Sunkam Achalu (3 March 1924 – 9 August 1983) was an Indian politician. He represented

Nalgonda Nalgonda is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the Nalgonda district, as well as the headquarters of the Nalgonda mandal in the Nalgonda revenue division. It is located about from the state ca ...

in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

(lower house of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

) 1952–1957.

Youth

Son of Kasayya, Sunkam Achalu was born in

on 3 March 1924.Lok Sabha.
Members Bioprofile: ACHALU, SHRI SUNKAM
' He didn't get a formal education, and worked as a farmer. At home he managed to learn how to read and write in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

, and obtained basic English skills. In 1946 he married Ligamma. He lived in Battuguda in Nalgonda town.

Social work and political struggles

Sunkam Achalu led a long struggle for the upliftment of

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

. He became a worker of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

at a young age. He left the Congress Party and became a leader of the Scheduled Castes Federation. Between 1948 and 1950 he served as the President of the

Nalgonda District Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri and Nagarkurnool districts ...

branch of the

Scheduled Castes Federation The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) is a political party in India. It has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The 'Training School for Entrance to Polit ...

. He was also a member of the Working Committee of the Hyderabad Scheduled Castes Federation.

1952 election

However, ahead of the

1952 Indian general election Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe cond ...

he was denied a SCF ticket to run for the Lok Sabha. Instead he ran as a candidate for People's Democratic Front for the Scheduled Castes-reserved seat of Nalgonda constituency. He was the running mate of

Ravi Narayana Reddy Raavi Narayana Reddy (5 June 1908 – 7 September 1991) was an Indian politician, a founding member of the Communist Party of India, and a peasant leader. He was a leader in the Telangana Rebellion against the rule of Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah V ...

. Sunkam Achalu won the seat, with the highest margin recorded throughout the country. He obtained 282,117 votes.Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1951 TO THE FIRST LOK SABHA - VOLUME I (NATIONAL AND STATE ABSTRACTS & DETAILED RESULTS)
' His SCF opponent forfeited his deposit. Aged 27, Sunkam Achalu was one of the youngest Members of Parliament at the time. Whilst not a party member, Sunkam Achalu sat in the

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

parliamentary group in the Lok Sabha. He sought to influence the party to prioritize upliftment of Scheduled Castes.

Death

Sunkam Achalu died in Nalgonda on 9 August 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achalu, Sunkam 1924 births 1983 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 Lok Sabha members from Hyderabad State Communist Party of India politicians from Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Federation politician