Saidulu Amararapu

Saidulu Amararapu joined the Center for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS) at the University of Gottingen, Germany as a PhD student in 2023. He is a historian pursuing his doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Rupa Viswanath, and is the 2023 recipient of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung/ CeMIS PhD Fellowship. Saidulu completed a B.A. in History, Telugu Literature & Political Science from Nizam College of Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and an M.A. in History from the University of Hyderabad.

At CeMIS, Saidulu will conduct archival and oral historical research on Madigas, a Dalit leatherworking caste based in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Specifically, he will examine the political economic and social transformations that took place in the colonial period when leather work, a caste-based form of labour, was shifted to the factory. He hopes to use his research to understand the present-day conditions of Madigas as well and ultimately to contribute to policy initiatives.