Caste rivalry between the Mala and Madiga communities came to a head again today with the Madiga Dandora organising a dharna outside the Chief Minister’s residence and the Mala Maha Nadu announcing protest plans against Madiga demands. However, the dharna was later foiled by the police and the Madiga leader, Manda Krishna Madiga, was detained. He threatened to go on hunger strike to press for his demands.

The Mala-Madiga rivalry is not new. The Madiga Dandora, a largely non-political Scheduled Caste organisation, has been demanding categorising of SCs in the state. The Mala-run organisation opposes this demand and wants all SCs to be treated as equals.

Today, Manda Krishna, who supported the Congress in the last elections, announced plans to march to the Chief Minister’s camp office with his followers and sit in a dharna there. The administration went all out to stop him. Hundreds of policemen were posted along all roads leading to the Chief Minister’s residence, and the march was stopped before it could reach the site of the proposed dharna. On his part, Mala Maha Nadu President Karem Sewaji said that organisation would work out a strategy to oppose the Madigas.

Speaking against the Madiga’s demands, Sewaji said, “We are against categorising as all SC people should be treated as equal. The government has given us all the same facilities. If the Madigas are not literate, it is because of their own unwillingness to study.” He said the Supreme Court had said categorisation did not apply to Scheduled Castes, but that the Madigas were still fighting for it. “The have been fighting for the past 10 years. It is now becoming a political demand. They are being supported by the TDP, while earlier they were close to the Congress.

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