Chapter I

Political, Sociological and Economical Developments of Pre and Post-

Independence Andhra

Before we go into the aspects of cinema and its evolution in Andhra Pradesh, it is

extremely important to discuss political, economical and sociological developments

that really propelled cinema as a culture, and as an industry, to come into existence.

Unlike other cinemas elsewhere in the world, cinema in South India is inevitably linked

with the sociological and the political situations and depicts the social and political

history of the region. Southern cinema industries have strong nexus with political,

sociological and economical developments of the region along with the democratization

of politics. Especially when we look at Telugu cinema, it is quite surprising to observe

that cinema in this region has been structured and operated in terms of caste at various

layers. Though this tendency cannot be traced to the beginning of Telugu cinema, it is

germinated later as Telugu cinema and subsequently corroborated as an industry. To

understand how modern technology like cinema is so part of traditionally rooted social

structure, one needs to analyze the political, sociological and economical conditions of

Andhra Pradesh. This brief overview would immensely help in understanding the issues

that really propelled and shaped the present Telugu film industry for the primary

examination on cinema and politics in later chapters.

British rule in India witnessed several revolutionary changes in the fields of economy,

industry and technology. Constant tensions between 'tradition' and 'modernity'

prevailed due to various ideological forays into Indian minds. It is unarguably

considered and accepted most of the times that ‘modernity’ and ‘development’ are

something affirmative. However, this becomes problematic when we discuss

democratic politics in early decades of independent India because political and

developmental institutions cannot function in vacuum. Hence it has to find some

platform in society either through existing organizational or hierarchical framework or

by invoking new structures. So the new structure or framework is possibly formed with

both the old and new and ready to be part of the modern democratic society. As Rajani

Kothari writes Caste in Indian Politics (Orient Longman, 1970): “A ‘modernizing’

society is neither modern nor traditional. It simply moves from one threshold of

integration and performance to another, in the process transforming both the indigenous

structures and attitudes and the newly introduced institutions and ideas” (3). Hence, it

has to be understood that Indian society has a social system that is flexible and capable

of absorbing new ideologies, systems and technologies and transform them to more

Indianized version. This is the point that needs to be emphasized while looking at the

question, how a modern or a western technology like cinema has been received and

absorbed into its social system in certain regions of India. Traditional social system in

India was organized in and around caste structures and caste identities. So the questions

have to be asked: what would be the role of the caste while receiving cinema as a

western invention. Many of us would be surprised and uncomfortable to see the strong

relationship between caste and Telugu cinema. There are several articles and papers

that have discussed the role of region, language and culture of particular dominant

region on Telugu cinema. However, looking at the caste angle and the dominant social

structures that shaped the Telugu cinema industry will pave an easy way ahead to

explore the nexus between cinema and politics in Telugu cinema. To trace the

relationship between film stars and politics, one needs to look at the post-Independence

political situation. The emergence of India as a nation and political democracy is

assimilated. But the change is not as radical as it appears at first sight. It is slow and
incremental as it was section of Brahmins who responded to English education and

obviously was first to benefit from political and administrative power, and with the

expansion multiple party system, slowly others came in. However it is not a pan-Indian

phenomenon, especially in regions where Brahmins are not dominant, certain

agricultural upper castes exerted social power and established social structure aided

vertical inter-caste ties for ongoing structure of political recruitment in which upper

castes mobilized the whole structure and put up a strong formation of horizontal

solidarities. This trend has been phenomenal in post Independent India. Though there

are instances where new religion sects like Jains wielded economic power, by and large,

it is the upper castes or ‘dominant castes’8 who snatched the power from Brahmins in

different regions across India. According to Rajani Kothari, the process of

secularization of castes, mobilization and assimilation into democratic politics after

independence is done in three phases. In first phase, governmental aspect (caste

councils and village arbitrations procedures) and the political aspect (within caste and

inter-caste and status alignments), religion, occupation and territory provided the bases

for secular mobility. This phase is not radical as it appears but experienced gradual

involvement. Most entrenched castes come in this phase. New solidarities in the upper-

middle castes and middle castes are evident in all regions and agrarian economy has got

prominence under these castes. Second one is the integration aspect. This aspect is quite

important while understanding the structural importance of nation building. For the

competitive style of democratic politics involves not just distributive and conflictual

aspects but also aspects of group action and cohesion. Here comes the actual operation

8 The term is used by M. N. Srinivas and distinguished from entrenched caste, According to this
criterion; ‘dominant castes’ are primarily land owning communities and holds enormous social,
economic and political power. And usually they are numerically strong in the village.
of caste affiliations and concept of jati that creates powerful symbolism and mythology

of its own.

