Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, Associate Professor and Discipline Coordinator, Politics, SIAS was invited by Telangana University, Nizamabad, Telangana, to deliver a talk at a webinar held on 13 April 2025, marking the 134th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar. The webinar was titled “Relevance of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Thoughts in the 21st Century.” In his address, Dr Gundimeda focused on three key aspects of reservations concerning the Dalit community: education, employment, and political representation. He argued that while reservations—particularly in education and employment—have contributed to the emergence of a small Dalit middle class, political reservations have largely failed to empower marginalised communities. Instead, he contended, they have led to the creation of what Kanshi Ram called “political slaves” or chamchas of the upper-caste leadership.
According to Dr Gundimeda, the voice of Dalits in caste- and religion-based political formations can only be meaningfully heard when Dalits have their own independent political entities. He also explored Ambedkar’s ideas on the annihilation of caste and religious conversion as means of social emancipation. Dr Gundimeda concluded by asserting that transforming India’s vertical social hierarchy into a horizontal one is possible only when the marginalised gain real political power.