When we accompanied you to Nanded (MS)during your recent visit, we met an old Dalit leader, Arjun Waghoji Birhade (84), who recollected the services rendered by the ’ate Veera Ratna B.S. Venkat Rao, also called the “Hyderabad Ambedkar”, the celebrated Dalit liberation movement leader of the Hyderabad Nizam state, and also the late Bhim Sena leader, Shyam Sunder. Both served the Nizam state. B.S. Venkat Rao, he said, was deeply concerned with the welfare of Untouchables. Unfortunately, the Hindu nazi leaders of those days managed to malign the two leaders as stooges of the Nizam. Shyam Sunder became a representative of the Nizam in the UNO. -
Both the leaders had first and foremost concern for the protection of Dalit self-respect. Whenever the Muslims tried to come in the way of our people’s seif-respect, both the leaders did not hesitate to hit back at the Muslims.
We brought Arjun Rao to the hotel where you were staying. You too had a long conversation with Arjun Rao who too was an MLA during the heydays of B.S. Venkat Rao and Shyam Sunder. You pointily asked Arjun Rao about the Hindu propaganda that the two leaders were Muslim agents. He said this was a Brahmin propaganda to malign the Muslims and to check Dalit conversions 1o isilam. The two were the tallest Dalit leaders of the Nizam regime aid he quoted several incidents in which the two stood by Dalits against Muslims.
B.S. Venkai Rao as Education Minister could secure regular scholarships to the Dalit students and grant of Rs. 16 crores for the construction of Milind Maha Vidyalaya and the Marathwada University at Aurangabad. B.S. Venkat Rao also demanded at least one gun for each village to fight Hindus troubling Dalits. ” On realising the greatness of these two leaders we ‘have decided to install the statues of Dalit Nava Ratnas consisting of B.S. Venkat Rao, Bhagya Reddy Verma, Shyam Sunder, Aragey Ramaswamy, J. Eshwari Bai (RPI), Mudigonda Laxmaiah, B.V. Ramanaiah, V. Rama Rao and P.V. Manohar. The Government of Andhra Pradesh would be asked to carry out our decision and install the statues at the centre of Boat Club, Hyderabad.
