'I Am A Fighter': Meet Seethakka, A Former Naxalite, Now Minister in Revanth Reddy's Telangana Govt

During the peak of election campaigning when News18 asked Mulugu MLA Dansari Anusuya alias Seethakka if she aspired to be the chief minister of Telangana, her response was modest and simple.

“I don’t have that big a dream, but I would certainly want to become a minister when the Congress comes to power,” said the former Naxalite with a wide grin as she warmly waved to people who had gathered to listen to her.

Cut to a week after this interview with News18, clad in a simple cotton saree spun by the weavers of Warangal, Seethakka found herself in an emotional moment, one that mirrored her wish.

Thousands of supporters were cheering and chanting her name as she took oath as the tribal welfare minister in the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government at LB Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. Seethakka had to wait for several seconds before the crowds calmed down and she took her oath; such is her popularity.

“The crowds cheered her as much if not more than Revanth Reddy when he took his oath of office as CM of Telangana,” said a senior state Congress leader to News18.

Seethakka’s political rise is a story of how a gun-wielding Maoist turned into a lawmaker, that too on her own terms.

She was born to Saraiah and Sarakka, members of an Adivasi Gutti Koya family who were living in Jaggannapeta village in Mulugu district of then unified Andhra Pradesh. Just like her siblings, Seethakka, the youngest daughter in the family, was drawn to Naxalite ideology at the age of 14. She spoke of how she was inspired by ‘Annas’ (Maoists) in the early 1980s, and their hold over the region, especially while fighting the oppressive landlords, impressed her young impressionable mind. Like her family, she also decided to dedicate her life to fighting against class and caste oppression. Her elder brother Sambaiah too was associated with the Naxal armed movement but was killed in an alleged encounter in the late 1990s.

Even how she earned the name Seethakka has an interesting twist. Named Anasuya by her parents, the leader’s former Naxal comrades gave her a new name, Seetha, when she joined the armed movement. Married to her cousin Ramu, Seethakka and her husband were considered the perfect couple just like Rama and Seetha; thus the name. She soon grew popular amongst her cadre and became an Area Dalam (squad) Commander.

Having actively worked with the Maoists, Seethakka found herself getting disillusioned with their policies. She surrendered in 1997 and joined mainstream life under then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s amnesty programme.

Pursuing her love for academics, she became a lawyer and began practising law in the tribal-dominated town of Mulugu by taking up cases of tribals and women in the region. She joined the Telugu Desam Party and became an MLA from Mulugu in the united Andhra Pradesh in 2009. Eight years later, she quit Naidu’s TDP to join the Congress. In 2012, despite being an MLA, she wanted to fulfil her dream of completing her PhD in political science and submitted her thesis on her community of Gutti Koyas.

Armed with her doctorate, Seethakka posted a picture of her walking down the corridors of Osmania University, with the comment, “In my childhood I never thought I would be a Naxalite, when I was a Naxalite I never thought I would be a lawyer, when I was a lawyer I never thought I would be an MLA, when I was an MLA I never thought I would pursue my PhD. Now you can call me Dr Anusuya Seethakka PhD in political science.”

Now a three-time MLA from the Naxal-affected and remote seat of Mulugu in northern Telangana, Seethakka defeated her BRS rival Bade Nagajyothi by a huge margin of 33,700 votes in the recent polls. Nagajyothi, incidentally, is also the daughter of a former Maoist leader and a ZPTC vice-chairperson.

To a question on her people connect, fiery attitude, and boldness, an extension from her Naxal days, Seethakka laughed out and replied: “At that time I used to fight for the rights of the forests and against class oppression; now I fight for the rights of the people again. It is a tough fight, and I am a fighter,” she said.

Seethakka won the hearts of the people during the Covid-19 pandemic when she was recognised for her work in the most remote tribal areas. Pictures of her lugging sacks of food, clothing, and other essential items on her head, walking with her footwear in her hands as she traversed through forest roads, rivers, and hills, went viral. She was even made a star campaigner by the Congress as a reward for her work for the people of the region.

When asked how she felt after realising her dream to be a minister, Seethakka had a hearty laugh and said, “My life has been dedicated to serve people and this is a wonderful opportunity to do more.”