The word ‘Swaero’, a widely recognised term in Telangana associated with the social transformation movement in the state’s welfare schools led by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader RS Praveen Kumar, is now officially recognised as an English language noun in the Oxford English-English-Telugu dictionary. The dictionary breaks down the term as SW+AERO (Social Welfare + Sky is the limit) and defines it as – “literally means the sky is the limit to the social welfare students, also used as a type of aspirational identity by students and alumni of social welfare schools as an additional name to their given names to fight stigma against their traditional caste identities.”
Praveen Kumar, the president of BSP in Telangana, is a former IPS officer who worked as Secretary of the state-run Social and Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Societies, before voluntary retirement in July 2021. During his tenure, the welfare schools which provide free education and boarding to students from the marginalised communities saw immense transformation. Praveen Kumar introduced creative forms of pedagogy and innovative programmes including mountaineering, sports, arts, writing and other opportunities for students’ all-round education and development. The schools have witnessed many alumni success stories, with many students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes going on to study in premier colleges and higher education institutions.
Praveen Kumar established Swaeroes, a social transformation movement, with the alumni of the welfare institutions. Many alumni add the term ‘Swaero’ to their names, instead of the last names often used to denote one’s caste location. Praveen Thallapelli, PhD candidate at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and former President of the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA), contributed to the dictionary as a Consultant Editor.
Never imagined that a tiny attempt of redefining the identity of underprivileged students would find its place in the famous Oxford Dictionary! SWAERO is now a proud identity and a noun in the lexicon. Hope in future it will transform into a verb. Entire credit goes to all the… pic.twitter.com/W46kFIRtpS
— Dr.RS Praveen Kumar (@RSPraveenSwaero) August 17, 2023
Speaking to TNM, Praveen noted that there has been a trend of marginalised people asserting their identity by adding such terms to their names, starting from the 1990s when people of the SC Madiga community began to use the term with the intent of destigmatising it, influenced by the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) movement. The term Swaero was coined by RS Praveen Kumar after he was appointed the Secretary of the welfare school Societies in 2013, and has since come to be widely used among students, alumni and others on social media and the news media as well.
“The Oxford University Press provided a list of around 25 Telugu words commonly used in the anti-caste movement and Bahujan politics — words like Dalit, kula himsa (caste violence), Dalita spruha (Dalit consciousness), velivada (a Dalit ghetto), velivetha (ostracism), vetti chakiri (bonded labour), and Swaero — which I classified as a noun or verb etc., and provided the English term and English and Telugu definition,” Praveen Thallapelli said.
Excited to be acknowledged along with @RSPraveenSwaero, the state President of Bahujan Samaj Party, Telangana, who is tirelessly working for Bahujan Political consciousness in Telangana. https://t.co/1schrjH29u
— Praveen Thallapelli (@Praveen_Tulasi) August 5, 2023
“There are many such words which were earlier limited to the anti-caste movement and uttered only among marginalised communities, who would hesitate to use them in public platforms. But now, with growing assertion and aspiration, as Dalits enter modern spaces, these words are entering mainstream spaces. Political leaders from mainstream parties and even mainstream media are using these terms as part of their vocabulary,” he said. These words are also being normalised among privileged castes and entering their lexicon as well, he said, noting that including them in the Oxford dictionary is a significant step in mainstreaming them.
RS Praveen Kumar is credited with providing guidance in compiling the dictionary, along with chairman of Hyderabad-based Centre for Dalit Studies Mallepally Laxmaiah, and International Ford Fellow N Siddoji Rao.
Reacting to the inclusion of the word Swaero, RS Praveen Kumar wrote, “Never imagined that a tiny attempt of redefining the identity of underprivileged students would find its place in the famous Oxford Dictionary! SWAERO is now a proud identity and a noun in the lexicon. Hope in the future it will transform into a verb. Entire credit goes to all the students studying in welfare schools across the nation, the alumni, and their teachers-parents who are making the country proud in their own way.”