the convinced Hinduswereleaders whothrew in their lot with the Muslims.Some did conspicuouslywell in the briefperiodof independent Muslim rule after Indian independence. Venkat Rao became minister of education in the Nizam's fromwhichvantage government, pointhe obtaineda 'One CroreTrustFund'from the government depressedclass edufor cation. ShyamSunderleft for Europeas an emissaryto the UnitedNations.Both were luckierin the outcomethanthe less exalted whoassociated themselves directly with the notoriousRazakarvigilanteregime(pp 269,etc).Theywereachiefobject of communalrevenge when the Indian Indian Army's 'Police Action' instituted controlandled to thedisappearance the of

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dilemmas Muslim kingdom.InHyderabad, over religious identity in the dalit movement were thereforeparticularlysharpand divisive.

Generation and SuccessionGeneration is the third conspicuous source of contention in the conflictual historybeing examined. Youth and mature age, the ways they needed one another but came to their joint endeavours with differentexperience and expectations appear repeatedlyin the history of the movement (e g, pp 42, 93, 152). An established generation of leaders necessarily had its sources of material support; youth had little or none. They were often themselves studying or eking out a living tutoring, often with the support of their families it has to be imagined, though this aspect is all but invisible in the record. What they did have was potentially mobilisable energy, enthusiasm, time and, it has to be said, often a callous readiness for intense partisan hostility (p 201). They also had, increasingly throughthe period, education and talents of literacy and facility with English, which were language,particularly often superior to those of their leaders. They brought to their leaders a changing world of committees and constitutions setting out the powers and responsibilities of office holders, of memoranda and pamphleteeringandinteractionwith newspapers - letters to the editor and editorial responses - for which the skills of the educatedyoung were always at a premium. From the mid-1930s, newspaper reporters began to interview dalit leaders (pp 101, 236-37). Public communication was often in English,in which even such majorleaders as Venkat Rao had limited competence, ratherthan Telugu or Urdu in which they might be at home effective (e g, p 97). By 1941 there were still only three graduates amongst the Hyderabad malas (p 183). Behind them much larger cohorts were moving up the educational ladder. Some were politically active, as was Venkatswamy from his school days onwards,since leadersregularlyformedyouth organisations(e g, pp 10, 58 foll). To start with, religious activities such as bhajan singing were common; later the emphasis was on physical exercise and sport and uniformed quasi-military display, 'discipline' being the link here. These went along with social service and political activity. Student associations and confer-

what older 'youth', generally around their distinctive educational concerns (pp 177, 213, 273, 417). Almostas regularly the youths produced their own leadersandgenerated contention between and within parties. They formed rival factionsbehindtheirrivalleaders,sometimes to be defendedrightor wrong, at other times to be denouncedfor wicked betrayals.Attemptswere made to bind Whenthey used themwith constitutions. theirpositionsto taketheirown initiatives without the constitutionallyprescribed meetings and consultationsand resolutions betrayalwas felt. Venkatswamy's bitterest leader-turned-betrayer relationship was with J H Subbiahwho was for some time close to Ambedkar himself. He defeatedall effortsby Venkatswamy into stalla constitution theHyderabad for State Scheduled Castes Federationof which Venkatswamywas supposed to be the afterits creation 1942 in generalsecretary (p 233). Leadersattainedtheir positions by their personalabilities to duck and weave, influence and manipulate. They conformed uneasilyto youthfuldemands for transparency conformity exterand to nally imposedrules. All wereinevitably to reacting a changworldwithwhichHyderabadingexternal was Secunderabad in very directcontact: the world of BritishIndiaand the Conof movement, the gress-ledindependence Muslimstatecautiouslymovingtowards moredemocratic institutions jealous and of its autonomy, of the anti-Untouchand abilitymovementand Ambedkar's input intoit. As Omvedt (1994:294) notes,what was conspicuously absent and was to remainso till much lateras far as dalits were concerned,was any meaningful interaction with the Communist movement which was to be such an abidingfeature of theTelengana region.Theothers,however, generatedchoices betweenstances andbetweenallieswhichtheyounger generationcommonlyreactedto with more enthusiasm than their elders. Networking and Material Resources The situation malasin Hyderabad of in the 20th centurywas neverso uniformly that impoverished theydepended entirely on outsidersfor the meansto organiseor for their impacton events. Early in the included century theyalready peoplewho werewell established the urban in society andeconomyandsomewhowerewealthy.

