Kolamuri Vijaya Kumar

I belong to the subcaste Adi Andhra, part of a Scheduled Caste which is untouchable in India. I was educated on the basis of Government reservations of 14% of school seats for students of untouchable castes, as guaranteed in the Indian constitution. I had my education in my regional language, Telugu. My wife Shyamala is of the same caste and was educated through an American sponsorship program. She completed Teacher Training and has an English Education, which is very unusual for someone of our caste.

Since my early childhood I have wanted to learn English, since knowledge of English is essential for pursuing higher education and for communicating with the wider world. Such education is almost impossible for untouchable children to obtain. I collected old newspapers and learned 10-20 words daily. In this way I slowly learned English.