Role of Women in Telangana Statehood Movement from South India: Contributions and Case Story of Belli Lalitha

Introduction

Telangana peoples’ struggle in the 1950s was an armed resistance of women and men to feudal oppression and domination in the Telangana region of the state of Hyderabad. This became a basis to revolt against the hegemonic rulers from Andhra regions, which paved a way to fight for the formation of a separate state and resulted in success in 2014 (Prakash, 2016). The Nizam province consisted of three regions on the basis of language—nine districts from Telugu-speaking Telangana region, five districts from Marathi-speaking Marathwada region and three Kannada-speaking districts of Karnataka region (Raju, 2016). Telangana’s armed struggle led by communists was a struggle against feudal oppression and domination of the zamindari system, and for the women and men farmers, this was an issue of life and death (Gautham, 2014). This article attempts to focus on the role of women personality, Belli Lalitha, in the final phase of the Telangana State formation and also the experience of women to capture their voices from the past to present. The main fact is that not many women were part of the decision-making process in political decisions, but a single lady in the 1990s took the entire Telangana women’s responsibility to mobilize the women and men to actively participate in Telangana struggle through her speeches and folk songs in major events, which shaped the formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.

Telangana State Movement

The seeds for the formation of Telangana as a separate state were sown in 1955 when the States Reorganization Commission recommended forming Hyderabad as a separate state, but it was not considered by the union government in its proposal while organizing the states (Khusro, 1958). Telangana intellectual class and politicians accused Andhra people for colonizing the Telangana regions, for looting the land, jobs and other employment opportunities. On 1 November 1955, Telangana was merged with the Andhra region to form Andhra Pradesh and to unite all the Telugu-speaking regions into one state (Jagannatham, 2014).

With the exploitation of the Andhra region on Telangana, a violent separate Telangana agitation was started in 1969, primarily led by social groups, students and government employees. The union government interfered in the matter and framed a 6-point formula and an 8-point formula to please both the regions of the Andhra Pradesh (Ram Reddy, 1989). In spite of the provisions set by the union government, the exploitation of Telangana region continued in spheres of irrigation facilities, jobs and budget allocations and developed into a political movement in the final phase of the Telangana State formation movement in the 1990s (Raju, 2016). The rival factions formed within the Congress party demanded separate states, and the people leading these factions were also crucial in the functioning of the party (Gray, 1963; Ram Reddy, 1989; Walch, 1976; Weiner, 1967).

The Telangana movement turned into a political movement from agitation for demanding rights (Raju, 2016). In 1997, the Bharatiya Janata Party supported the state formation, and there were a series of events like Bhuvanagiri Sabha, Suryapet Sabha and Warangal declaration, which intensified the movement of Telangana State formation, but the sudden murder of the Telangana folk singer Belli Lalitha in a brutal manner created a dark era for agitations and protests (Prakash, 2016). The push for Telangana State formation intensified in 2001 with the formation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) under the leadership of K. Chandrashekara Rao (KCR) to revive the Telangana movement. The formation of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand) kindled a hope for formation of Telangana (Raju, 2016). With the agitations of students, politicians, women, lawyers and intellectuals, the dream of Telangana State came true in 2014.

Women in Telangana Movement

Telangana women played a very important role in the struggle and the mobilization primarily focused on women-related issues such as equal pay for equal work, wife battering, alcoholism, nutrition and hygiene, worksite facilities for women at industrial sites and the provision for separate toilet facilities. Women took active part in the struggle for land rights, decent wages and issues of forced labour, human trafficking and prostitution along with men (Ram Reddy, 1989). Women were the worst victims of brutal tortures and atrocities committed by the Nizam’s army named as Razakars and also by the Indian police forces at the time of Operation Polo for the integration of Hyderabad State into Indian Union. They faced issues of molestation and rape, saw their children tortured and killed before their eyes and also their husbands and family members were killed in front of them. By seeing this kind of atrocities, women got mobilized to take revenge on the oppressors, and some women chose Naxalism as a means to this end (Sundarayya, 1972). Belli Lalitha chose Constitutional and social means to attain the rights, as per the law provided by the framers of the constitution.

The book written by Puchalapalli Sundarayya on women in History of Telangana People’s Struggle is one of the best histories, which gives acknowledgement to various women warriors for the sake of Telangana. He records the details of resilience, selflessness and heroism of women who rose to eminent and decision-making positions of various organizations, which were set up for the purpose of Telangana movement. He credits the role played by sisters, mothers and wives, who supported the family and thousands of women who were part of the movement and also list of martyrs who were raped and killed by the oppressors of the movement (Sundarayya, 1972). The initial work of the women activists and reformers focussed on increasing the education levels of the women, but with change of time, major issues like sati, devadasi, dowry, alcoholism and other larger sociopolitical issues were taken by the women for their empowerment (Prakash, 2016). When the power of Hyderabad state shifted from the Nizam to the Indian Union, there were many atrocities committed by the Razakar army on women and children to oppress the movement. The communist and socialists of the region saw the opportunity and formed All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), All Hyderabad Students Union, Andhra Mahasabha and women organizations like Andhra Mahila Sabha to fight against the injustice. The Telangana armed struggle spread to across 4,000 villages involving about 4 million men and women.