Themoststriking was example oneKonday Tathiah,the head cook at the Military Ballroom, a lavish establishment in Secunderabad cateringfor the European residents.He was also a majorproperty ownerwith buildingsacross the city, inand cludingseveral near the racecourse, two rows of shops. He also owned the handsomebuildingin which the military ballroomitself was establishedand later presentedit to the Residencyauthorities (p 21). In food businessestherewas also a well knownconfectionerand bakerat In gunfoundry. public service there was the superintendent the Hyderabad of public gardens- one of the pridesof the city - and an assistantengineerin the Public Works The M Department. latter, LAudiah, the supervised buildingof the majorhospitals and the Law Courtsin Hyderabad markers its Deccani of itself,conspicuous He sophistication. was also a well known cricketerwhose claims to fame included a doublecenturyin a matchin Delhi and having played against the European Club in Bombay.The PWD Gymkhana for others, provided employment numerous as well as workforlabour and contractors, therailways wereanother employer, major withnumerous and clerks,ticketcollectors atleastonestation as master, wellasmanual jobs.9 The proprietor of the railway servants' provision store was a mala. Domestic service for Europeans and Muslims included of positions somepower asbutlers largehouseholds highstatus in of in thesocietyat large.It was,thatis to say, a community which,though majority in the were certainlypoor, a spreadingacross socialclasseshadalready begun,andlinks throughemploymentwith elites, Indian and were well European, already established. It was possibletherefore raise some to fundsfor good causeswithinthe commuto nityandto chargemodestsubscriptions malamembers organisations. was of This a key element, along with educational superiority,in malas' leadershipof the dalitmovement Hyderabad. meant in It too that some leaders were independently of wealthy,andwealthandthe presidency organisationstended to coalesce, even illegitimatelyfrom the position itself. A son of the wealthyballroomownermentionedabovewas assumedto be thepresident of the first Adi-Hinduorganisation in Secunderabad, Jatiyonnati the Sabha: he couldofferthefacilitiesof his family's commodious homeformeetings being and, held there,it was easily acceptedthathewithout - or ahead of - wealth deriving

ences were attempts mobilisea someto

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would preside (pp 20-22). B S Venkat Rao, a business man who returned to Secunderabad initially with some wealth from working in Pune and who, according to Omvedt (1994:295-97) 'managed to parley a position as overseer in the Public Works Department into a small personal fortune',acquiredconsiderable land in and aroundthe growing city. He was the most conspicuous example of a leader whose home was the centre for activities and the office for most of the series of organisations with which he was associated. His wealth was generously available for the financing of the operations of these organisations: Venkatswamy observes that he was 'our philanthropic financier' who 'would not allow us to undertake the strenuous work of collecting funds', though 'sources were plenty' (p 179). He also supported a long series of worthy dalit causes over the years.'0 He was, however, exceptional: Arigay Ramaswamy, his great opponent, rose to the rank of ticket checker in the railwaysbefore leaving to establish a brickmaking business (p 68). Though this was sufficient to put him amongst the respected mala dlite of his generation, he was never wealthy and lacked the financial means to make himself significant to others in that way or to fund organisations. His relationships with supporterswere therefore simpler, lacking the tensions amongst those who were both grateful to the wealthy leaders on whom they depended and often resented the restrictions this imposed on their freedom to be critical (p 179). Three sources of external support can usefully be distinguished though inevitably they overlapped:Hindu reform organisations and other wealthy individuals sympathetic to the cause of the 'untouchables', the government, and Ambedkar himself. Earlyon, Bhagya Reddy, a former butler, was enabled to build up experience and contacts through the support of the organisation of which he was a full-time preacherandfor which he travelled widely. This was the Humanitarian League, chiefly concerned with suppressing cruelty to animals (p 10). His policy was always 'social service', to make himself and his people, the malas, as useful to and admirable in the eyes of caste Hindus as possible and to flatter them as to their importance for the movement.This was indeeda variant of traditional 'untouchable' roles in the society. He set up a uniformed youth organisation, the Swasti Dal, not, as did Arigay Ramaswamy, to reform his own community but to work for the prevention

