The word Swaero, which was coined by BSP President RS Praveen Kumar, stands for Social Welfare Aeros (sky) suggesting that sky is the limit for the people from marginalised background.
Published Aug 18, 2023 | 8:30 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 18, 2023 | 1:17 PM
The six-letter word SWAERO was officially recognized as a noun in the renowned Oxford English-English-Telugu dictionary.
The six-letter word SWAERO, which the marginalised communities in India’s Telangana started using as their last names, has now been officially recognised as a noun in the renowned Oxford English-English-Telugu dictionary.
It was coined by former Telangana Cadre IPS and current Telangana state unit president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), RS Praveen Kumar, in 2013 when he took charge as the secretary of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS)
During his eight-year tenure, which ended in 2021, Kumar led the new identity-cum-social transformation movement in the state-run educational institutions for the upliftment of students from marginalised communities.
The letter SW in Swaero stands for social welfare and Aeros for sky (in Greek), suggesting that sky is the limit, with the tagline “no reverse gears”. An anti-caste movement, it started gaining popularity as people from marginalised groups in Telangana began resisting the conventional identities thrust upon them.
The word has been defined in the Oxford dictionary thus: “Literally means the sky is the limit to the social welfare students, also used as a type of aspirational identity by students and alumni of social welfare schools as an additional name to their given names to fight stigma against their traditional caste identities.”
Naresh, a civil services aspirant, who is active in RS Praveen’s political campaigns, said the word Swaero entering Oxford is marks a high point for the marginalised communities.
“It is because we are addressed as SC, ST and never had self-confidence to establish an umbrella term for it. For instance it can be Dalit, Harijan and others where the name identifies the caste but when it comes to Swaero nobody will know which caste, religion one belongs to and we are celebrating it,” he told South First.
Meanwhile, Praveen Kumar broke the news of the word Swaero being included in the English lexicon through his social media account on Thursday, 17 August.
Never imagined that a tiny attempt of redefining the identity of underprivileged students would find its place in the famous Oxford Dictionary! SWAERO is now a proud identity and a noun in the lexicon. Hope in future it will transform into a verb. Entire credit goes to all the… pic.twitter.com/W46kFIRtpS
— Dr.RS Praveen Kumar (@RSPraveenSwaero) August 17, 2023
In a message he posted, he said, “Never imagined that a tiny attempt of redefining the identity of underprivileged students would find its place in the famous Oxford Dictionary! SWAERO is now a proud identity and a noun in the lexicon. Hope in future it will transform into a verb. Entire credit goes to all the students studying in welfare schools across the nation, the alumni, and their teachers-parents who are making country proud in their own way.”
It has been nearly a decade since people from socio-economically backward groups in Telangana started preferring Swaero as their last name instead of being referred to as Dalits or SCs or Harijans.
Praveen Kumar, a 1995-batch officer, introduced the P5 Model into Social Welfare Residential Schools in which many innovative programmes such as E-Plus clubs, voice for girls, horse riding, filmmaking, music, dance, water sports, mountaineering, and others were introduced.
Before the 54-year-old Kumar took charge, the schools were reportedly in a pitiable state. Often, the funds allocated for them were reverted as they were not spent. However, the new initiatives turned these residential schools as incubation centres.
The scheme started achieving success as children from SC and ST communities began getting admission into premier institutions such as the IITs, NITs, medical colleges, central universities, and law colleges in large numbers.
Kumar, who served as an IPS for 25 years before opting for voluntary retirement in 2021, established the Swaeroes with the alumni of the welfare institutions.
He also runs a non-profit Swaero Circle Society (SCS) based out of Masab Tank in Hyderabad. The network claims to provide guidance and education to the students from the marginalised sections while focusing on their physical development as well.
“The hands which beat Dappu (drum) should earn dollars! The hands which held sickles should write coding!!” Kumar reportedly said while delivering a speech at the Swaero’s fourth congregation held in Alampur town the Jogulamba Gadwal district in 2018.
As the Swaero movement grew, around 2017, youth from the marginalised groups started gaining a sense of pride and proudly carrying the word on all occasions, including their wedding invitation cards.
The word was extensively promoted on social media platforms and many students, alumuni, and others started using it as their last names.
Such was the impact that the marginalised community in Jagtial district’s Thandriyal village renamed their colony as “Swaeroes Colony”.
“Gone are the days of calling the SCs as Chandala, Harijan, Dalit, Badugu, Nimna… etc. We are Swaeroes. This is our new identity to discover our true potential,” Praveen Kumar, an alumnus of Harvard University, told reporters.
For Anil, who defines himself as a Swaero, the word is a tool of power.
“I neither had a thought on the caste system nor will I ever, but I define myself as Swaero as it is meant for us to touch the sky and dream with freedom. We felt proud when such word was in use and today, after reading that it has entered Oxford Dictionary, we are doubly proud,” Anil, a research scholar at Osmania University, told South First.
Praveen Thallapelli A PhD candidate at the Centre for Political Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and a former president of the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA), contributed as a consultant editor to the dictionary.
Excited to be acknowledged along with @RSPraveenSwaero, the state President of Bahujan Samaj Party, Telangana, who is tirelessly working for Bahujan Political consciousness in Telangana. https://t.co/1schrjH29u
— Praveen Thallapelli (@Praveen_Tulasi) August 5, 2023
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he said, “Glad to have contributed as Consultant Editor to the meaning of some words to the Second Edition of Oxford Compact English-English-Telugu Dictionary. Sincere thanks to Madhura, editor at OUP for giving me the opportunity to think and contribute to the meaning of some words.”
Meanwhile, Praveen Kumar recently shared the success stories of his Swaero network of a boy who joined as a deck cadet in the Merchant Navy.
Morning Inspiration from #SwaeroNetwork today. Mr Bhanu Prasad joined as Deck Cadet in Merchant Navy and sailing in Atlantic Ocean. We are going to produce lakhs of such kids from the poorest families in #BahujanRule in #Telangana
పేదరికంలో పుట్టిన భాను ప్రసాద్ లాంటి బిడ్డలను… pic.twitter.com/Ha3NlIcvad— Dr.RS Praveen Kumar (@RSPraveenSwaero) August 16, 2023
“Morning Inspiration from #SwaeroNetwork today. Mr Bhanu Prasad joined as Deck Cadet in Merchant Navy and sailing in Atlantic Ocean. We are going to produce lakhs of such kids from the poorest families in #BahujanRule in #Telangana,” he posted in a message on X.
