Arige Ramaswamy (1885 – 23 January 1973) was an Indian social activist, politician and social reformer.

Early life

Born on 1885 in a Mala family to Arige Balayya at Ramankole, Hyderabad State (now

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

). He also worked as ticket collector in Nizam's railways. He was follower of Achala Siddhanta and also the Brahmo Samaj. He founded Sunitha Bala Samajam and carried out social reform among the Dalits.

Movement

He worked along with Bhagya Reddy Varma, S. Venkat Rao and other activists, who organized the Dalits in the early 20th century. Recognising the socio-economic backwardness of

Madiga Madiga is a Telugu caste from southern India. They mainly live in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, with a small minority in Tamil Nadu. Madigas are historically associated with the work of tannery, leatherwork and smal ...

s, he formed the Arundhatiya Association for their welfare. Ramaswamy married a

boy with a Mala girl, which was opposed by Bhagya Reddy Varma and the community members. In 1922, he established Adi Hindu Jathoyonnathi Sabha.

Politics

Later, he joined INC and became Joint Secretary in Telangana Congress and been Minister in state govt. He was also associated with "Grandhalaya (library)" movement. He died on 23 January 1973 at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

References

Activists from Andhra Pradesh Dalit activists People from Secunderabad 1885 births 1973 deaths {{India-activist-stub