166 SOCIAL SCIENTIST Dilwar Alikhan, Raj Bahadur Gour, Mukhdum Mohiuddin, Jawad Razvi, Onkar Prasad, Hussain Shahid and Srinivas Laholi Joined it.8 It was, however, only a progressive and secular organisation of the intelligentsia which developed as a reaction to the growing communal (both Muslim and Hindu) organisations. By the end of 1940 it set up its branches in Mallepalli, Durshipa, Malakpeta, Chanchalguda, Shalibanda, Jambag and Secunderabad areas of the twin cities. It published two Telugu pamphlets The Cry of the Labourers of the Country and The Sigh of Poor in 1941.9 It moved definitely towards communism in 1940 when it formed a party unit under Mukhdoom Mohiuddin as Secretary and Raj Bahadur Gour as Assistant Secretary. Some of its members became prominent members of the Communist Party after the formation of its city unit under Shahabuddin.10 Nalgonda district was the third to form a branch of the party. Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao, who originally belonged to this district, came into contact with Dharma Biksham, D.V. Subba Rao and Bhimi Reddy Narasimha Reddy of this district. They along with Narayana Reddy of fhe Andhra Maha Sabha (AMS) attended, the political classes conducted by Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao in Nalgonda town in 1941. They were already sympathisers of the Party.11 In the Suryapet area an active peasant movement was built up by D.V. Subba Rao, C. Thirumala Rao and C Yadagiri Rao. By the later part of 1942 a District Committee was formed with Dharma Biksham, Bhimi Reddy Narasimha Reddy and D. Raghavendra Rao as members and D.V. Subba Rao as Convenor.12 Another group of this district led by Ravi Narayana Reddy (others were Baddam Yella Reddy and Arutla Ramachandra Reddy) who worked for the AMS turned to 'Nehru's Socialism' and later to 'Communism* after getting disillusioned with the nationalist leadership.13 Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao was a prominent person of the Communist party of Telangana. He was instrumental in building it up in Warangal and Nalgonda districts. What Narayana Reddy was to the left AMS, Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao was to the Communist Party. He was considered to be a well-known Communist by the police.14 He worked at the grassroots level, highlighting the people's issues and brought them under the party. He was prominent among those who addressed meetings in Jangoan taluq in the month of December (1944) along with Ravi Narayana Reddy, Arutla Ramachandra Reddy and Alwar Swamy.15 When the police were occupied with the activities of the AMS, he was quietly building up the Communist Party by recruiting active AMS workers. When he came to the notice of the police he went underground. There were two streams of communist intelligentsia: the rural-based came from the landowning class and the urban-based came from the educated families. During the course of the struggle the former