to to of cruelty animals, assistin thesetting of andmanaging large-scale eventsfor up caste Hindusand others,and to help out of in the dire circumstances faminesand which struck with such freepidemics quencyin theseconddecadeof thecentury Alliances 1996:155-69). (p 10,Chandraiah with such reformistbodies as the Arya Samajand a local ManavaSeva Samithi (pp 24 foil) could also releaseresources. When Bhagya Reddy came to organise of these conferences hisownorganisations. essenwere,accordingto Venkatswamy, To over tiallypropaganda meetings. preside them he recruitedeminent non-dalits, themandenlistingtheir thereby flattering as help,perhaps directsourcesof practical funds, but certainlyas channelsof comwith the great,the good and munication the wealthy(p 238).11Otherleadersinvariablycultivatedtheir own links and channels. Into this cultivatingof local Ambedkar's of 1935abjuration networks, Hinduism Demandsto severties erupted. withHindu calledintoquesorganisations which had tion much of the networking been the forte of leaders. In general,however,it was the Muslim governmentwhich became increasingly as prominent the mainsourceof material support.Forcing educationaland other benefits for 'Depressed Classes' onto public agendasand gainingseats in representativebodies replacedboth reform and'socialservice'as thegoalsof thedalit movement. Requirements changed and channels government to gainedincreasing as Common electorates, reasimportance. sertedby thePoonaPact,meant dalits, that to to beginning turntheirattention elected positions, would not be elected without beingableto appealto casteHinduvoters. himselffacedthisdilemma Venkatswamy in 1941 when he sought election to the SecunderabadCantonmentBoard, the As municipal authority. oneofthemostvocal of theanti-Hindu he Ambedkarites, found himselfneedingto draftanaddress perto suadeHinduvotersto adopthim as their candidate. wasnotelectedandhis volteHe face was notloston his opponents 184). (p By the early 1940s the support of Ambedkar himself was a resourceto be in to co-opted localstruggles berecognised as by the Muslimgovernment the representative inHyderabad. There organisation wascompetition representing in one'sown movementas the winnersof concessions from it (e g, pp 228, 230). Courting Ambedkar required to meethimeither trips at conferencesin Maharashtra laterin or

Delhi: it was not until 1944 that he was to itself,though persuaded visitHyderabad lieutenants as P N Rajbhoj earlier such had visitedto offeradviceandrecruit support. own first visit sparked Ambedkar's great his andwounding effortsby J H Subbiah, localleader, keepthe to favoured currently channel of patronagerunning through himself(pp 249 foil).12Ambedkar's second visit, in 1950,was similar,buton this occasion serious efforts weremade break to barriers informthe minister and through of justice, as he then was, of alternative viewsof thelocalsituation ofSubbiah's and own partin it. The tale, as Venkatswamy tellsit, is fullof drama intrigue. turns and It firston a womanof the movement there were very few - who took Subbiah's defencesby surprise delivereddocuand mentsto Ambedkar himself,and thenon the minister'sfury at the papers'subsequent disappearance,causing them to fromthehandof Subbiah, too his reappear protective host himself (p 543 foil). Ambedkarwas by now the paramount source of support and advancement: on careersturned beingableto reachhim. Conclusions bookprovidesthe posVenkatswamy's of gettinginside the worldof the sibility dalit movementin Hyderabad the first in half of the 20th century to an unusual degree.So oftenall thatis availableis the formalrecordsof meetings,official positions and resolutions.Venkatswamy remindsus all the time thatsuch impersonalitiesfloaton thesurface personal of lives whicharefullof other things.Heresembles the key informants whomanthropoloon so oftendepend,peoplewhoareboth gists and abouttheir knowledgeable thoughtful own worldsand willing to explorethem with outsiders.His book is almost the of equivalent theseriesof 'fieldnotes'the assembles. Likethemit has anthropologist its focuses and its limitations; is never it exhaustivenoris it completelyreliable.It is of course a limitationtoo that, at the he whose moment, is theonlykeyinformant assistance cantakefromthisperiodon we anythinglike this scale and in any comparablerichness. Theattempt beenmadeto use it here has to understand leadership his time the of andthepredicaments faced.Multiple they smallorganisations, fiercesplitsandpublic denunciations on occasion physical violence lawsuits-came characterise and to the movement, and not only for its