And the third one is the aspect of consciousness in which constant contest for positions

between jatis and varna. While varna has clear logical structure, jati on the other hand

is ambiguous. Hence, there is constant shift between asserting identities through varna

and jati. It thus, enables people to draw themselves and others at safe orders of

hierarchical existence. For example, certain castes label themselves to be Kshatriyas

and at the same time they ascertain a different identity of peasant caste.9 There are

different segmentations at different level that “demonstrates the basic continuity

between the various referents-doctrinal, territorial, economic and occupational, ritual

and associational-federal (political)” (11). All these three phases show the significant

change in which traditional status such as ‘Sanskritization’10 gets intertwined by

westernization. And the dominant castes reestablished and reinterpreted its traditional

status and identity to suit contemporary aspirations. Examples for this are to found

across different regions of India. Patidars of Gujarat, Mahisyas of Bengal, Jats in

Rajasthan and Reddis and Kammas in Andhra Pradesh. In these regions, Brahmins did

not dominate the political and economical spheres but led by powerful peasant castes

that were closely associated vertically with the other castes due to their farming

profession. Because these were the castes that are holding land at the village level.

Despite the truth that these castes do not have the ritual status in varna status,

agricultural benefits propelled them to get into economical and political arena. In fact,

9
The Peasant caste is widely discussed and referred in Balagopal works and SV Srinivas’s work on Early
Telugu cinema. Peasant caste is generally attributed to middle and intermediate castes who have not only
been cultivators but also kings, feudatories, barons, overlords and revenue intermediaries.
10
Sanskritization is a particular form of social change found in India. It denotes the process by which
castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of
the upper or dominant castes. The concept of Sanskritization is defined and developed by noted
sociologist, M N Srinivas.
being aloof from the ritual status helped these castes to get in touch with the rest of the

castes and interacted closely on various issues at the village level. This phenomenon

helped these dominant castes to attain power status while overtaking the dominance of

the Brahmins. Due to ‘secularization’11 (Rajani Kothari’s word) of these castes, various

caste groups got into factional networks of politics which provided best ways for social

mobility not only for the own castes but also for the other castes who show loyalties to

dominant castes. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are the best example for this competitive

politics. In Andhra Pradesh, Reddis and Kammas dominated the post-independence

economy and politics in Andhra Pradesh. Though these competitive politics were never

so expressive at the surface level, but worked at the subtle level.

As discussed above, these peasant or land owning communities were the first people

benefited from education, green revolution and technology. The actual process of

interaction between caste and modern institutions (democracy, electorate, education,

industries and other technological inventions like cinema) was restricted and exclusive.

It entrenched more strongly on certain castes than on the others. The first to be drawn

into modernisation stream was the power structure of the caste system. Ritual status of

the Brahmins kept them aloof from the democratic and secular politics and power.

Though they could hold the power in some regions, but lost to other secular castes in

other regions by and large. These secular castes had the acceptance both from ritual

class as well as peasant and lower castes because of the “vertical inter-caste ties by the

reason of cultural and other economic bonds, traditional hypergamy relationships or

regional variations in dominant-dependant relationships” (15).

11
Refer to Rajani Kothari’s work, Caste in Indian Politics (Orient Longman, 1970)
The second benefit was distribution of economic benefits. This power structure and

economic benefits are closely inter-related. In the case of Andhra, green revolution12

boosted certain sections of the coastal Andhra and made them economically strong later

that resulted in seeking political power. And the third factor is caste consciousness and

perceptions which played vital role in bringing political aspirations possible. New caste

solidarities, associations and councils have been started. Mass caste gatherings and

building competitive politics through caste federations to bargain better in electoral

politics and sometimes these associations worked as pressure groups.

Rajani Kothari also discusses the primary features of these ‘dominant castes’. While

tracing roots for this change, she notes that

Brahmanic and administrative castes began to be out-numbered be men

from commercial and peasant-proprietor occupation that had always

called for a high level of interpersonal skills, a pragmatic and bargaining

approach to problems, and an ability to marshal a new type of solidarity

among their own castes, oftentimes based on reinterpretation of their

traditional status and a ‘populist’ and anti-populist ideology. These were

the new entrepreneurs, the new innovators, of politics. However, these

castes were less modern than the elites they super ceded; they were often

less educated and more rural based and operated through an idiom that

was decidedly more populist and traditional. Their ability to organize,

to show a pragmatic evaluation of things, to take risks and to utilize

modern means of technology and organization came more inherited

12The introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds after 1965 and the increased use of fertilizers and
irrigation are known collectively as the Green Revolution, which provided the increase in production
needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agriculture in India.
 characteristics and early socialization in prevailing life styles than from

any conscious adoption of a new culture (18).

