{"id":16418,"date":"2025-03-17T04:56:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T04:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=16418"},"modified":"2025-03-17T04:56:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T04:56:03","slug":"india-a-face-of-hindutva-what-pawan-kalyans-brother-nagababus-rise-says-about-andhra-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=16418","title":{"rendered":"India – A Face of Hindutva: What Pawan Kalyan’s Brother Nagababu’s Rise Says About Andhra Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kapus are an intermediate Shudra agrarian community very similar to the Patels and Marathas. Unlike the other two dominant communities in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy and Kamma, Kapus never had such political dominance.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, when asked why he would vote for Bharatiya Janata Party\u2019s (BJP\u2019s) Bansuri Swaraj (whose mother, late Sushma Swaraj, also BJP, fought tooth and nail against nepotism in the Congress party in 2014 against \u2018shehzada\u2019 Rahul Gandhi), one elderly citizen from Adchini locality which falls under the New Delhi constituency quipped, \u201cYe parivaarwad nahi hai, yeh maa ka pyaar hai<\/em> (This isn\u2019t family politics, this is mother\u2019s love).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andhra deputy chief minister K. Pawan Kalyan has showered similar familial \u201clove\u201d upon his brother. As a ruling ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), JanasSena Party (JSP) celebrated<\/a> its 12th formation day last week with much pomp in the Kapu-dominated Pithapuram constituency in East Godavari, now Kakinada district. The constituency elected party chief and film star Pawan Kalyan for the first time to the state Assembly, while his second elder brother, K. Nagendra Babu (Nagababu), has been elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council unanimously unopposed<\/a> as an MLC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, this appears to be in line with one of the seven ideals<\/a> professed by the party \u2013 \u201cprotection of traditions and culture\u201d \u2013 nepotism, in our case. This also aligns with his other declaration<\/a> in the state Assembly recently that Andhra people are \u201cmad about caste\u201d; already, two of three<\/a> JSP ministers are Kapus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this \u201crelentless fight against corruption\u201d (read: nepotism) \u2013 another of the seven ideals \u2013 is understandable, Nagababu\u2019s history and personality point to the fact that there is more to this than meets the eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is Nagababu?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is difficult to describe Nagababu without referencing him as \u201cmegastar\u201d K. Chiranjeevi or \u201cpowerstar\u201d Pawan Kalyan\u2019s brother. In fact, it has become a running joke<\/a> to do so. He has been mocked as someone who lacks an absolute identity, having only a relative one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagababu himself is an actor who has worked in multiple languages and produced movies in Tollywood. When he incurred losses after producing his nephew K. Ram Charan\u2019s not-so-successful movie Orange<\/em>, Nagababu revealed later that he contemplated dying by suicide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has always been outspoken. Nine years ago, when Pawan Kalyan did not turn up for Chiranjeevi\u2019s 60th birthday celebration, Nagababu lost his temper<\/a> with supposedly rude Pawan Kalyan fans at the event, expressing great anguish by saying, \u201cWe have invited him, but if he doesn\u2019t turn up, what can we do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagababu entered politics in 2009 through the Praja Rajyam Party, founded by Chiranjeevi, and later aligned with Pawan Kalyan\u2019s JSP, where he serves as general secretary. His political activities include contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Narasapuram, where he lost, and stepping aside for BJP\u2019s C.M. Ramesh in 2024 from Anakapalle Lok Sabha seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controversies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagababu also became a household name when he appeared as a judge for many years on a popular prime-time comedy show Jabardasth<\/em>, which is very similar to Kapil Sharma\u2019s Comedy Nights<\/em> \u2013 at least with respect to the type of comedy if not the format \u2013 and has faced criticism<\/a> for promoting misogynistic, casteist, queer-phobic, and body-shaming humour. Nagababu was often seen encouraging such humour and actively promoting these comedians, many of whom later joined<\/a> the JSP and campaigned in the recent elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Pawan Kalyan joined hands with the BJP, a familiar and emboldened Nagababu took it upon himself to carry the BJP\u2019s ideological albatross around his neck. In a remarkable display of epistemic charity, he glorified Godse when he posted on social media<\/a> on May 19, 2020: \u201cNathuram Godse, a true patriot. Whether his killing of Gandhi is correct or not is debatable. Those days, no media presented his side of the story, and the media was in favour of the then ruling government. He did what he did even after knowing that he would be made a villain. We should never doubt his love towards his country. It is our duty to remember him on his birthday and wish that his soul may rest in peace.