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On a sunny morning in November this year, Seethakka walked briskly on the narrow katcha road leading to Ramsingh Thanda, a Lambada hamlet in Pandikunta, Mulugu district. The Congress leader was greeted warmly by the residents, to whom she appealed for votes in the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections. Seethakka, who has served as the legislator of Mulugu twice, seeks to win back her seat and hopes to become a Minister if the Congress party forms the government in Telangana. It is also speculated that she is in the race for the Chief Minister’s post.
It was in the same hamlet of Ramsingh Thanda that, nearly three decades ago, Danasari Anasuya, popularly known as Seethakka, had taken cover from the police. The former Maoist, who was pregnant at the time, was eventually caught by the police. The popular leader who believes in democracy and encourages people to participate in the electoral process was once an armed revolutionary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti, a Left extremist organisation. Back then, a gun-lugging Seethakka had commanded an armed militia in the Narsampet region.
Seethaka is the youngest daughter of Saraiah and Sarakka, members of an Adivasi Gutti Koya family. Born and raised in Jaggannapeta in Mulugu, which borders Chhattisgarh, the young Seethakka was inspired by ‘Annas’ (Maoists). In the early 80s, Annas wielded significant influence and commanded respect, particularly from the Adivasis who were facing suppression from landlords, said Seethakka. It was not uncommon for Adivasis in the Mulugu region to join the armed movement. Her brother Sambaiah joined the armed movement and was killed in an alleged encounter.
Seethakka completed her primary and secondary education from Mulugu Government Girls Residential School. “We did not have enough means. So she had to study in a government school with a hostel facility,” her mother Sarakka said. After completing class 10, Seethakka joined the CPI (ML) Janashakti party in 1988 and dedicated her life to fighting against class and caste oppression. Recalling her childhood, her cousin Venkanna said, “From a young age, she was a rebel. It was not surprising when she went into the forest [to take up arms]. She would fight for quality food even during her hostel days.”
Danasari Anasuya was rechristened Seetha by her comrades when she joined the armed movement. The name was deemed appropriate by them as her husband’s name was Ramu (Kunja Ramu). Ramu, who was her cousin and also a member of Janashakti, was one of the reasons behind her joining the far-Left CPI (ML) party. Even though the couple separated later, they were once considered the ideal couple, similar to the Hindu deities Ram and Sita.
Her commitment to the class struggle was well-known. “She is one of the most committed leaders I have ever seen. She used to work very sincerely without expecting anything in return. She dedicated her life to the liberation of the people,” recalled Chaitanya Thummala, a former member of the cultural wing of Janashakti.
Besides singing and writing songs, Seethakka would spend a lot of time with children. “She was of a soft-hearted nature. I first saw her in the forest during a meeting when I was 21. She would mingle with everyone and had spectacular clarity, courage, and commitment,” said Chaitanya.
Seethakka gave away her son for adoption when he was just two months old. “It was probably the yearning for her own son that made her interact with kids. She was a very kind person. That’s what made me realise that she was a true revolutionary,” the Janashakti member recollected.
“She would also have intellectual political debates with Veeranna,” Chaitanya added. Maroju Veeranna was an armed revolutionary who formed the Communist Party of United States of India and acknowledged caste. He encouraged Communists to understand class in the Indian political context.
In 1997, Seethakka gave up arms and surrendered before the court under the state’s amnesty programme. Why did a commander committed to the Maoist ideology leave the party?
According to her, it was the split within the Janashakti party that led to the abandonment of the armed revolution.
The CPI-ML-Janashakti was formed in 1992, after seven revolutionary organisations merged into a one-party organisation. The unity lasted for four years. In 1996, a year before Seethakka surrendered, a faction broke away and formed the CPI-ML Unity Initiative. Subsequently, many factions broke away from the main organisation, leading to a crisis. “Maroju Veeranna formed his own faction Communist Party of United States of India. Our numbers were already low and there were many divisions. It was a time of crisis and many people had left the party. Even I had to leave,” Seethakka said.
