Dalits - Progressive Literature

DALITS’ PROGRESSIVE LITERATURE

D. M. Ravi Prasad

The Telugu literature has a history of thousands of years. In the 19th century Kandukuri Veereshalingam Pantulu the great social reformer used the modern literary forms. Gurajada’s long play ‘Kanya Sulkam’ (Bride Money) may be considered to be a master piece. Kandukuri and Gurazada were trend setters and path-breakers in social reforms and literary innovation.

From the beginning of the 20th century the Telugu literary activity developed into various levels, like modern-poetry, progressive poetry, revolutionary poetry etc. Inspite of the emergence of modern forms of literary expression the people’s original form or folk types of literature ruled in the Telugu language. The 1930’s witnessed entirely a new trend at the initiative of revolutionary writers. These writers brought poetry within reach of the common man under the slogan ‘poetry is not for poetry but for the people’ under the leadership of Sri Sri whose full name was Sri Rangam Srinivasa Rao. This new form influenced the young minds in Andhra Pradesh. People from the four corners started reading and writing.

The emergence of Digambara Kavulu (the naked poets) during the mid 60’s was an event of great significance. These poets rejected everything that was old and conventional in poetry and developed a different literature which is very near to the common man. They used simple language and familiar words without show and bombast. The language is simple, open and close to everyday use. It is totally new when compared to the old forms of orthodox poets. In a way it is a shock treatment to literature. The efforts of the young poets brought sensational developments which had an impact on the younger generation for a decade.

Roughly during 1960-’70 this type of pretty had become very near to the people and greatly influenced the young minds. The trend was developed by Kundurthi Anjaneyulu. Some wrote free verse. Besides, there was mini kavitha movement. From 1960’s when free verse came into existence it became a powerful medium for creative writers to express their feelings without language restrictions. The humanist attitude, aspirations and expectations and personal feelings came to be expressed in their writings. This free verse influenced the writing abilities and readers’ taste in the society at large. Young poets while retaining the progressive mould broke loose from the ideological rhetoric and explored broader areas concerning human values, personal experience and social inequalities.

PROGRESS IN DALIT LITERATURE

The word Dalit means ‘suppressed’ or ‘oppressed’ according to the Shabda Rathnakaram (Telugu Dictionary). In olden days many people came under this category. People, like Valmiki the author of the Ramayana, Shabari a tribal woman, Vyasa who wrote the Mahabharatha and Arundhathi are well known.

In 4000 B.C. people who lived in India were more integrated, but after the migration of the Aryans from the South-Asian countries to India, people became divided on the basis of varna. This varna (colour) was created to maintain the Aryans’ separate identity and to make the other race as their slaves. The slaves were called sudras. Some of these sudras are known as Dalits in India. Man created the four varnas, i.e., Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vyshya, and Sudra. The lower sudra class was treated as inferior. This varna system was also mentioned in the Bhagavadgeetha suggesting that the people would be divided into varnas on the basis of their behaviour. According to this, the varna changes according to the deeds of the individuals. It means, varna is not permanent. It will change according to the changes in the individuals. But at a later stage Brahmins made this system permanent. Subsequently, another varna called ‘Panchama’ was created. The men who commented on the vedas like Siyana Charulu belonged to the panchama varna.

The relationship between the Dalit literature and the society is more important, because people who suffered hardships and handicaps for centuries in the past are associated with literature to enhance their position in the society. Generally the writers always keep their eyes on reform or try to change the people through their writings. In our puranas Dharma Vyadha was by profession a butcher, but he was the true follower of Dharma and by his rightful actions he attained enlightenment. It shows that untouchability was not a problem and it was not there in olden days. Even a Brahmin called Kausik was made to learn dharma sastra from Dharma Vyadha who was an enlightened one though a meat-seller by profession.

In Markandeya Purana a Chandala purchased Harischandra and kept him in the burial ground at the time of dahana samskara (cremation) of the bodies. He collected a fee from the people and it was distributed equally between the owner and the watchman. The owner of the Burial ground was a Dalit. For his right actions his name is still alive in the history. Such actions and activities we find in several ways. In dalit writers we find music, culture, tolerance and truthfulness. According to Palakurti Somanadha when there is a god in every being who insults such being is an untouchable. Sri Potuluri Veera Brahmam strongly denounced casteism; and wrote many poems on the eradication of the caste and his disciple Siddayya too says that caste is not important.

The people who did not experience God realisation developed the caste feelings and such people became rich and exploited the weaker sections for their convenience. But with the influence of the Britishers they got encouragement for education and other forms of development. Gurazada writes in his poems that there are only two castes - good people and bad people. Chilakamarthi Laxminarasimham wrote in his novel that Haylavathi a dalit saved the life of a man Humayun. Venkata Parvatheesa Kavulu wrote in a novel Matrumandiram against untouchability because they felt that everybody is equal in the eyes of God.

During 1920-22 Unnava Laxminarayana wrote a novel ‘Malapalli’, in which the sister of Ramadasu Subbalaxmi walks with an untouchable and for this he had beaten her up to death. When his son Choudariya participated in untouchables’ meetings he killed him too. He shows in the novel cruelty of the casteism. There are many novels written by E. Ranganayakulu and Muppalla Ranganayakamma like Balipitham which dealt with the emancipation of the Dalits. We will see many of such works, written for the reform of the caste system. There are many novels like ‘Hariyana leader’, ‘untouchable couples’, ‘Misses Kokila’, ‘Chivari Majili’. ‘Incapable Goddess’, and ‘kotigadu’, which have shown how to eradicate the evil of untouchability.

For centuries India is known as the land of poets, writers and creative thinkers. The original people of this land were Dravidians. Dravidians lived for a long time in India’s geography as poets, writers and creative thinkers. They have created their own languages. Presumably they are Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada of South India. Through their languages Dravidians produced wonderful poetry and other creative forms of literature. The languages developed by them made them create wonderful works of literature, art and culture. In course of time the two cultures of the Aryans and Dravidians have integrated.

The ward classes and the agricultural labour are dependent on their own work and skills. Many of these people do not possess landed property and assets except their skills. As they practised their skills and participated in their work, they used to produce many things like folk songs, poetry, jokes etc., for their own happiness and the entertainment of the family and the community. Such creations now-a-days formed the basis for the development of a distinctive type of literature which may be called Dalit literature.

Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of Dalit literature - (1) literature produced by Dalits and (2) literature about Dalits.