Nightingale of Telangana

Belli Lalitha belonged to Nancharpet village from Atmakur Mandal of the Nalgonda. She had four other siblings in the family and was the fourth daughter in the family. She along with her family migrated to Bhongir in search of livelihoods due to prevalence of extreme poverty. Belli Lalitha was the voice and representative of the middle stage of the Telangana statehood struggle in the 1990s, which basically started as a working-class struggle against the oppression on the capitalists and later transformed into a fight for the formation of a separate state. Belli Lalitha was a popular folk singer who was loved by the masses through her songs as a medium to mobilize the masses. She was the voice of resistance, the leader of the Dol Debba and the convener of the Telangana Kala Samithi (Manohar, 2018).

Belli Lalitha left school education at an early age and got married, and after marriage, she used to work as a daily labourer in Surya Vamshi Cotton Mill, Bhongir. She organized the labourers of the cotton mills to fight for their rights on equal payment of wages, working conditions and hours of work. She joined the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), which is a national-level trade union, under the umbrella of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). She participated in various struggles on labour issues and mobilized fellow workers in nearby industries located in Bhongir to fight for the rights of the workers through an agitation as a means to attain constitutional rights. She had chosen folk culture and language as the means to mobilize the working class through her songs, which basically focussed on highlighting the domination and oppression of the upper castes and industrialists on depressed classes, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). She left CITU to actively participate in the Telangana statehood movement.

Telangana Sahitya Vedika

It is a congregation platform of eminent scholars and singers who choose literature as a means to mobilize people and contribute towards the societal development through social action and social change. The medium of conversation includes development of literature on subaltern history in the form of poems, prose, small stories and folk songs. Belli Laitha’s initial movement was an agitation and fight against the issues mentioned before, which also included fluoride in drinking water and the coercive nature of land mafias. She was gradually drawn into the Telangana Statehood Movement after meeting with Maroju Veeranna, students and Dalit leaders who motivated Belli Lalitha to join the movement. With the inspiration of Maroju Veeranna, she entered active political domain and organized and participated in major events such as Bhuvanagiri Sabha, Telangana Jana Sabha (Suryapet Sabha) and the Warangal Declaration.

Bhuvanagiri Sabha

The Bhuvanagiri Sabha was organized on 8 and 9 March 1997 in Bhuvanagiri town of Nalgonda district under the presidentship of Jaini Mallaiah Gupta, Keshav Rao Jadav, Kaloji Narayana Rao and K. G. Satyamurthi as members; it was the first step in creating a platform for writers, artists, academics and journalists combined. Sahithi Mitra Mandali under the theme of ‘Dagapadda Telangana (Subjugated Telangana)’ was organized by Belli Lalitha under the convenership of Nagara Manjaiah and Bala Krishna Reddy. About 40,000 people participated from all corners of the Telangana region. This Sabha acted as a catalyst to revive the Telangana Statehood Movement and propel it into the final stages. The songs of the Belli Lalitha inspired Telanganites, especially those in the movement. This platform focussed on the domination of the Andhra people over Telangana culture, literature, politics and economy.

Telangana Maha Sabha

The Telangana Maha Sabha was the next step in organizing intellectuals into a single platform. It was a peoples’ assembly organized at Suryapeta in the Nalgonda district on 11 April 1997, which was led by Maroju Veeranna. The songs sung by Belli Lalitha at this platform brought her into the limelight with the Telangana community. This platform questioned the authority of higher castes over the lower castes to subjugate them. The speakers like Prof. Jayshankar, Gade Innaiah, Dushcherla Satyanarayana and Mandali Satyanarayana were the eminent speakers who demanded a separate Telangana state. The main demands put forward were the formation of Telangana with 10 districts, stoppage to construction of Polavaram and Pulichinthala projects, distribution of surplus land to poor, an end to extrajudicial killings in the name of Naxalites, ban on privatization of public property and more.

