SWAERO: An Expression of Transformation - Oxford Dictionary's Latest Addition

“SWAERO” may not be familiar to most of us, but it has gained immense traction in the state's welfare schools transformed by Bahujan Samaj Party's leader and former IPS officer, RS Praveen Kumar. The word is now among the latest additions to the Oxford English-English-Telugu dictionary. The dictionary breaks down the term as SW+AERO (Social Welfare + Sky is the Limit) and defines it as “literally meaning the sky is the limit for social welfare students, also used as an aspirational identity by students and alumni of social welfare schools to fight stigma against their traditional caste identities.”

From an Ordinary Term to a Revolution in the Making

SWAERO is a portmanteau, where SW stands for Social Welfare and Aero for sky (in Greek), suggesting that the sky is the limit for Social Welfare. The term was coined by RS Praveen Kumar in 2013 when he took over as the secretary of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS). He used the term to motivate students belonging to socially marginalized communities, who were receiving education at boarding schools established by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the predecessor state of Telangana. R.S. Praveen Kumar elevated the school to new heights by providing a creative approach to teaching. In pursuit of the all-round development of the students, he introduced mountaineering, sports, arts, writing, and horse riding—unconventional in government residential schools.

Dr. RS Praveen Kumar later established Swaero Circle Society, a social movement with alumni of welfare institutions, aiming to provide educational and physical development for students from marginalized sections. Subsequently, the term Swaero came to be used by many alumni as a prefix to their names. It is also seen as an attempt to create new identities above caste and regional identities often represented by surnames in Telangana and the rest of India.

An Attempt to Redefine the Identity of Underprivileged Students, Now a Noun

An elated RS Praveen Kumar took to social media to express his joy. He credited the students studying in welfare schools for this achievement. “Never did I imagine that a small attempt to redefine the identity of underprivileged students would find its place in the famous Oxford Dictionary! SWAERO is now a proud identity and a noun in the lexicon. Hopefully, in the future, it will transform into a verb. The entire credit goes to all the students studying in welfare schools across the nation, the alumni, and their teachers-parents who are making the country proud in their own way.”

The Mooknayak spoke to Engineer Mohan Swareo, an alumnus of TSWREIS, a trained engineer who is serving as the district president of Bahujan Samaj Party in Siddipet district. He said, “It is a significant achievement because the Oxford dictionary is prestigious and used as a reference guide. It's a proud moment for everyone. He added that Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar has a visionary approach, and this achievement is in the right direction.

Praveen Thallapelli, a PhD candidate at the Centre for Political Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, contributed as a consultant editor to the dictionary and contributed to the meaning of some words.” In a tweet Praveen wrote, " Glad to have contributed as Consultant Editor to the meaning of some words to the Second Edition of Oxford Compact English - English - Telugu Dictionary. Sincere thanks to Madhura, editor at OUP for giving me the opportunity to think and contribute to the meaning of some words."

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