Converting PWG into political party is fine but under Dalits, keeping Brahminical leaders out People's War Group (PWG), considered the country's largest (Marxist-Leninist) Naxalite outfit based in Andhra Pradesh, is in the news. Reports say that PWG may convert itself into a political party, now that the ban on it has been lifted and the AP Govt. has for the first time started talks with its leadership.

We have written enough on PWG and other "naxalite" groups. Our point is why the simple, suffering, starving folks — mainly Dalits and Tribals fighting for their basic human rights snatched away by their upper caste landed oppressors — should be called Naxalites, Moists, Marxist-Leninists, Terrorists etc. They are the natives of this land and hence essentially producers of wealth and peace-loving. Their exploiters employ the police to fight them, branding them criminals. Call the dog mad and shoot. This is going on in Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP etc. State terrorism is used to kill these innocent folks.

Why meddle with our lives: We have many times exposed the Brahminical conspiracy to keep the Dalits enslaved in the name of naxalism, marxism etc.

What is much more shocking is these simple folks fighting their upper caste oppressors are also led by the very same upper castes, mostly Brahmins, who approach them as do-gooders and then deceive them.

When we don't approach them, much less meddle with their affairs, why should the Brahminical people interfere in our lives, take over our leadership to only dupe us in the end? PWG is perhaps the country's most shining example of Brahminical betrayal of Dalits.

The "Naxalite" name itself is derived from Naxalbari in West Bengal where the communists under a well-entrenched upper caste leadership, are ruthlessly ruling. Even this "Naxalbari movement", since ruthlessly suppressed by the W. Bengal police, was led by two upper castes. Of the two, Charu Mazumdar is dead and the other, a Brahmin, has forgotten all his Maoism and now leading a "peaceful" life in cosy comfort after accomplishing his life's mission of breaking the backbone of the Dalit struggle by giving it a bad name of naxalism.

Why not our own party: In the name of marxism, the upper castes (Hindu) have been fooling the deprived SC/ST/BCs and Muslims in Bengal and Kerala. (DV Edit June 1, 1985: "Marxism to rescue of Brahminism"). We have written a book itself (How Marx Failed in Hindu India, DSA-1988) to explain the Brahminical perfidy in the name of marxism.

On one side, the very same upper castes are deceiving our people in the name of Hindutva and the other side they are enslaving us in the name of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. In between, we have the Gujarati Bania's Congress Party. Why our people are not thinking of forming their own regional ethnic parties under their own leadership? The time has come to do this in Andhra Pradesh.

Gaddar's suffering: We have criticised the PWG leadership many times. PWG is tightly controlled by the "Socialist Brahmins", Reddys and Khammas. Kondapalli Sitaramaiah, the Reddy chief of the PWG, died some years back. But Dalit leaders like K.G. Satyamurthy and the legendary Gaddar who built up the organisation are kept away.

Brother Gaddar, a powerful singer, writer, dancer and a mass leader, was even shot. He was humiliated and expelled from PWG. Despite all this Gaddar continues to serve the PWG because he knows PWG is a purely Dalit organisation. Without him there is no PWG. The poor man is silently suffering inside the PWG.

He is a virtual prisoner in their hands. He is an Ambedkarite first and last. His heart is with his suffering jati people.

He would have conveniently joined the Dalits but he knows the weaknesses of Dalits and the difficulties of organising them and uniting them and enforcing discipline. The upper castes offered him a platform and through their media made him famous. But they also kept him gagged. Hundreds of Dalits are also silently suffering inside the PWG. They only fell victim to police bullets but rarely an upper caste man suffered.

Mala-Madiga divide: When the Malas and Madigas fought on the issue of reservation within the SC/ST reservation, Gaddar, despite being a Mala, stood by the Madigas and thus brought sanity into the AP Dalit movement. He is liked by all the AP Dalit subcastes. The upper caste PWG leadership knows it. That is why they are using him. How long our people should go on serving these upper castes?

The defeated TDP led by the hated Khamma leader, Chandrababu Naidu, is virtually dead. The Congress may be ruling but its leadership is also upper caste. The powerful Andhra Dalit Mahasabha suffered due to the Mala-Madiga divide and its respected leader, Bojja Tarakam, went over to head one of the four factions of the Republican Party (RPI) which itself has no following in AP. Bahujan Samaj Party is still weak in AP.

Vacuum in AP: Dalits particularly are leaderless. So also other sections like the BCs, Tribals, Muslims etc. The Brahmins and other upper castes wanted to fish in this troubled waters. And this must have prompted them to convert PWG into a political party under their leadership to fill the vacuum.

Gaddar, Bojja Tarakam and all other Dalit leaders should realise at least now that they should not allow themselves to be used by these Kannabhirans, Varvara Raos, Balagopals. The land is fertile in AP. The people are hungering for an alternative. The opportunities are immense. It is time they assert and form their own regional Telugu party of the oppressed SC/ST/BCs, Muslims and Christians.

Khammas & communists: The upper caste leadership of the PWG wants to use the new atmosphere created in AP to convert PWG into a party. AP once had a powerful communist party which later got divided into CPI and CPM. The more powerful CPM was a Khamma party. To counter the Khammas, the Reddys went over to the Congress. The SC/ST/BCs killed all these parties but went over to PWG. Once again they got deceived.

The time has now come to seriously ponder over these questions, forget personal differences in the interest of Ambedkarism. And form an ethnic Telugu revolutionary party giving equal representation to each subcaste in proportion to its population.

Dalit Voice will be too willing to be involved in evolving such a socio-cultural revolutionary party.
DV May 1, 2000 p.7: "If PWG is a menace why upper caste rulers are soft on it?".
DV June 16, 1997 p.11: "How to rescue Gaddar drugged by marxism?"
DV May 1, 1997 p.11: "Whose hand behind shooting Gaddar?"
DV May 16, 1996 p.20: "Gaddar goodbye to marxism: PWG faces Dalit revolt".
DV Edit March 16, 1996: "Dalit doubts & fears on nationality question: Is it a bid to destroy growing caste consciousness?"
DV Nov.16, 1995 p.5: "PWG expels Dalit singer".
DV Edit Nov.1, 1991: "Three-month notice to nazi Naxals: Hands off SC/ST/BCs, Hindu human rightswalas are warned".
DV guest edit Sept.16, 1991: "Nazis in the garb of Naxalites try to divert AP Dalits from Ambedkarism & destroy their identity".
DV Edit June 16, 1989: "Naxalites & Marxists join hands with NTR to crush AP Dalit Maha Sabha".
DV May 16, 1989 p.10: "Khamma bid to implicate AP Dalit Mahasabha".

(Dalit Voice Editorial August 16-31, 2004).