Warangal Declaration

This brought all the non-parliamentarians, social activists and other powers together to support the demands of the Telangana people; they formed the All India Peoples’ Front. Under this platform, a meeting was organized on 28 December 1997 at Warangal, Telangana, where they released a declaration for the aspirations of the people; the ‘Warangal Declaration’ was released by Kaloji Narayana Rao. This gathering was attended by over 200,000 people from all over the state. It was the biggest of the meetings organized at Bhuvanagiri and Suryapet. The Warangal Declaration consisted of more than 60 demands by the intellectual classes for the upliftment of the Telangana people such as the implementation of land reforms, implementation of 1/70 Act in agency areas to prevent tribal land alienation, provision of irrigation facilities, construct only Icchampally project on Godavari river, no to privatization and revival of industrial sectors. Warangal Declaration also inspired the formation of Telangana Jana Sabha in July 1998, a platform of Telangana lawyers, journalists and teachers. Telangana Students Front was also formed in October 1998 on the same lines, to fight for Telangana self-rule. At all these events, Belli Lalitha’s presence played a crucial role in drawing people through her songs on injustices on SC/STs/other backward classes (OBCs)/women/minorities, exploitation by landowners and money lenders, and other problems faced by Telangana people.

Telangana Kala Samithi

With the success of the Warangal Declaration, teachers, lawyers, journalists and students formed Telangana Jana Sabha in July 1998 and started fighting for the rights of farmers, labourers and other downtrodden sections of society. Belli Lalitha acted as convener for the Telangana Kala Samithi, the cultural wing of the Telangana Jana Sabha. She became the voice of the Telangana movement when there was an undeclared emergency on the demands for statehood and identity for the people of Telangana. She became the ‘Nightingale of Telangana’ who inspired and encouraged the people of Telangana and the upliftment of various sections of society like women, youth, labourers and farmers. The main peoples’ agitations of the movement were over the renewal of the Kalvala project and Kakatiya canal in Karimnagar district for 33 days which succeeded the subjugation of Sunnam Konda Reddy in Mahabubnagar district, where they won a compensation of 400,000 for the victims.

The Death of Belli Lalitha

Belli Lalitha was brutally murdered on 26 May 1999 by a former squad member of the Peoples War Group (PWG) and an infamous, notorious gangster. Her body was hacked into 17 parts and thrown in different locations as a warning to supporters of the Telangana Movement and her sympathizers. Every piece of her body was identified by the followers of Belli Lalitha, but everyone hoped she was alive somewhere. Her head was found 13 days later, and people lost their hope. The dream of a separate Telangana state suffered a terrible blow. People from everywhere in the Telangana region came to pay homage at her funeral. They expressed great hatred and anger against the state (People’s March, 1999).

The government in power had failed to maintain law and order and all the progressive groups of society criticized them. In the next general elections, the party that was in power was defeated, losing the major share of legislature seats from the Telangana region. The merged faction of the CPI (M) known as PWG claimed that the brutal murder was conspired by the Home Minister from the local Bhuvanagiri constituency. On the eve of International Women’s Day, he was murdered in a mine blast in the year 2000 (Manohar, 2018). Belli Lalitha’s contribution to the formation of Telangana state is recognized by the progressive and intellectual sections of the society, but the governments in power have not given her that due. Had she been alive, the dream of forming Telangana state may have happened earlier than 2014.

Contribution to Women’s Upliftment

The empowerment of women, labour and farmers was of primary importance to Belli Lalitha. She worked as a daily labourer in a nearby cotton mill in Bhuvanagiri because of abject poverty. She, however, discovered that the owners of the mill used to exploit the workers, not paying proper wages and paid women unequally, and there were no proper worksite facilities. All these issues prompted her to mobilize and unionize her fellow workers into CITU to fight for their labour rights. She chose songs as the means to mobilize the women and men since the educational levels in Telangana were underdeveloped. She could compose and sing songs on any topic on the spot as the issue required. This strategy had great impact and people participated in public gatherings in thousands.

The Bhuvanagiri Sabha is the first instance in the final phase of the Telangana Movement, where the domination by Andhra people and the exploitation of Telangana was discussed by the intellectuals in a scientific manner with different sectors of the economy. Belli Lalitha participated in this event, mobilizing about 40,000 women and men. She took part in the Telangana Jana Sabha popularly known as Suryapet Sabha and pledged for a combined effort of the people to fight for a separate Telangana. In the 1990s, the anti-arrack movement against the government started in Andhra region to ban liquor, which also influenced the women of Telangana. Belli Lalitha mobilized women here too. She contributed to the awareness of a generation in Telangana on issues of dowry, domestic violence, liquor problems and questions of labour rights.

Conclusion

Belli Lalitha’s contribution to Telangana State formation movement was for a period of 3 years only—from 1997 until her death in 1999—but her strategy of using songs as a medium had the largest impact on the mobilization of people. From a daily wage earner in a cotton mill to offers from well-known political parties, her growth and influence were undeniable. Despite this, and the huge contribution of other women in the Telangana movement, society seems to have forgotten and left their voices out of mainstream history.