TN Sadalakshmi (1928-2004) was born a Madiga and was the first dalit woman legislator in Andhra Pradesh.  One of the tallest leaders of the separate Telangana movement, she was a member of the Congress party and Endowment Minister, Deputy Speaker and, Social Welfare Minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Her decisions laid the foundation for new paths of struggle in the name of the Madiga Dandora. \n \nGogu Shyamala is a noted author and researcher. Her areas of focus are women movements, dalit movements, identity movements, gender issues.