Canada-based Carleton University Assistant Professor Chinnaiah Jangam, on Saturday exhorted academics and history writers to include the stories of unsung heroes in their works.

Many Dalits and underprivileged persons like M.V. Bhagyareddy Varma did not find a place in history though they waged agitations against caste discrimination at least 30 years before the advent of the Ambedkar era, he explained.

Delivering the keynote address at the Lecture Series-2014, Dr. Chinnaiah spoke on ‘Role of Dalits in the Making of Modern India’ at Telangana University here. He stated that there was caste discrimination against Dalits in the writing of history too.

Stressing the need to rewrite history with a Dalit Bahujan perspective, he stated that it was time that the contributions of underprivileged sections get highlighted and are included in history books. There were numerous sacrifices and umpteen movements waged by Dalits in India and they remain unrecognised till date, he added.

You [students and youth] should not forget your roots and emulate the sacrifices made by your forefathers for the freedom that we are enjoying now, he said and emphasised the importance of achieving social freedom in the country where people belonging to underprivileged castes get equal respect and dignity.

Varsity registrar R. Limbadri said that Dr. Chinnaiah rose from a very humble background and went on to become a university professor in a foreign university through sheer hard work and passion for education.

Explaining the childhood plight of Dr. Chinnaiah, the registrar got emotional and broke down. Humanities Principal Prof. P. Kanakaiah presided over the meeting, while V. Triveni welcomed the guests and proposed the vote of thanks.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Nizamabad – December 21st, 2014