Sunkam Achalu (3 March 1924 – 9 August 1983) was an Indian politician. He represented

Nalgonda Nalgonda is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the Nalgonda district, as well as the headquarters of the Nalgonda mandal in the Nalgonda revenue division. It is located about from the state c ...

in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

(lower house of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

) 1952–1957.

Youth

Son of Kasayya, Sunkam Achalu was born in

on 3 March 1924.Lok Sabha.
Members Bioprofile: ACHALU, SHRI SUNKAM
' He didn't get a formal education, and worked as a farmer. At home he managed to learn how to read and write in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

, and obtained basic English skills. In 1946 he married Ligamma. He lived in Battuguda in Nalgonda town.

Social work and political struggles

Sunkam Achalu led a long struggle for the upliftment of Scheduled Castes. He became a worker of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

at a young age. He left the Congress Party and became a leader of the Scheduled Castes Federation. Between 1948 and 1950 he served as the President of the

Nalgonda District Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet district, Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, ...

branch of the

Scheduled Castes Federation The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) was a political party in India. It had its roots in the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation led by N. Sivaraj and B. R. Ambedkar. The Party was e ...

. He was also a member of the Working Committee of the Hyderabad Scheduled Castes Federation.

1952 election

However, ahead of the

1952 Indian general election Year 195 (Roman numerals, CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The den ...

he was denied a SCF ticket to run for the Lok Sabha. Instead he ran as a candidate for People's Democratic Front for the Scheduled Castes-reserved seat of Nalgonda constituency. He was the running mate of

Ravi Narayana Reddy Ravi Narayana Reddy (5 June 1908 – 7 September 1991) was an Indian politician, a founding member of the Communist Party of India, and a peasant leader. He was a leader in the Telangana Rebellion against the rule of Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI ...

. Sunkam Achalu won the seat, with the highest margin recorded throughout the country. He obtained 282,117 votes.Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1951 TO THE FIRST LOK SABHA - VOLUME I (NATIONAL AND STATE ABSTRACTS & DETAILED RESULTS)
' His SCF opponent forfeited his deposit. Aged 27, Sunkam Achalu was one of the youngest Members of Parliament at the time. Whilst not a party member, Sunkam Achalu sat in the

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

parliamentary group in the Lok Sabha. He sought to influence the party to prioritize upliftment of Scheduled Castes.

Death

Sunkam Achalu died in Nalgonda on 9 August 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achalu, Sunkam 1924 births 1983 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 Lok Sabha members from Hyderabad State Communist Party of India politicians from Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Federation politician