Telangana's armed struggle led by communists was against feudal oppression
and domination of the zamindari system and for the women and men farmers.
The seeds for the formation of Telangana were sown in 1955 when the States
Reorganization Commission recommended forming Hyderabad as a separate
state. As a result of protesting for rights, the Telangana movement evolved into
a political movement. The Bharatiya Janata Party backed the creation of the
state in 1997, and several events like the Warangal Declaration, Suryapet Sabha,
and Bhuvanagiri Sabha took place. However, the brutal and abrupt death of
Telangana folk singer Belli Lalitha started a terrible time for unrest and
demonstrations. Telangana State's ambition was realized in 2014 due to the
efforts of students, legislators, women, attorneys, and intellectuals.
Women played a vital role in the Telangana movement. Some important women
who played an important role are Belli Lalitha, Mallu Swarajyam, Komdaveeti
Indramma, Sushila, Sangem Laxmi Bai and Chakali Iyamma. They primarily
focused on equal pay for equal work, alcoholism, nutrition and hygiene, and
worksite facilities for women at industrial sites. In the initial stage work of
women activists and reformers focused on increasing the education level of
women. Still, with a change of time, significant issues like sati, devadasi,
dowry, and other sociopolitical issues were taken up.
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 was a famous folk singer who was loved by the masses
through her songs as a medium to mobilize the masses. She left school
education at an early age and got married, and after marriage, she used to work
as a daily labourer at Surya Vamshi Cotton Mill, Bhongir. 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). Art and literature
were the sources of mobilizing people. She mobilized masses of people through
her folk songs. Her folk songs were based on the issues of marginalized sections
and fluoride in drinking water.
Belli Lalitha's presence at the Warangal declaration in 1997 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. The Telangana
Kala Samithi, the Telangana Jana Sabha's cultural arm, was convened by Belli
Lalitha. When there was an unrecognized emergency over the demands for
statehood and identity for the people of Telangana, she became the voice of the
Telangana movement. She rose to fame as the "Nightingale of Telangana,"
inspiring and motivating the state's residents and advancing numerous societal
groups, including women, young people, labourers, and farmers. On May 26,
1999, a former squad member of the Peoples War Group (PWG) brutally
murdered Belli Lalitha. To warn Telangana Movement backers and her allies,
her body was cut into 17 pieces and scattered in various places. For 13 days,
devotees could identify every part of her body, but everyone prayed she was
still alive. Eventually, her head was discovered, and everyone lost hope. The
progressive and intellectual sections of the society recognize Belli Lalitha's
contribution to the formation of the Telangana state. Still, 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.
Chitiyali Ilamma was a revolutionary woman who paved the way for women in
Telangana armed struggle. She was a member of CPI and Andhra Mahasabha.
She fought for her land and set a platform for the oppressed to rise against the
ruling class domination and land occupation. In this movement, she destroyed
patwari's house and set up a cornfield on the same land. She lost her husband,
who Dora brutally attacked.
One cannot ignore the role of the women in the movement in bringing the
peasantry issue to the forefront of the communist movement, in actively
organizing people against caste injustices, and in radically redefining the need
for a strong organizational structure, which was a crucial factor in the growth
of the movement.