Hence, these castes have assimilated and utilized modern institutions and technology

to establish themselves in various fields and affirmed their domination through this

medium. To examine any modern institution and its impact on existing social structures,

the role of the caste should be taken into consideration. Cinema as a modern technology

is received differently across India. Initially films narratives are based on Indian

mythological stories across India, especially in southern Indian films. Film making is

taken up initially by the elites of that particular region then spread to the other

communities. Each region has its own social and cultural and political background that

determines the domination on any industry. However, Telugu cinema proved that the

domination doesn’t limit at the trade and political level but even in artistic and creative

fields as well. When it comes to Telugu cinema, role caste in building particular cinema

by particular community should be observed. Cinema as a scientific invention in

Andhra has ever executed democratically and clutched in the hands of dominant castes,

particularly in the hands of Kammas. Dominant caste(s) have taken over the Telugu

cinema and made it a caste profession. Modern technology like cinema has been

literally in the hands of one community through which it acted promoting particular

culture that is exclusive to their region and community. Unlike the trends in other

regions in India, where Brahmins and other elites who are western educated dominated

film making, Telugu cinema always dominated by the rural based, less western

educated entrepreneurs. Moreover, these enthusiasts mostly came from agrarian

background are highly benefited from agrarian revolution in coastal Andhra region. As
a result, Telugu cinema has slipped into the hands of post-colonial or post-feudal elite13

who made it a caste profession.

To understand this phenomenon, one needs to examine the social and political issues

deeply that really shaped this tendency in Andhra region. Due to the changes in social

relationships and universal adult franchise in a fairly open and competitive electoral

system, the nature of caste identities and inter-caste relations have been undergoing

continuous transformation in Andhra Pradesh. It is quite significant to know how

dominant castes have come to occupy an important place in politics and the means they

have adopted to retain political control. Noted political scientist K C Suri looks at

Andhra Pradesh phenomenon closely in his articles “Democratic Process and Electoral

Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India” (2002) and “Andhra Pradesh: From Populism to

Pragmatism, 1983-2003” (2003) and argues that the caste structure in Andhra Pradesh

is akin to that existing in most other regions of India, if it is viewed as a traditional

social hierarchy in which people are functionally dependent on one another but

separated as distinct groups, stratified as high and low. Nonetheless, the nature of the

caste system has been undergoing tremendous changes over the years, with different

patterns in various regions and as such, caste should not be viewed as a fixed and rigid

social relation. The distinct character of Andhra Pradesh State politics can be largely

attributed to this feature. There is also some difficulty in speaking of a uniform caste

structure in Andhra Pradesh, as there are inter-regional and intra-regional variations.

13The concept of post-feudal elite is discussed by S V Srinivas in his article, “Making of Peasant
Industry: Telugu Cinema in the 1930s-1950s” in which he termed Telugu film industry is primarily a
peasant industry. He examined how the industry came under the control of entrepreneurs of peasant origin
by becoming a destination of surpluses generated by agriculture and related activities. During this period,
an industry model that facilitated the absorption of large infusions of capital at the production center in
Madras, as also relatively small retail investments at the local level, was assembled. The model,
predicated on syndicated investments and distribution of risk, fell into place at a time when peasants
began to migrate out of the village for a variety of reasons and were expanding their activities from
agriculture, commodity speculation, and rural money lending.
For example, the three north coastal districts differ greatly from those of the central and

south coastal region.14 There are also variations between the three regions Coastal

Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana. As such, only the broad outlines of caste structure

in the State can be determined. Another problem is that credible data on the population

of various castes are not available.

Brief Profile of ‘Dominant Castes’ in Andhra Pradesh:

The non-Brahmin caste groups, such as the Reddy, Kamma, Kapu and Velama, whose

main occupation has been cultivation, are the most dominant social groups in the State

in terms of land control and access to political power. The term ‘dominant caste’ suits

them very well and during medieval times and the early British period, they enjoyed

power and prestige analogous to the Kshatriyas in the north India. Some of these

peasant communities consider themselves as the local variants of the ruler caste, while

all of them have experienced a continuous ascendancy in Andhra society and politics

since the 1920s. The huge irrigation systems constructed in the mid-19th century

(mentioned earlier) enabled some members of these communities to accumulate

agrarian surpluses and use the economic resources to lead a better lifestyle and have

English education. A class of rich peasantry began to emerge among these castes in the

20th century pre-Independence period due to, among other factors, a rise in the price of

agricultural produce, money lending and trade in commercial crops. Their economic

and educational advancement enabled them to challenge and dilute the Brahmin

dominance in the cultural and political spheres. Their participation in the anti-colonial

14In the three north coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, the most
politically influential communities are the Turpu Kapus, Kalingis and Koppula Velamas, who are not
found in other coastal districts. They are the middle-level peasant castes, which have backward status for
the purposes of reservation in educational institutions and government employment. Similarly, the Reddis
and the Kammas, the two dominant castes in State politics, are absent in these districts.
and anti-feudal struggles politicized them a great deal and produced a rich crop of

leadership.

