Land, Guns, Caste, Woman: (Hardcover) | Released: 14 Apr 2022

1980s. Ibrahimpatnam, Telangana, South India. The landless dalits are caught between a reddy and a hard place. The wealthy reddys are like movie villains, brandishing whips and guns. Enter Gita Ramaswamy, thirty years old. In her teens, Gita had escaped the brahmanical clutches of her family that tries to cure her of naxalism with shock treatment and sedation. She has endured the horrors of the Emergency. She is disillusioned. But not without hope. Gita starts living with the agricultural labourers. They are in bondage, cheated out of land and all rights. They are in the mood to fight. Together, they take on the tyrannical landlords who have brutalised the villages for generations. A revolution without a gun is in the making. Gita writes with relentless self-reflexivity. This is as much a story of struggles and victories as it is a testimony of personal failings and regrets. Review No other story of an Indian woman has ever been told like this - Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, thinkerI read this book with a mix of awe, admiration and envy. I was mesmerized - Naseeruddin Shah, actorGita has dedicated her whole life to a movement that serves people - N.V. Ramana, chief justice of IndiaWe fought the police, trekked to courts, were even jailed. But we prevailed - Doonimetla Satyamma, peasantAt once personal and intense, a classic for ages to come - Shantha Sinha, activistDangerous to your complacency. Read it before they begin to protest its honesty - Jerry Pinto, writer The story of a restless soul in search of the path towards change - Bezwada Wilson, activistBrutally honest? Gita unpicks her own position as a savarna involved in dalit activism - T.M. Krishna, musicianA remarkable woman in whom courage is coupled with conviction - Srinath Reddy, doctorI was captivated. She writes movingly with passion and candour - Jairam Ramesh, politicianIn the history of Eliminedu, there is Before Gita Ramaswamy and After - Gattu Vijayendar, studentThe dalits are as much at the centre as the memoirist herself - C. Rammanohar Reddy, editorA must read for every idealistic person in the country - Suhasini Mulay, actorA heart-wrenching story of Gita and the lives of the people who mattered to her - Sanjaya Baru, journalistThe Sangam transformed our lives. Once a landless labourer, I even contested local-body elections- Nagati Bacchamma, labourerDeeply self-reflexive? with a lurking humour and enduring hope - Urvashi Butalia, publisher About the Author Gita Ramaswamy is best known for her work with Hyderabad Book Trust that has published over four hundred titles since 1980. HBT pioneered low-cost books and translations from across the world-from Alex Haley to Mahasweta Devi. She was earlier associated with the Marxist-Leninist movement in Telangana. Going underground during the Emergency in 1975 with her husband Cyril Reddy, she taught English in a dalit basti in Ghaziabad, near Delhi. Starting in 1984, she worked for a decade with the dalits of Ibrahimpatnam and helped them in their fight against bonded labour and landlessness. Gita has authored several books and has translated extensively from Telugu into English.