P. Muthaiah 2004. Dandora:

The Madiga movement for equal

identity and social justice in A.P.,

Social Action , 54, 2: 184-209

© P. Muthaiah 2004

[pp 203-206]

Divisions and Unity

Brahmanism divided Indian people into various endogamous caste groups, placing them in a graded hierarchy, and monopolised education, wealth and political power in the hands of few upper castes. This inequality produced the Dalit movement in India. As a result, reservation policy came into being for providing equality of opportunities for SCs and STs. But this policy could not distribute reservation benefits equally among 59 Scheduled Castes in A.P. as the vertically structured system placed one Scheduled Caste below and above the other. Consequently new inequalities developed amongst Dalits in the form of reservation benefits. Brahmanism produced the Dalit movement. Similarly Dalit Brahmanism which believed in a monopoly of one or two Scheduled Castes produced the Dandora movement in A.P., creating divisions in the Dalit movement. It is caught in a paradoxical situation of having to unite the Dalits against the upper castes and to confront divisions within the Dalits. In other words, the Dalit movement in A.P. is caught in dividing and uniting factors.

Varnadharma determined social distance between castes based on gradation of occupations. The traditional occupation of Madigas is tanning the leather, making chappals, and leather goods production. The traditional occupation of Malas is weaving, village watchmen, and they are engaged as agricultural labourers. The occupation of Madigas was graded as unclean and of Malas was graded as clean. This determined distance between residential quarters of Madigas and Malas, symbol of their divisions. Notions of purity and pollution associated with their traditional occupation determined social and physical distance between them. The living quarters of untouchables are constructed at a respectable distance from the living quarters of Savarnas and Sudras in A.P. Malas live next to Sudras. Madigas live a little away from Malas, Dakkals live a little away from Madiga living quarters(1). Geographical distance between castes’ residential quarters, of various castes, is designed in accordance with the strategy of Brahminism to separate one from another, indicating the cleavages between Malas and Madigas. The structural cleavages are responsible for the birth of Dandora Movement in Andhra Pradesh and necessitated the movement for a separate Association for Madigas.

Leadership is a dividing factor of the Dalit movement in A.P. Every caste has a distinct identity and its specific problems. The internal cleavages give ample scope for doubting the integrity of the leader of a particular caste by other castes. This lays a foundation for the other castes to develop their own leaders to attend to their specific problems and to work for the development of their own caste. In the 1930s, the pioneering leader of Dalits, Sri Bhagya Reddy Varma’s pro-Mala leadership sowed the seeds of separate leadership culture for each of sub-castes(2). The leading personality of the Arundhatiya Mahasabha, Mudigonda Laxmaiah, emerged as a leader of Madigas and carried on the separate leadership culture into the post-Independence period. The leadership of the Arundhatiya Banduseva Mandali was the product of this culture. Today, P.V. Rao of Mala Mahanadu and M. Krishna Madiga of M.R.P.S. represent the two sections of Bhagya Reddy Varma and Mudigonda Laxmaiah of the pre-Independence Dalit wings. These two wings are sharpening the idea of a need for separate associations. The emergence of sub-caste leadership as the foundation for separate identity on separate problems is unavoidable as long as these identities are continued in the hierarchically structured Indian society.

Dalits have been divided on party lines as well. Party spirit plays a divisive role as its origin is in the varied outlook and interests of peoples. A political party is rooted in the social and economic system. It also divides people as it represents the various interests of different section of society. We can see three types of divisions among the Dalits due to the mischief of party spirit: first, accommodations of Dalit leaders in political parties; second, encouraging Dalit associations as their sister organisations; third, splitting Dalit organisations and converting them into their sister organisations. Mala leaders were the first beneficiaries in the accommodative politics of Congress Party. Dalit leaders who belonged to the first generation stream of the educated were accommodated into the Congress Party during the 1930s. Arigay Ramaswamy and B.S. Venkat Rao were the first to join. They continued in the Congress party even in the post-Independence period (Venkatswamy 1955, p.656). From the Madiga section, Shankar Deve and Mudigonda Laxmaiah were the prominent leaders who were accommodated by the Congress party as the leaders of Madigas. During post-Independence period the Madigas and Malas worked in different social organisations. The social organisations of Madigas carried on their activities with the blessings of Babu Jagjeevan Ram, while the Mala social organisations carried on their activities with the blessings of former Chief Minister of A.P., late Damodaram Sanjeeviah. The view is that the Congress party wanted separate organisations as this served the interests of the ruling party. Only in the 1980s, T.D.P. [Telugu Desham Party] made it a clear policy to make best use of already divided organisations for its political advantage and support the Madigas’ cause of categorisation. As against T.D.P., the Congress Party silently supported Mala Mahanadu against categorisation. Political parties clearly used the divisions among the Dalits to their own benefit. In the 1998 Parliamentary elections Dandora supported T.D.P. while Mala Mahanadu supported the Congress Party.

Untouchability, as a ‘touch me not’ manifested itself in the form of social  discrimination suffered by untouchables, gives them a feeling of "WE THE SUFFERERS OF UNTOUCHABILITY". Even after 50 years of independence, Scheduled Castes are suffering from disabilities of untouchability in various forms in Andhra Pradesh. Dalit consciousness – the realization of loss of prestige, societal benefits and need for togetherness to fight for lost rights, exists among the Dalits in Andhra Pradesh. This consciousness is slowly growing to a stage where it breaks upper caste hegemony, […] The ideas of Phule, Periar, Ramasami Naiker and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar are sowing the seeds of fraternity and unity among Dalits. In a way their ideas are providing an ideological umbrella for Dalit consciousness against casteism in Andhra Pradesh.

In a number of cases Dalits fought against upper castes atrocities against the untouchables. Atrocities committed on them created a feeling of ‘WE-NESS’ among Dalits. This feeling was witnessed in incidents like Karamchedu and Chunduru, the major atrocities on Dalits committed in the post-Independence period in Andhra Pradesh. In Karamchedu, Madigas were killed by Kammas, while in Chunduru Malas were killed by Reddys. Forgetting their sub-caste feeling, they proved that they are one and can fight the upper castes whenever the occasion demands. There was an attempt to murder Gaddar, a Mala, popular singer and prominent leader of the People’s War Group in 1997. Dandora took the lead to oppose the ruling class and its attempt to murder Gaddar(3). The Dalits have been proving their unity whenever atrocities are committed on them.