The Reddis, who represent about 8-10% of the State’s population, can be found in all

three regions of the State, particularly in the five Telangana districts of Karimnagar,

Warangal, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar and Khammam, the Circar districts of Guntur,

Prakasam and Nellore and the four districts of Rayalaseema. In the past, they were

rulers in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Several factors have given the Reddis pre-

eminence among the peasant castes in Andhra Pradesh: their state-wide spread and their

high proportion among the peasant proprietor castes in Andhra Pradesh; their traditional

power in many districts and villages and glorious antecedents of local rule in many parts

of the State; their political initiative and involvement in the Congress and communist

politics before and after Independence; the availability of better caste leadership from

village, mandal, district and state levels; and above all, their firm base in agricultural

wealth (K.C.Suri, 2002). The Kammas,15 who make up about 4-5% of the state’s

population, are mostly concentrated in the Krishna and Godavari delta and are

considerable in number in Nellore, Chittoor, Anantapur and Khammam districts. Much

of the analysis of state politics has hinged upon the Kamma-Reddy rivalry although it

is often exaggerated and distorted. The Velamas constitute another 1-2% of the

population. They are concentrated mainly in the two Telangana districts of Karimnagar

and Khammam and in the northern coastal district of Visakhapatnam. They are

scattered in smaller numbers in the Telangana districts of Warangal, Adilabad,

Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and Nizamabad, and in the Circar districts of Godavaris,

Krishna, Guntur and Nellore. Reddis and Velamas were traditionally landlords and

15The Kammas consider themselves as Kshatriyas in the Varna hierarchy and recall their privileged
position in the reign of the Kakatiya dynasty (13-14th centuries). The Kammas of coastal Andhra
carried out a non-Brahman movement in the 1920s and later.
constituted the bedrock of the feudal social and political order in the pre-Independence

period. The Kapu category amounts to 10-12% of the population. There are various

sub-castes within the Kapu category, such as Telaga, Balija, Kapu, Munnuru Kapu,

Ontari, etc. but of late they want to be addressed as Kapus only.

As part of my research, I focus only upon the caste structures and caste politics of

coastal Andhra region precisely because of the strong dominance of the region on

Telugu film industry. With above analysis of social structures in Andhra region, one

needs to look at the post-independence electoral politics in Andhra region to understand

the influence of caste on cinema better, especially when we look at pre-Independence

Telugu cinema.

At the time of Independence, the Congress Party in Andhra was rife with factional

rivalries, which often made use of caste identities. There were two prominent Bramhin

factions in the APCC (Andhra Provincial Congress Committee). One was led by the

legendary figure, Tanguturi Prakasam, known as Andhra Kesari, the ‘Lion of Andhra’.

The other group was led by Pattabhi Sitharamayya, another senior Brahmin Congress

leader, and later all-India Congress President (K.C.Suri, 2002). The elections to the

offices of Madras Congress Legislature Party Leader and APCC President provided the

occasions for a trial of strength between these rival groups. In a keen contest for the

APCC presidency in April 1951, Sanjiva Reddy, sponsored by the Pattabhi group,

defeated N.G.Ranga (who is a Kamma leader), whom Prakasam supported. The

struggle between Ranga and Sanjiva Reddy was seen as a turning point in the Kamma-

Reddy rivalry that was emerging in Andhra Pradesh in the post–Independence period.
So this is the beginning of shift of political power to ‘dominant castes’ from ‘ritual

castes’.16

This rise of a dynamic entrepreneurial class in coastal Andhra is explained above with

reference to the convergence of several historical and political processes that resulted

in the development of a productive and commercialized agrarian economy in the late

nineteenth century and the emergence of a ‘rich peasant’ class emergence of the rural

elite, the politicization of caste identity, and, later, the green revolution and land

reforms. High productivity and profit rates in agriculture have contributed to the

development of capitalist tendencies in the system of agricultural production, and the

capitalist farmers are accumulated surpluses which they seek to invest in even more

profitable enterprises. Cinema is envisioned as a profitable enterprise; hence,

agricultural profits have flown into film making by the capitalist farmers.

16
My distinction of dominant castes and ritual castes is made based on the Rajani Kothari’s work, Caste
in Indian Politics (Orient Longman, 1970). I refer Brahmins as a ritual caste, since they were in charge
of various ritual activities in Hindu society. And I refer dominant castes those which are non-Brahmin
castes but hold social, economic and political power in their respective regions.
 Work Cited

Kothari, Rajani. Caste in Indian Politics. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1970.

Suri, K. C. “Andhra Pradesh: from Populism to Pragmatism 1983-2003.” Journal of

Indian School of Political Economy 15.1/2 (2003): 45-77.

Suri, K. C. Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India.

London: Overseas Development Institute, 2002.