\u201d A backlash ensued, and he quickly clarified and deleted<\/a> the tweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in 2019, his remark<\/a> about not knowing Balakrishna (an actor and son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Rao or NTR) sparked controversy, as it was seen as disrespectful to the actor-politician by TDP supporters and Nandamuri family fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2024, through a post on X, he took a dig<\/a> at family member Allu Arjun when he campaigned for a YSRCP candidate who happened to be his childhood friend. Though Nagababu deleted the tweet, the whole affair led to a fan war between Kalyan\u2019s fans on one side and Arjun fans and YSRCP supporters on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: \u2018Delimitation\u2019 Unleashes Anxiety Across South India<\/a><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is alleged to have made derogatory comments<\/a> against the Reddy community when he said: \u201cMany are saying they\u2019re afraid of Peddi Reddy and warned me to be careful. But I don\u2019t care about Peddi Reddy or his leader, Jagan Mohan Reddy. I wasn\u2019t afraid of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy either. Who is Peddi Reddy to me? For us, under Pawan Kalyan\u2019s leadership, we don\u2019t fear Peddi Reddy, Subba Reddy, or any \u2018Picchi\u2019 (crazy) Reddy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In line with the NDA\u2019s common currency of jingoism, in 2020, he suggested<\/a> currency notes should include photos of all freedom fighters \u2013 not just Gandhi \u2013 and made comments on historical figures like Chhatrapati Shivaji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, in September, he openly supported  Jani Master<\/a>, a dance choreographer and JSP member, who was facing sexual harassment allegations and arrest \u2013 even after Jani Master was suspended from the party officially. In his post on X, he quoted Sir William Garrow, stating, \u201cNo person can be considered guilty of a crime until he or she has been found guilty of that crime by a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kapus, politics and power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the face of it, Nagababu\u2019s actions seem innocuous and attention-grabbing. If we look at them through the prism of his struggle for identity in the context of reflected glory from his super-successful brothers, we can immediately sense deep-seated frustration. However, this frustration in the socio-political context of Andhra Pradesh takes a very specific form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagababu belongs to the powerful Kapu community. Kapus are an intermediate Shudra agrarian community<\/a> very similar to the Patels and Marathas. Unlike the other two dominant communities in the state, Reddy and Kamma, Kapus never had such political dominance. Moreover, like the Sunnis in Iraq, Kapus consistently overestimate \u2013 despite strong evidence to the contrary \u2013 that they are more than 25% of the people in Andhra Pradesh, claiming to be the single biggest community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that Chiranjeevi is seen as a much-needed Kapu disruptor<\/a> in a film industry virtually dominated by Kammas; the fact that Pawan Kalyan has courted the Kapus to vote as a single monolith multiple times; the fact that he fought for reservations for the Kapus<\/a>; the fact that the BJP has been courting this \u2018restive and captive\u2019 Kapu vote bank<\/a> as part of their social engineering strategy; and the fact that the Kapus are highly Sanskritised and violently so \u2013 is evident from their burning down a train in 2016<\/a> and recently burning down the house of the social justice minister<\/a> for renaming the district (where the Kapus are politically, but not numerically, dominant) after B.R. Ambedkar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the role of social and economic frustrations is well documented in the rise of Hindutva politics, in Nagababu\u2019s case, this frustration is also specifically tied to the challenges to traditional hierarchies and privileges. Moreover, since Kapus feel entitled \u2013 not just privileged \u2013 it leads to a kind of resentment where the community feels wrongfully and unfairly denied what was their destiny or fate anyway. They are willing to do anything, even throw tantrums, often violent ones, unlike the merely privileged who still vacuously speak of \u201cmerit,\u201d to capture their rightful place under the sun. It is this resentment of those who feel their relative status is threatened by the demands of democracy that Nagababu represents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the rise of JSP and BJP in Andhra Pradesh, as seen across India recently, will heavily rely on providing a safe space for those who feel democracy threatens their status, including the relatively disadvantaged. This is because privilege and entitlement exist at various levels, not just among the elite, such as a small farmer resenting a landless labourer or a man resenting women\u2019s rights assertions. Hindutva taps into these localised resentments and channels them into a broader political project. And Nagababu\u2019s election and potential addition to the state cabinet soon<\/a> should be seen as a harbinger for such kind of politics to take center stage in Andhra Pradesh in the coming days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/thewire.in\/politics\/a-face-of-hindutva-what-pawan-kalyans-brother-nagababus-rise-says-about-andhra-politics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kapus are an intermediate Shudra agrarian community very similar to the Patels and Marathas. Unlike the other two dominant communities in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy and Kamma, Kapus never had such political dominance. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, when asked why he would vote for Bharatiya Janata Party\u2019s (BJP\u2019s) Bansuri Swaraj (whose mother, late […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[14551,14552,2680,7796,9293,39,14550,2701,2682,1160,14549,36,1803,10468,7246,60,7247],"class_list":["post-16418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-a-face-of-hindutva","tag-a-face-of-hindutva-what-pawan-kalyans-brother-nagababus-rise-says-about-andhra-politics","tag-extremism","tag-hindu-extremism","tag-hindutva","tag-india","tag-indian-dirty-politics","tag-intolerance","tag-minorities","tag-muslims","tag-nepotism","tag-pakistan","tag-rss","tag-supression-of-minorities","tag-unfair","tag-geopolitics","tag-injustice"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16418"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16420,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16418\/revisions\/16420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}