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opponents. Let us assume, however, that these people were amongst the best, the boldest and the most active and insightful of their times. How then did so much discord and animosity arise? The answer offered here has suggested that it is necessaryto go beyond personal competitiveness in seeking to understandthe problems of this early dalit movement. Three major issues,often dilemmaseven, which sparked much of it have been reviewed here. One suchissue was over the caste identity which organisations should address: should it be just the mala caste, or should they be looking to some more inclusive grouping? The second was the question of religion, whether they were all Hindus as had long been assumed, or whether they might not - or should not - be Hindus at all. If the latter,were they to remainonly non-Hindu? Would it be possible to hold back conversions to Christianity and Islam on that basis? The final source of contention identified was the succession of increasingly educated generations. They were not only more ready to be swayed by new ideas, notably those coming from Ambedkar and his Maharashtrianfollowers, but they also came with newly learnt models of formal organisation and with new skills with which to interact with the increasingly sophisticated world around. The ways in which access to material support wove tensions of its own into the interplay of leaders and followers have also been considered. The particular in some ways unusual and circumstancesof the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabadstate and its capital, add dimensions of special interest and added complexity to the story Venkatswamy has to tell. It has, however, implications for the understandingof the dalit movement more widely: for the evaluation of a leaderships often over the generations beset by disputes and splits and too often compared unfavourably with the towering figure of Ambedkar;and for appreciating the significance of eruption of his and the Maharashtrianinfluence it broughtinto regional movements which had been developing previously along their own tracks. i11 Addressfor correspondence: s.r.charsley @socsci.gla.ac.uk

in Hyderabad.Thanks are due to K Srinivas of Hyderabad for providing access to the scarce source on which it is based and for help with its evaluation.] 1 'Dalit' is the latest name applied in terms of changing agendas to roughly the same set of castessincethelate 19thcentury. disadvantaged Some of the issues are exemplified in the following discussion and, in the context of Indiagenerally,in my "untouchable':what is in a name?' [Charsley 1996]. 2 Changing names to forms used by superior castes was already common, as was the European style of two initials and a quasi surname:M V Bhagya Reddy Varma started life, for instance,as MadariBhagiah.Here he is referredto as Bhagya Reddy. Such styles were already also being used for children. 3 As a sourceof material publishedas pamphlets and in the press, and now elusive, it is also important.References to it are to numbered sections (e g, p 5), often brief. 4 The categories are usefully discussed in e g, Siraj ul Hassan 1920; Dube 1955, and Singh 1969: 14 and passim. They refer primarilyto ruralcommunities,the lattertwo in Telengana. 5 The reasons for the isolation need further investigation.Was it thatmalasin thecity were the descendants of earlier migrants from relatively distant coastal regions in Madras Presidency?Was it perhapsreinforcedby the decade[Sackett1930: epidemicsof thedreadful 145-47]? The population of the city was recorded in the Census of 1911 at over half a million; by 1921 it had lost almost one in five (Census of India 1921). There is likely to have been a halt to immigrantrecruitment, with only those lacking effective rural ties remaining there. 6 This suffered severely in the upheavalsat the time of the state's incorporationinto India. Subsequently it has been challenged by the of strengthening militantelements in Islam. It nevertheless still has many manifestationsin the city and even more in surroundingrural areas.Chandraiah's (1994) paeanto the 400th anniversaryof the city's foundationprovides eloquenttestimonyto thisaspectof itshistorical and even contemporarycharacter. 7 Omvedt(1994:120-25)hasdiscussedtheissues here in considerable detail. She focuses particularlyon the significance of the 'AdiHindu' label but was probably misled by comment in the Report of the 1931 Census (1933:256) into imagining a longer-standing contention amongst Hyderabad dalits over religious identity than really existed. The comment referredto presscontroversyarising from a claim by the Adi-DravidaEducational League that Adi-Dravidas were not to be understoodas Hindu.It was rebuffedby AdiHindu correspondents.Venkatswamythrows light on a somewhat intricatematter:he notes thatthe Adi-DravidaEducationalLeague was established in 1932 by the Khadiyanisect of Muslims to provide educationalfacilities for DepressedClasses. They contendedthat 'AdiDravida' was a suitable term for 'the ancient sons of the soil of the Deccan', i e, they were denying the usual associationof the termwith Tamil.SincetheywerenotHindus,'Adi-Hindu' was inappropriatefor them. Venkatswamy interpretedthis as an 'indirect inducementto embrace their faith' by the sponsors (p 72). 8 Christian conversionhadbeenrunning strongly in the regionsince early in the century[Census

