Q) Trace the origin and growth of Adi-Andhra movement in Modern Andhra Desha and examine the role of Gurram Joshua and Boyi bheemanna in the growth of Dalit consciousness?   - 2011, G-I

 

Ans:-

 

Adi-Andhra Movement in Andhra desha is developed along with the Self-respect movement of intermediate castes. Justice party played major influence in the development of Adi-Andhra Movement. In 1891, First Maha sabha of untouchables/ Periya sabha was held.  Later, in 1917, Provincial Panchama Conference was held at Vijayawada in 1917 under the leadership of Guduri Ramachandra Rao. 

 

From this point onwards, Dalits started to increase their political consciousness. Later in 1919, Adi-Andhra Conference was held by Bhagya Reddy Verma, a Dalit leader in Machilipatnam. It is the conference, where dalit community passed resolution against calling Dalit people with Derogative Names and against the Jogini and Devadasi System, which have been reducing the stature of a Dalit woman. 

 

From now on, Dalit movement evolved into two phases. One from 1921-1932, where Dalit people led themselves and from 1932 onwards, Gandhiji spearheaded the Dalit upliftment until his death. 

 

1921-1932:-

 

i. First District level Dalit Conference, 1921 – It was held in Amalapuram under the leadership of Undru Tathayya. 

 

ii. First Cooperative societies, were started in 1922 under leadership of Galla chandaryya.

 

iii. First School for the development of Dalit community was started at Ponnu Manda by Undru Tathayya in 1922. When upper caste teachers refused to educate the Dalits, he brought teachers from Burma and ran the school for the upliftment of Dalit Community. 

 

iv. First Training School, Lakshmi Industrial Training School was established at Rama Chandrapuram by Jwala Ranga Swamy. He established this institution to train Dalit Women to empower themselves. For his social services, he is called Seva Durandhra and Adi Andhra Mahatma. 

 

From 1932:-

 

i. In 1932, when M.K.Gandhi started Harijan Upliftment programme, Harijan Sevak Sanghas are started in Vijayawada. 

 

ii. In 1933, when he visited Vijayawada, donations were collected for the welfare of Dalits. Those donations were called as HARIJAN BIKSHA. 

 

iii. On December 17^th, 1935, Gandhiji himself spearheaded the temple entry movement of Dalits in Siddhantam Village in Krishna District. 

 

 

Dalit leaders quickly understood the importance of literature and journalism, they started different journals of their own. For example, Jwala Ranga Swamy started Jai Bheem & Veera Bharati, Didlu Pullaya started Adi Andhra Journal, Undru Tathayya started Nava Jeevan Journal. 

 

Dalit Literature:-

 

Dalit Literature was first started by Kusuma Darmanna kavi and Kusuma Venkata Ramayya. Kusuma Dharmanna Kavi produced seminal works such as “Ma koddhu ee nalla dora thanam”, “Harijana Satakam” and others, which revolutionized the Dalit Consciousness and later paved a way for the development dalit literature under Gurram Joshua and Boyi Bheemanna kavi. 

 

Gurram Jashua:-

 

Gurram Jashuva (or G Joshua) (28 September 1895 – 24 July 1971) was a Telugu poet. His Original name was Anil Kumar. 

 

Jashuva was born to Virayya and Lingamma in Vinukonda, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. His father belonged to the Yadava caste and his mother belonged to the Madiga caste. Due to poverty and the intercaste marriage of his parents, his childhood was difficult in a society in which some castes were considered untouchable. His parents raised him as a Christian, He graduated with Ubhaya Bhasha Praveena (as a scholar of Telugu and Sanskrit languages).

 

Jashuva initially worked as primary school teacher. He then worked as Telugu producer in All India Radio, Madras between 1946-1960.

 

Protests against untouchability and segregation have been common themes in all his works. His main works include Gabbilam (A Bat), Firadausi (A Rebel) and Kandiseekudu (A Refugee). Some of Jashua's verses had been incorporated into the popular mythological play, Harischandra, especially those in the cremation grounds scene.

