Niruddha Bharatam: The pioneering Dalit Kavyam

The definition of dalit literature and dalit poetry differ as the idea differs from various critics. "The literature created by the writers of dalit castes is dalit literature;" some critics confine to this definition. Some others define it in a broader sense. "The literature on the dalit castes or dalit issues; might be created by any writer from any caste is dalit literature." The latter definition is more widely accepted than the former one. Some dalit poets and critics belong to the dalit castes confined to the first definition. They do not buy the theory that the literature created by writers from other castes is dalit literature.

The first long-poem or the kayvam in Telugu dalit literature is NiruddhaBharatam by MangipudiVenkatasharma. It was first published in 1915.As per some other sources, it was published much earlier, in 1905. The first single poem on the dalits was identified as Malavandrapata or the song of Malas, which was first published in 1909 in Andhrabharati magazine without authorship. It describes the social cruelty meted out to the dalits of its time. Still, it is a mystery who wrote that song. As such, the NiruddhaBhratam is the first dalitkayam in the history of modern Telugu literature.

The Sanskrit word Niruddha means a person who was stopped, restricted, banished, or ghettoed –a person who is kept away from society for various reasons. It is clear that the social evil, untouchability, was meant by the word 'Niruddha.' 'NiruddhaBhraratam' conveys the meaning of untouchability in Indian society. The Mahatma returned to India in 1915; after that, he travelled across India to understand the living conditions of the people. Before Gandhi's efforts, MangipudiVenkatasharma waged a war against the evil social practice of untouchability.

MangipudiVenkatasharma was born in 1882 in an orthodox Brahman family in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He got his school education in his village and then worked as a teacher in nearby villages. He suffered the pain of poverty. Despite many odds, he started his journey of letters in his early youth. He got training in the traditional Chandas Sastra or the science of poetry within forty days. Generally, one needs at least a few years to learn it. Chandas is a science of classical poetry. It sets frames or poetical patterns that should be followed in creating poems. They are prosodical frames. When asked why he went to a non-Brahman to learn prosody,Mangipudi answered: "I will go even to a person who belongs to an 'untouchable caste'." That was his social commitment and his firm consciousness towards poetry. He started a war against the social evil of untouchability in his early youth and began writing poetry. His activity turned into a social reform movement in 1910-20.He also propagated the Gandhian philosophy of peace and non-violence through his poetry. One among them is Gandhi Shakatam.

His kavya, the 'NiruddhaBharatam,' was first published in 1915. The third edition was released in the convention of 'Adi Hindu Mahasabha'organised by Bhagyareddy Varma, in the presence of KasinathuniNageswara Rao of Andhra Patrika, and the first Dalit minister from the South,VemulaKurmaiah, in 1917 on November 6. (It will be again released in Vijayawada on November 6, 2022).

During 1910-20, the Bhavakavitvam or the romantic age in Telugu poetry was ruling the age. In those days, as an odd man out, Mangipudi took poetry as a weapon to fight against social evils. He questioned Brahmans scholars to show where the fifth varna, panchamulu or the Chandalas are created. Which Veda, Upanishad or the Puranas advocate banishing a group of human beings from society, practising untouchability, he asked. He gave many examples of how great Brahman scholars married women who belonged to the so-called chandala or the untouchable castes. How many kings or the KashtriyaVarna persons married Dalit women. And how great sages-poets are born from the Adivasis and the so-called untouchable castes. He showed evidence for his arguments from the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and other sacred literature.

In the second part of the kavya, he gave vent to the voice of the dalit castes. They asked the upper caste people: "you worship the birds, animals, even trees and hills; why do you throw away some of your brethren in the name of the caste? An eagle is a god; a serpent is a god, a bool, and even a rat, is a god for you. Are we inferior to all of these creatures? Why don't we be allowed into your homes, and why can't we enter your streets? The Goddess Ganges cleans all kinds of sins and evils; she is a goddess for you; how can our touch pollute such a goddess?" Many poems raised such voices of the Dalits.

The NiruddhaBharatam has relevance even today in the 21st century. His questions are still unanswered. Being a Brahman, he questioned the so-called Brahmanical values. He said the jnana or the egalitarian values would be perpetual and asked to go to the roots. It is a pioneering work that inspires the new generations. The NiruddhaBharatam should become AniruddhaBharatam.

(Writer is a former faculty at the University of Hyderabad and Dravidian University)