The Adi Hindu movement:
As this emerging, partly-educated Dalit middle class began to enter social life,
the radicalization among Dalits throughout south India brought with it identification
with the ‘adi’ ideology.
It was Bhagyareddy Varma himself who presided over the
momentous conference at Vijayawada in 1913 when the ‘Panchama’ identity was
rejected and over a number of conferences after that. Nevertheless, in Hyderabad they
took up an ‘Adi-Hindu’ theme: four Adi-Hindu conferences were organized between
1912 and 1924, and gradually the main organizers began to use this terminology.
In 1924 Arigay Ramaswamy formed the Adi-Hindu Jatiyonnati Sabha; not to be
outdone; Bhagyareddy transformed his Manya Sangam into the Adi-Hindu Social
Service League. This became the main organization of the Dalits of Hyderabad, a feat
attributed to his energetic organizing and ability to gain support from liberal Hindu
sympathizers. Along with the traditional aims of internal reform (‘removing social
evils, establishing schools, societies, reading rooms, bhajan mandalis’), the aims of
the organization included ‘removing ignoble appellations and spreading the identity
of ‘AdiWhat exactly did the ‘Adi-Hindu’ identity connote? This term was spreading
among sections of north Indian Chamars at this time claiming them, to be exploited
and conquered original inhabitants and Bhagyareddy himself travelled to north India
for some of the conferences, notably two in 1927 and 1930, which described the
‘depressed classes’ or ‘adi-Hindus’ as ‘descendents of the original inhabitants of this
country who were rulers and owners of this land of their birth before the advent of the
Aryans to the country-Hindu’’.
Arya Samaj : Arya Samaj, founded in 1875 at Bombay by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswathi,
has been hailed as one of the most potential and dynamic socio-religious movements
of the day. It had a great impact on the life and thinking of the people particularly of
the Hindus in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Arya Samaj in Hyderabad state was founded in 1880 in Dharur Taluk of Beed district which acted as head office to guide its activities. In 1892, the Arya Samaj of Hyderabad was started in Residency area, later renamed as Sultan Bazar. The first president here was Pandit Kamata
Prasadji Misra.
But its impact was felt from the time Pandit Keshava Rao Koratkar, a great
patriot and lawyer was elected the President of Arya Samaj in Hyderabad and he
continued to remain at its helm 1932. He infused great vigour into the activities of
Arya Samaj. He established many branches of Arya Samaj throughout the state and
helped the spread of education through libraries and schools. They even rendered
financial help to movements outside Hyderabad
As this emerging, partly-educated Dalit middle class began to enter social life,
the radicalization among Dalits throughout south India brought with it identification
with the ‘adi’ ideology.
It was Bhagyareddy Varma himself who presided over the
momentous conference at Vijayawada in 1913 when the ‘Panchama’ identity was
rejected and over a number of conferences after that. Nevertheless, in Hyderabad they
took up an ‘Adi-Hindu’ theme: four Adi-Hindu conferences were organized between
1912 and 1924, and gradually the main organizers began to use this terminology.
In 1924 Arigay Ramaswamy formed the Adi-Hindu Jatiyonnati Sabha; not to be
outdone; Bhagyareddy transformed his Manya Sangam into the Adi-Hindu Social
Service League. This became the main organization of the Dalits of Hyderabad, a feat
attributed to his energetic organizing and ability to gain support from liberal Hindu
sympathizers. Along with the traditional aims of internal reform (‘removing social
evils, establishing schools, societies, reading rooms, bhajan mandalis’), the aims of
the organization included ‘removing ignoble appellations and spreading the identity
of ‘AdiWhat exactly did the ‘Adi-Hindu’ identity connote? This term was spreading
among sections of north Indian Chamars at this time claiming them, to be exploited
and conquered original inhabitants and Bhagyareddy himself travelled to north India
for some of the conferences, notably two in 1927 and 1930, which described the
‘depressed classes’ or ‘adi-Hindus’ as ‘descendents of the original inhabitants of this
country who were rulers and owners of this land of their birth before the advent of the
Aryans to the country-Hindu’’.
Arya Samaj : Arya Samaj, founded in 1875 at Bombay by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswathi,
has been hailed as one of the most potential and dynamic socio-religious movements
of the day. It had a great impact on the life and thinking of the people particularly of
the Hindus in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Arya Samaj in Hyderabad state was founded in 1880 in Dharur Taluk of Beed district which acted as head office to guide its activities. In 1892, the Arya Samaj of Hyderabad was started in Residency area, later renamed as Sultan Bazar. The first president here was Pandit Kamata
Prasadji Misra.
But its impact was felt from the time Pandit Keshava Rao Koratkar, a great
patriot and lawyer was elected the President of Arya Samaj in Hyderabad and he
continued to remain at its helm 1932. He infused great vigour into the activities of
Arya Samaj. He established many branches of Arya Samaj throughout the state and
helped the spread of education through libraries and schools. They even rendered
financial help to movements outside Hyderabad
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