As identity movements and the Telangana statehood struggle grew, Ailamma's name and image were revived and used by political parties to appeal to women, backward castes, and the washermen community, becoming a tool in vote bank politics.
Published Sep 11, 2024 | 7:00 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 10, 2024 | 9:25 PM
On the 39th death anniversary of Chakali Ailamma, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy announces women's university named after her.
Speaking at the 39th death anniversary event of Chakali Ailamma, organised by the cultural affairs department on Tuesday, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy announced that Telangana Mahila Viswavidalayam (Women’s University) would be named after the legendary leader of the Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle.
It appears that the chief minister made the announcement in response to the proposal from renowned intellectual Kancha Ilaiah, speaking just before him. However, the announcement is fraught with a number of difficulties, but before entering that contentious field, one should know who Ailamma was.
At the outset, there used to be a time when referring Ailamma as Chakali Ailamma with her caste prefix was seen as insult and she used to be referred with her surname as Chityala Ailamma or with her village name as Palakurthi Ailamma.
Palakurthi was a small village in the jagir of the notorious jagirdar R Ramachandra Reddy of Visunur and Ailamma’s washermen family were tenants on the land belonging to another landlord, Mallampalli Deshmukh. Her struggle for her right over the yield and the land was a forerunner to the famous Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle (1946-51) led by the Communist Party.
Since there was a ban on the Communist Party, the communists in Hyderabad princely state were working in Andhra Maha Sabha, the torch bearer of modern Telangana awakening. Beginning as Andhra Jana Sangham, a middle-class educated organisation fighting for linguistic and cultural rights, formed in 1921, Andhra Maha Sabha evolved gradually into a highly respected and widely popular mass organisation by mid 1930s. Along with all sections of enlightened intelligentsia in Hyderabad, particularly in Telangana area, Communists were also in the forefront of this organisation by 1939-40.
They in fact transformed the character of the organisation from its focus on linguistic and cultural rights to economic and political rights. From the Sanskrit name of Andhra Maha Sabha, in the hands of communists, it came to be known as Sangam (association) in the colloquial usage. The Sangam’s activities against unpaid forced labour and highly unequal land relations spread to villages under the feudal lords and Ailamma’s family was one of the early families to be inspired.
Andhra Maha Sabha or Sangam started setting up libraries in villages to enlighten and mobilise people against the feudal oppression and exploitation. Thus in 1944 April, the inaugural function of a library in Palakurthi was organised and naturally Ailamma’s family was the mainstay for the function.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people from neighbouring villages poured into Palakurthi to attend the meeting and the jagirdar did not want the library set up or the meeting held in the village under his rule. He sent his henchmen to disturb the meeting. Either apprehending scuffle or on the landlord’s invitation, policemen also camped in the village. In that tense situation the organisers cancelled the meeting and tried to have a burrakatha performance only on the premises.
However, the goons sent by the landlord attacked the gathering and in the ensuing skirmish people from both sides were injured. But the police registered Palakurthi Conspiracy Case against 12 villagers charging them with attempting to murder the landlord’s goons. Ailamma’s husband Narsimha and sons Somaiah and Lachchaiah were accused in the case and arrested. The trial went on in Jangaon Munsif Court and Medak Sessions Court for a year and the accused were not even granted bail.
Following Palakurthi Conspiracy Case, in Jangaon taluq alone, police attacked at least 35 villages and over 100 false cases were foisted against people associated with Sangam. As part of that widespread repression, Visunuru Ramachandra Reddy planned to harvest the crop on the four-acre field being cultivated by Ailamma’s family as tenants.
He and his henchmen thought that Ailamma being alone, with her husband and sons in jail, would not be able to obstruct or resist the harvesting by the landlord. However, she was not alone and after the arrest of her family members she became the leader of the Sangam in the village and her hut had become the unofficial office of the Sangam.
Thus, when people of the village and neighbouring villages came to know about the landlord’s attempts, they came in support of Ailamma and she also stood firm in resisting the landlord’s onslaught. As she resisted the landlord’s men on the field, volunteers of Sangam harvested the crop and reached it safely to Ailamma’s house. That was in 1944, two years before the actual beginning of Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle with Visunuru landlord’s henchmen gunning down Doddi Komaraiah in Kadivendi village on July 4, 1946.
Thus, Ailamma became the precursor and icon of militant resistance to feudal oppression. Her name reverberated throughout the struggle period and even after the official withdrawal of the struggle on October 20, 1951, her name was etched in the popular memory of the region. She continued to remain as a symbol of militant resistance against the feudal regime during the revival of the struggle under Naxalbari-Srikakulam phase after 1967. She died on September 10, 1985 due to old age.
With rise of identity movements as well as separate Telangana statehood movement, Ailamma’s name and image were resurrected and even those who do not in any way subscribe to her anti- feudal armed resistance path began praising her. Almost all political parties started using her name as a mantra to attract women and people of backward castes in general and washermen community in particular. In a way her name became a tool in the vote bank politics to some extent.
The idea of converting the prestigious Kothi Women’s College into a women’s university was first floated in February 2018 by the then TRS government. However, in the next six years of its rule, the government did not move any legislative bill to make the university a reality. In January 2022, the proposal came up again and the Telangana State Council of Higher Education and other concerned departments were asked to submit a report to set up the university, as a prelude to the enactment in the state Assembly.
But, nobody knows what happened to the report and the bill was not moved. Even without moving the necessary bill, the then rulers made announcements of sanctioning a budget anywhere between Rs 34 crore and Rs 100 crore. One doesn’t know whether any funds were released, as the college continues to be under Osmania University.
In the meanwhile, the website of Kothi Women’s College started having the banner of Telangana Mahila Viswavidyalayam, but that ends there. All the information pertains to Kothi Women’s College only and nothing about the “university”. It seems the university also released recruitment notifications for “part-time” teaching positions and has been giving away certificates to students. But one wonders whether such certificates without any legal status with a legislative Act holds water.
As per the grapevine, even the initial move to make Kothi Women’s College into a university had nothing to do with noble ideas on a higher learning centre for women, but with an eye on real estate. Following the announcement then, it was also floated that the university’s new campus would be set up on the outskirts of the city and the college would be moved.
Thus the prime land in the heart of the city might be taken over by the government or those in power for some other purposes. When the British residency was set up it was a 63-acre land on the banks of the river Musi and down the line, now it is understood to have shrunk to 40 acres!
Is Ailamma, who raised her sickle against the landlords, on anybody’s mind?
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
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