Bandaya movement is a progressive [rebel] literary movement in Kannada started by D. R. Nagaraj and Shudra Shrinivas in 1974. It promoted socially-committed literature and sought to make poetry a weapon against social and economic injustice. "Let poetry be a sword! The dear friend who responds to the pain of people!" ["Khadvaagali kavya! Janara novige midiva pranamitra!"], was the slogan for the movement coined by D.R. Nagaraj.