By Sahasra Sai Murtineni

Abstract

Politics practiced, philosophy preached, religion sermonized, literature published and communication engaged in, took a radical turn towards unorthodox systems as a result of the Enlightenment movement. The Age of Enlightenment is propagated as a eurocentric concept as the theories proposed and histories studied stem majorly from European movements. Nevertheless, if one were to look at the crux of the enlightenment movement; what it was composed of, what it aimed to maneuver, the systems it fought, the people that fought for it and the people that fought against it, the social contracts that were broken so they could be reconstructed, and boil all of it down to its naked components, it would not be difficult to establish that the enlightenment movement is not something that only the Europeans had the privilege of shaping. In fact, every presently established nation-state can be said to have had its own enlightenment movement. 

The Indian Enlightenment: A Struggle for Reason and Equality

The Age of Enlightenment was a mass movement centered around change, catalyzed by the gravitation of society from religion to reason. It aimed to question traditional authority and promote rationality in thinking so as to improve humanity. Based on these patterns, the Indian Enlightenment can be traced back to the 19th century, overlapping with the later stages of colonial rule. Such timelines can be created because history can only be traced up until a point due to the limitation of documentation. Having said that the enlightenment movement is centered around change, it becomes unavoidable to acknowledge that social movements cater to the very structure of the entire period of enlightenment, since a social movement is a collective effort to either promote or resist change. The Indian Movement catered to fighting systems of oppression not only against an external oppressor but also against structures that the Indian Society had set up for itself way before colonization, be it the subordination of sections of society based on gender, birth or name. 

The Power of the Word

For any battle to be won, the soldier must first know how to fight it. And for the soldier to learn how to fight a battle, he must first know that a battle is set to take place. Equivalently, for a people to be mobilized on a mass scale towards a cause, they must first be informed of the cause. Communication, therefore, played a role of unimaginable importance in furthering Indian Enlightenment. 

Mass literacy is a gift of the modern times. The enlightenment period did not consist of a mass that was majorly literate and thus the task of dispersing information became a hurdle in the way of social movements. One of the methods that was used to tackle this problem, during colonial times, was public newspaper readings, where a person who could read, would narrate to a crowd the happenings of the community. There was however, a limitation to this practice as informing is not the same as communicating. Communication is what helps mobilize the crowd and push them towards a cause to fight for. 

The Age of Enlightenment has helped communication take diverse forms so social movements can be vast and inclusive. For example, folklore and performances based on long-followed traditions and cultures, speak to a larger crowd than mere newspaper readings. An instance of this can be observed in the folklore practices of Telangana, namely, the Burrakatha, Harikatha etc. One of the activists who picked up on the power of these methods of storytelling to engage the masses was Bhagya Reddy Varma. 

A Pioneer of Social Justice, Cultural Revival and Dalit Rights

Bhagya Reddy Varma, born as Madari Bhagaiah, was a social activist and the flag bearer of the Adi-Hindu Movement as it took place in Hyderabad. He was born into a poor Mala family (marginalized-caste community) and his early life was influenced by the Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj movements, which fought against the discrimination of oppressed sections and against differences in the general public. Due to this influence, as he came of age he took to questioning and fighting against the social hierarchy which separated Non-Dalits from Dalits. He changed his name from Madari Bhagaiah to Bhagya Reddy Varma, adding suffixes ‘Reddy’ and ‘Varma’ to his name, to challenge the social construction of the caste system as these names were, and continue to be, associated with higher castes. 

Social identity theory highlights the overlap between self-based identities and social identities, thus bringing to light the importance of organizations that fight for the upliftment of people. Bhagya Reddy Varma founded multiple organizations that fought to further the betterment of the Dalit people. ‘Jaganmitra Mandali’ was the first organization that was the face of the Dalit movement in Telangana. Through his time as the leading body of this organization, he realized and actualized the importance of communication in social movements. He advocated for literacy, believed that students must be taught in their mother-tongue, promoted Dalit literature and poetry, and planted seeds of thought amongst the people regarding the questionable equitable nature of Hinduism as a religion. One of the major steps that was taken as part of his efforts to communicate to a larger crowd the problems of the current system was using a form of native folklore called the ‘Harikatha’ and the ‘Burrakatha’. 

The Power of Storytelling: Harikatha

Harikatha is a traditional folklore format that is practiced more often than not in rural Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The culture of Harikatha began as a form of entertainment that people would engage in when the daily tasks of a household revolved around agriculture and the importance of education had not yet been recognized. It was one of the first forms of entertainment much prior to the digital age. It usually involves a single performer (sometimes more), dressed dramatically to catch the audiences’ eye, engaging in elocution narration, sometimes singing in between, to convey messages regarding themes that revolved around religion or mythological stories. As time has passed and society has changed, the power of such formats of folklore have been discovered as they garner huge crowds. With the advent of colonial rule, Harikatha began being used to not only inform the people about the doings of the British but also to propagate messages of organizations that were fighting against the oppressor. By way of the organizations he founded (first the Jaganmitra Mandali and later, the Adi Hindu Social Service League), Bhagya Reddy Varma, used this very form of performance i.e., Harikatha to raise social consciousness and convey political messages. As an advocate for education, he organized regular Harikatha performances  to awaken his fellow peers to the main causes of their backwardness being their ignorance and lack of literacy. He believed that education of the girl child is of utmost importance and so he played the founding role in starting telugu-medium schools in bastis (slum areas), many of which were dedicated to girls. He used regular harikatha performances as a medium to convince people to enroll their children in schools. As a result, children hailing from marginalized backgrounds were given easy access to, what is today every citizen’s fundamental right; education. 

Conclusion

The Indian Enlightenment, as exemplified by the life and work of Bhagya Reddy Varma, demonstrates that the pursuit of knowledge, social justice, and individual liberty is not exclusive to any particular geographic region. Varma’s innovative use of traditional storytelling techniques, such as Harikatha and Burrakatha, highlights the power of cultural expression in mobilizing social movements. By adapting these ancient forms to convey contemporary messages, he bridged the gap between the social elite and the masses, making the Enlightenment accessible to a wider audience. His legacy serves as a reminder that the fight for social justice is not merely an intellectual endeavor but a deeply human one, rooted in shared experiences and aspirations. 

About the Author

Sahasra is a sophomore pursuing her undergraduate studies in Law at O.P. Jindal Global University. Coming from a science background and entering the field of law, she is always looking for intersections with multiple other disciplines to find her area of interest.