Dr.
Nagaraju Gundimeda, M.A., Ph.D
Lecturer (Sr. Grade),
Department
of Sociology,
School
of Social Sciences,
University
of Hyderabad
Hyderabad—500046
Ph:
040-23133263, Cell: 09949314204
FROM CARRION TO CLARION
Protest
is an inherent feature of human society. The progress of any society
tends to be determined by the degree of social protest. India is not an
exception to this phenomenon. Indian society witnessed a wide range of
protest movements differentiated by ideologies, methods and objectives in
different historical conjunctures. Literature is one of the dominant
agencies to reflect the social reality and question the forms of discrimination
and levels of deprivation in diverse spheres of society.
The
roots of literary protest movements in Andhra Pradesh could be traced back to
Anti-caste movements primarily led by the Shudra castes in South India in
general and the peasant castes in
particular in colonial Andhra. The anti-caste movement paved the way for the
rise of Dalit literature and cultural assertion. Although the ideological
foundation of the Dalit movement is laid for social liberty, educational
employment equality and provision for political participation, the ideological
foundation itself is brought under critical scrutiny and it is subjected to a
lot of criticism from multiple quarters in the wake of sub-caste protest
movement within the Dalit community in Andhra Pradesh.
Dalita Sahityam: Madiga Drukpatham aptly captures community concerns and traces out the rich cultural
heritage of the Madigas in carving a significant place in Telugu society.
Dr. Darla VenkateswaraRao, one of the youngest poets, a dynamic scholar and
rational literary critique, covered a wide range of issues and mapped out the
contributions of literary personalities in developing Dalit literature and
Dalit epistemology. Although the book provides the historical context of Dalit
literary movements, the objective of the author is to contextualize the rise of
Dandora movement and develop an alternative cultural perspective based on the
social experiences of the marginalized groups such as Madigas. The author
forcefully argues that the sense of deprivation in the state sponsored
educational and employment institutions in addition to the political
marginalization led to the formation of the Madiga Dandora movement whose
primary demand is for
sub-classification of reservation in proportion to caste population. It also
demands adequate recognition to the Madiga culture and literature. The kind of perspective developed by Darla is
thought provoking and his presentation of the Madiga perspective is democratic
in spirit and secular in ideology.
I
take this opportunity to congratulate ‘Darlanna’ for choosing a serious issue
of contemporary relevance and delineating the ideological experiences as an
insider. This work, I hope, would definitely enrich the treasury of academic
knowledge and accomplishes the aspirations of subaltern epistemology in general
and the aspirations of Madigas in particular.
- Nagaraju Gundimeda
Hyderabad,
25-12-2008.
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