 

Gabbilam (1941) is Jashuva's best known work, fashioned after Kalidasa's Megha Sandesam. It is not a yaksha using the cloud as a messenger to convey his longing to his loved one. Instead it is a hunger and poverty stricken individual requesting a bat visiting him from a nearby Siva temple, to convey his prayers to God. He muses at the irony of his situation, where a bat is allowed inside a temple but not a human being! He cautions the bat to convey his message to Siva as it hangs from the roof close to his ear, at a time when the priest is not around. Jashuva used his other favorite emotion, "patriotism" as he describes the various historic places the bird will fly over en route to Lord Siva in Kasi. He even takes the bird on detours to visit some historic place of pride for Indians. 

 

Jashua’s writings, especially Gabbilam, often called the Dalit Bible, captured and recorded the psychosomatic agony of living under the gaze of caste. With an untouchable whose rebellious spirit questioned the legitimacy of Hindu Brahmanical ideology cast as its hero, Gabbilam’s revolutionary intervention subverted the content and form of the classical Telugu literary sphere. It was a socially and politically relevant text.  Because in it, Jashua also engaged with anti-colonial nationalism and other issues of his time. Jashua remains peerless in his ability to express the dark realities of caste harnessed into a literary rhythm, as he continues to be read and admired even by non-Dalits.

 

 

Firadausi (1932) is his another major work. The story is about the Persian poet Firdausi, in the court of the King Mahmud of Ghazni. According to story, the king promises the poet, a gold mohur for every word in a work he commissions the poet to write. After the poet spends ten years of his life, toiling day and night to create a master piece, the king, coming under the influence of jealous courtiers, reneges on his promise and offers only silver coins. The poet heartbroken at this breach of trust commits suicide. Jashuva's depiction of the anguish of the poet is superb and moves the readers to tears.

 

 

Gurram Jashua was strong Gandhi follower and believed in Non-Violent Dalit movement. 

 

 

 

 

Boyi Bhemanna:-

 

i. He was the scholar, who believed that “PEN is MIGHTIER than SWORD”.

 

ii. He said “Nagna Satyam Vedantam, Alankrita Satyam Kavitvam” (Truth naked is philosophy; if clothed, poetry.) His literature reflected the Truth, in various forms.

 

iii. His theory was Rasa Advaita – Beauty, Love and cosmic union flowing in sublime manner all through

 

iv. His national-award winning work “Gudiselu Kaalipotunnai” (Huts are on Fire) raised a myriad of social issues in which he also expounded his theory on the Tiger-Jackal-Sheep psyche of the humans.

 

v. He believed that MOKSHA/SALVATION is birthright of every being. 

 

vi. “Paaleru”, a social drama penned by him about 70 years back brought about a social revolution among Harijans. It was staged widely and inspired by the message that every Harijan boy and girl should be educated and empowered, thousands of Paalerus i.e. farm boys working under bonded labour system left their homes to be educated and had become IAS officers, Academicians etc. This Drama still is relevant today.

Example, Bojja Tharakam IAS.

 

vii. His work Paleru ignited minds of the Dalit youth and made them to threw yoke of exploitation and made them independent individuals to fight for their rights. 

viii. His Frankness, speaking out his mind without any hesitation, not getting bounded by any isms or schools of thought, his original and revolutionary thinking were the reasons for his earning name in the literary world as a “rebel”.

 

ix. Apart from his great literary contribution, he was a freedom fighter, actively participated in Quit India Movement and did lot of ground work during freedom struggle. He was a close associate of the great leaders of the State who lead the state during freedom struggle and shaped the state policies.

 

x. When Dr. Ambedkar had visited Kakinada, Bhimanna was asked to read out his poetry. Dr. Ambedkar was so impressed by rendition of his poetry in English, he published Bhimanna’s poems as an editorial in his “National Herald” published from Calcutta in those days.