Telangana Dalit professor branded as ‘urban naxal’ by propaganda machine

The 'Save Education Committee,' which is a forum of eminent academicians, has demanded an end to harassment of Professor Surepalli Sujatha, HOD, Sociology in Satavahana University

Hyderabad: Brand a person as an urban naxal, spread the propaganda and socially isolate the person, only to finally take a hit when the person is in a vulnerable position. This seems to be the strategy being adopted by the ideological opponents of a Dalit professor and activist, who was stripped of her position as the principal of the Arts College in Satavahana University in Telangana’s Karimnagar.

Professor Surepalli Sujatha has been a prominent face in the people’s movements in Telangana for over a decade and a half now. She has been known for her activism and social work for the cause of the downtrodden sections.

A sociology professor, she grew up in academia at a time when universities were gasping for freedom on campuses. Today, her freedom is being curtailed in a changing political scenario where people like her are being branded as ‘urban naxals,’ a term which is an off-dictionary term that stands in contradiction to the traditional naxalite movements in India.

Her brush with the propaganda brigade happened at a time when the Centre had been going all-out to eliminate Maoists from the face of India. It came in the form of a contract professor at Satahavana University in Karimnagar, where she has been working as the Head of the Sociology Department.

Sujatha tells Siasat.com that it all started with her filing a complaint against Dr Penchala Srinivas, a former contract professor in Botany, for calling the female students in the middle of the night in 2019. She says that a disciplinary inquiry was conducted, and he was removed from service back then.

She remembers that when she once took her students on a study tour to Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, propaganda spread that she introduced them to Maoist leaders, a rumour she vehemently rejects.

“This allegation was thoroughly investigated by both the police authorities (under Sri Kamal Hasan Reddy) and the university, and was found to be completely untrue,” she claims.

She accuses the contract professor of being the man behind the rumours, also pointing out that he is an ardent right-wing person who belongs to the Munnuru Kapu community and supports Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay’s Hindutva ideology.

Bandi Sanjay represents the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

She tells Siasat.com that ever since the study tour incident in 2019, she has been targeted frequently, with a section constantly hounding her on social media and on the campus- looking for her to make just one mistake.

Call for peace became a headache for Dalit professor

That perception changed following her Facebook post during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. In it, she suggested that war has never been a solution and that peace must prevail. However, her use of the word “blood” in reference to “sindoor” drew sharp backlash on social media, with many users attacking her over the remark.

Subsequently, a group of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members, along with some outsiders, barged onto the campus, hurled abuses at her and attempted to assault her. She narrowly escaped.

She later issued an apology, stating that she regretted if her comments had hurt anyone’s sentiments, while maintaining her stand that peace should take precedence over war. She has kept a low profile since.

Not just her, her student Mahesh, also a Dalit, is also a target. He completed his Master’s in Sociology and is pursuing a Master’s in Economics at the university. His association with the now-banned Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika (TVV) student organisation was seen as the cause of the target.

When she lost her role as the principal, she was informed that it was because her term had ended.

However, the propaganda machine continued to work tirelessly. It has been so rigorous that the newly appointed vice-chancellor Professor Umesh Kumar is also under its influence.

“The contract faculty who was removed was reinstated as a part-time faculty member by the new vice-chancellor. He continued his propaganda,” she tells Siasat.com.

She claims that she is constantly monitored through CCTV cameras on the campus, and if a student speaks to her, the student faces consequences.

She also filed a complaint with the local police and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) earlier this month. She has been waiting for some action.

Academicians demand Dalit professor be reinstated

The ‘Save Education Committee,’ which is a forum of eminent academicians, has demanded an end to the harassment of Surepalli Sujatha.

“Despite possessing all the necessary qualifications and experience, the removal of a Dalit woman professor, who is also serving as the Dean and holding additional responsibilities as the Principal of the Arts College, is an act of vindictiveness,” the Committee stated in a press release on Thursday, April 9.

“It is not appropriate for the Vice-Chancellor, who is responsible for safeguarding university autonomy, academic freedom, and freedom of expression, to remain silent on this issue. “At a time when commercialisation, excessive centralisation, and communalisation of education are increasing, the university administration has the responsibility to ensure that such incidents- especially the harassment of a professor from marginalised sections, particularly a woman professor must not recur,” the Committee demanded.

They urged the Vice-Chancellor to put an end to such baseless allegations, harassment, and vindictive actions and to protect the autonomy and academic environment.

Ironically, Surepalli Sujatha is facing this at a time when the state government has just recently formed a cabinet sub-committee to work out the modalities of the Rohith Vemula Bill to prevent caste-based discrimination in university campuses.

When asked how it was possible for the ideologically-motivated targeting usually done in the central universities to happen in a state government-run university like Satavahana University, Sujatha said that even she has been waiting for an answer to the same question.