She added that she was disillusioned by the movement by then, and was critical of the party’s activities being restricted to the jungle. “I never thought that I would give up arms. There was no such thought, nor did I care for my family. Sacrifice was one of the tenets of working for the revolution,” she said.
Her son Surya was four years old when she gave up arms and emerged from the underground. After serving three months in prison, Seethakka joined Yakshi, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for Adivasis in Hyderabad. “I earned Rs 2500 in my first job,” she recollected. Alongside her NGO job, Seethakka finished her law degree from Padala Rama Reddy Law College in Hyderabad, after which she worked as a junior to a lawyer. “I took up law so that I could help my community who were being harassed by the police. Many were facing cases for their association with Maoists. I saw them struggle to fight these cases. Besides that, law is a dignified profession,” she said.
While working for Yakshi, Seethakka travelled extensively across the Adilabad and Srikakulam districts, which had sizable Adivasi populations. Yakshi worked with Adivasis, training them in research and understanding their communities. This exposure which offered her the chance to interact with over 30 Adivasi communities led her towards mainstream politics, said Nadempalli Madhusudhan, the executive secretary of Yakshi.
“She worked along with me for nearly two years. She was part of the leadership programme of Adivasis. She was trained to understand the necessities of the Forest Rights Act. She was introduced to academic research and was able to replace political rhetoric with a nuanced understanding of Adivasi issues. She was part of the campaign to educate people on the Forest Rights Act,” he said.
Seethakka was also part of the International Fund for Agricultural Development programme, which evaluated the funding of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) and its socio-economic impact on Adivasis. This programme meant that she travelled extensively to many Adivasi districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh. “During our trips to Adivasi areas, we would have serious discussions around the plight of Adivasis. This particular exposure made her choose mainstream politics,” Madhusudhan said. During this stint, she got in touch with leaders of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and showed an inclination to contest in the Assembly elections.
Even though Seethakka had moved away from her earlier years in politics, in 2003, she was faced with a moral dilemma when Maoists of the People’s War Group carried out a failed assassination attempt on former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu in Alipiri, Tirupati. “Since the beginning, I had a differing view when it came to killing people,” Seethakka said, condemning the actions of the Maoists. She said that Naidu had acknowledged the plight of Adivasis and provided them with education, primary healthcare, and employment.
In 2004, Seethakka contested from Mulugu constituency on a TDP ticket. However, she failed to woo the voters. “The people had their own reasons to reject me. Why would they trust someone new?” she said. In 2009, she emerged victorious and was elected to power. But she lost again in 2014, after Telangana achieved statehood and the state was gripped under the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS, now Bharat RS) wave. In 2018, she resigned from the TDP and contested on a Congress ticket. Even though the TRS won 88 seats that year, it could not defeat Seethakka.
Recently, Seethakka earned a PhD from Osmania University. Her research titled “Social exclusion and deprivation of the Gotti Koya tribe” may be seen as yet another effort to address the problems of her community.
Seethakka’s contributions during the COVID-19 crisis supplying essentials and groceries to Adivasis by travelling to distant forest areas earned her recognition amongst the youngsters on Twitter. Her relief work during the recent floods in Warangal upset many leaders, including those from her own party. “All that she does is for publicity. She does some welfare activity and publicises it heavily using social media,” said a Congress leader.
The two-time legislator is not offended by these observations. “I shared photos and videos of my relief activity during COVID-19 in order to seek help from others. I was helping, but I am not an entire administration. Critics will fault everything.”
Seethakka’s journey as a Maoist was precarious, with some close encounters with police. Her political journey is equally arduous, battling betrayals and conspiracies. For Sarakka, her daughter may have given up arms and taken up mainstream politics, but she hardly sees any difference. “Back then, she would work for the people. Now too, she does the same. There is hardly any time that she dedicates for family,” she said.