Hyderabad, June 27 : Marking the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, regarded as a pioneer of social justice and affirmative action in India, Dr. J. Purnachandra Rao, IPS (Retd.), National Coordinator of the All India Bahujan Samaj Party (AIBSP), called for equitable political representation for Bahujan communities, stating that the ideals of Shahu Maharaj can be realised only when political power is shared in proportion to population.
Addressing a gathering on Friday, Dr. Rao said it was a matter of serious concern that, even after 78 years of Independence, more than 200 caste communities in Andhra Pradesh have never had a representative elected to the State Assembly. He described this as a major democratic and social justice deficit.
According to Dr. Rao, 124 Backward Class (BC) communities, accounting for nearly 26 per cent of the State’s population, have never elected a single MLA. He further claimed that only 10 BC communities have secured representation in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly so far, despite the BC population being spread across a much larger number of castes.
He also stated that, over the last 16 Assembly elections, the total number of BC legislators elected was only about 40 per cent of what their population share would warrant, describing the situation as inconsistent with the principles of social justice.
Dr. Rao further alleged that 57 Scheduled Caste sub-groups, along with several Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups such as the Erukala, Yanadi, Chenchu and Nakkala communities, have never secured representation in the Assembly. He added that BC Muslims too remain significantly underrepresented in electoral politics.
“When BCs, SCs, STs and minority communities are considered together, over 200 caste groups have remained without legislative representation even after nearly eight decades of Independence. This reflects a deep structural imbalance in our democratic system,” he said.
Criticising what he described as the prolonged political dominance of the Reddy and Kamma communities in Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Rao alleged that the concentration of political power, party nominations and candidate selection in the hands of a few socially dominant groups has limited opportunities for hundreds of Bahujan communities to enter legislatures.
“Shahu Maharaj’s vision extended beyond reservations in education and employment. His philosophy was about ensuring equal participation of the Bahujan majority in political power as well. Political representation is the foundation of genuine social justice,” he said.
Dr. Rao demanded that the Andhra Pradesh Government conduct a comprehensive caste census and urged political parties to reform their candidate selection process so that representation in elected bodies reflects the demographic composition of society. He also called for legislative measures to ensure population-based political representation for BCs, SCs, STs and minorities in the Assembly, Parliament, Legislative Council and local bodies.
The appeal was made during the “Bahujan Maata–Paata” programme organised by Veeravalli Srinivas and P. V. Ramanaiah, which was attended by social activists, Bahujan leaders and representatives of people’s organisations from various districts of the State.
Among those present were Dr. Ala Venkateswarlu, B. Paranjyothi, Sangem Surya Rao, Naragoni, Gummadi Srinivas Yadav, D. M. Swamy, Uppala Bhaskara Rao, Dr. P. Purandara Rao, Dhanwala Rajanikanth, Dr. Chinka Anil Kumar, Frontline Srinivasa Rao, D. Devaraju, K. Jayasudha, K. Sambasiva Rao, Mekala Subba Rao, Kollabathi Nageswara Rao, Varagani Vivekananda, Y. Srinivasa Rao, Katari Venkateswara Rao, Tatikonda Narasimha Rao, Kolli Ramakrishna, Madala Chandri Phule, Mummadi Venkata Kotaiah Yadav, Arivula Guruswamy, Rayapati Nivedita, Mummadi Jayadurga, Dr. Pothula Ankaiah and N. K. Rehman, among others.
The participants resolved to take the message of Shahu Maharaj’s vision of social justice to villages across the State and appealed for a united movement to secure equitable political representation for Bahujan communities.
Concluding his address, Dr. Rao said, “The ideals of Shahu Maharaj will become meaningful only when social justice is translated into political power. Indian democracy will become truly representative only when every community receives political representation in proportion to its population.”
