Kancha Ilaiah on Telugu Nationalism-

Brahmanical Teluguness is not essentially Telugu in nature. For instance, the Brahman consciousness in the Telugu country thrives basically on the pan-Indian Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavata and Puranic cultures.

The language that the brahmanical Telugu nationalists projected is essentially Sanskrit written in Telugu script. The whole brahmanical freedom movement, headed by Tanguturi Prakasham, Pattabhi Sitaramiah, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao and others, is projected in the literary

and cultural fields in the Telugu translations of the Mahabharatam, the Ramayanam, the Bhagavatam, and so on. It is in this mould that they projected Nannayya, Tikkana, Errapragada (kavitrayam, trinity of poets) as aadi kavulu (early poets) in the Telugu country.

Next to them were Potana, Srinatha and others. Ironically, none of these so-called great brahmanical Telugu poets—particularly Nannaya, Tikkana and Errapragada—was an original creative poet. They all translated the Sanskrit texts of Brahmanism (the Mahabharatam, the Ramayanam and

the Bhagavatam, and so on) in Telugu script but the language they used was basically Sanskrit. Their gurukula education was in Sanskrit, and they were not interested in the development of the Telugu language, which they despised and considered a Sudra language.

These writers, with great reluctance, picked up some Telugu suffixes like ‘du mu, vu lu’ from the Telugu masses, with whom they had no affinity, and added them to Sanskrit words.

Contrasting against these, he also presents writers and poets from the Dalitbahujan productive communities

First is Molla, a woman from the pot making community who secretly learns to read & write! She writes a version of the Ramayana with Sita as an assertive individual.

Next he presents anti-caste Sudra thinker Vemana whose works were saved thanks to a colonial scholar C.P Brown.

Vemana who questioned ‘Do not untouchables have flesh and blood of the same content and colour as that of the upper castes?’ also produced gems like SS below

Then there is Potluri Veerabrahmam (Sudra) who along with Siddiah Muslim) and Kakkaiah (Dalit) established a socio-religious nexus among the Sudras, Muslims & Mala-Madigas.
This argument against Brahma's Brahman-ness (SS) was particularly funny

Muddu Narsimham argued for better education amongst the lower castes and was opposed to Sanskrit-centric writing. Kancha Ilaiah says his Sudratwam and Dalitbahujan mode of sentence construction is embedded in the texts. He focused on equality between sexes as well.

Tripuraneni attacked the Aryan culture and tried to construct a Dravida/Sudra/a identity.

SS explaining the final act of his play Shambuka Vadha

Gurram Jashuva (a Dalit) who portrayed Hinduism as a four hooded cobra.

In 1941 just before the Quit India movement he publishes Gabbilam (The Bat) - he sends a message to Shiva through the "untouchable" Bat, echoing Kalidasas Medhaduta (A lover sends a message via a cloud)

Kanchah Ilaiah writes that he tried to make "all untouchables concious of their historical misfortune and empowering them in terms of their future".
He asked Dalits not to "waste time in self-destructive internal disputes"

He also demanded the post of viceroy for Ambedkar :)