of India 1921; Sackett 19301; Islamic conversion was a less familiar issue (p 101). 9 The development of the railways from the opening of the first connection from in Secunderabad 1874is discussedby Saraswati Rao 1991. 10 As a contractor was certainlyinvolved, and he presumablyprofitably, in some of the most importantschemes for dalit rehousing which he facilitated,but he did so by providingfree sites on land he owned and was judged a benefactor rather than an exploiter by Venkatswamy.The latter is in other respects free with critical comments even on Venkat Rao whom he regardsas one of the trioof great leaders in Hyderabad. 11 The insider perspective of a source such as Our Struggle is essential if the roles of dalits and non-dalits in such interactionare to be properly evaluated. The formal record of meetings, official positions and resolutions which are often all that is available does not allow initiatives and motivations to be understood. 12 Ambedkar'schief biographer,DhanajayKeer (1971:364; see also 421), deals with this visit in a brief paragraphoutlining Ambedkar's The contrastwith the public pronouncements. localperspective Venkatswamy of couldhardly be stronger. He provides the opportunityof understandings complementary to those providedby the bulkof dalit historywhich has been written downwards and outwards from Ambedkar and Maharashtra.

ReferencesCensus of India (1921, 1923): HyderabadState, Vol XXI, Part 2, Hyderabad. Census of India (1932, 1933): HyderabadState, Vol XXIII, Hyderabad. K Chandraiah, (1996): Hyderabad.400 Glorious Years, K Chandraiah Memorial Trust, Hyderabad. Charsley, S (1996): 'Untouchable:What Is in a Name?', JRAI, (ns) 2(1):1-23. Charsley, S R and G K Karanth(eds) (1998): Challenging Untouchability:Dalit Initiative and Experience from Karnataka,Vol 1: Cultural Subordinationand the Dalit Challenge, (eds), Sage, New Delhi Charsleyand Karanth, Dube, S C (1955): Indian Village, Routledge, London. Keer, D (1971) [1954]: Dr Ambedkar:Life and Mission, third edition, Popular Prakashan, Bombay. Omvedt, G (1994): Dalits and the Democratic Revolution, Sage, New Delhi. Pradhan, A C (1986): The Emergence of the Depressed Classes, Bookland International, Bhubaneswar. A Sackett,F C (1930): Visionand Venture: Record of Fifty Years in Hyderabad, 1879-1929, Cargate Press, London. SaraswatiRao, Y (1991): 'Developmentof Nizam State Railways' in O Khalida(ed), Memoirs of Cyril Jones: People, Society and Railways in Hyderabad, Manohar,New Delhi. Singh, T R (1969): TheMadiga.A Studyin Social Structureand Change,Ethnographic Folk and Culture Society, Lucknow. Siraj ul Hassan, S (1920): The Castes and Tribes ofHEH TheNizam's Dominions,TimesPress, Bombay. Venkatswamy, P R (1955): Our Struggle for Emancipation,2 vols, UniversalArt Printers, Secunderabad.

Notes[An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 16th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, Edinburgh, 2000. it Subsequently was circulatedto interestedparties

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