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==Biography==
==Biography==
===Birth and childhood===
===Birth and childhood===
Alluri Sitarama Raju was born into a [[Telugu language|Telugu]] speaking family, in the current state of Andhra Pradesh, India. His father, Venkata Rama Raju, was a professional photographer, who settled in the town of Rajamundry for his vocation, and his mother, Surya Narayanamma was a pious homemaker.{{sfn|Rao|1991|pp=13}}
Alluri Sitarama Raju was born into a [[Telugu language|Telugu]] speaking Kshatriya family, in the current state of Andhra Pradesh, India. His father, Venkata Rama Raju, was a professional photographer, who settled in the town of Rajamundry for his vocation, and his mother, Surya Narayanamma was a pious homemaker.{{sfn|Rao|1991|pp=13}}
<ref name="guha" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Seshadri|first=K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Alluri+sita+rama+raju|title=Struggle for National Liberation: Role of the Telugu People from Early Days to 1947|date=1993|publisher=Uppal Publishing House|isbn=978-81-85565-34-7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=I. Mallikarjuna |last=Sharma|title=Role of Revolutionaries in the Freedom Struggle: A Critical History of the Indian Revolutionary Movements, 1918–1934|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVwiAAAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Marxist Study Forum|page=140}}</ref>
<ref name="guha" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Seshadri|first=K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Alluri+sita+rama+raju|title=Struggle for National Liberation: Role of the Telugu People from Early Days to 1947|date=1993|publisher=Uppal Publishing House|isbn=978-81-85565-34-7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=I. Mallikarjuna |last=Sharma|title=Role of Revolutionaries in the Freedom Struggle: A Critical History of the Indian Revolutionary Movements, 1918–1934|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVwiAAAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Marxist Study Forum|page=140}}</ref>


Revision as of 11:09, 27 February 2022

In this Telugu name, the surname is Alluri.

Alluri Sitarama Raju
Alluri's statue at the Tank Bund Road
Born4 July 1897 or 1898
Pandrangi, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died7 May 1924 (aged 25–26)
Koyyuru, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
Cause of deathSummarily executed by the British
Resting placeKrishnadevipeta, Andhra Pradesh, India
Known forRampa Rebellion of 1922
TitleManyam Veerudu

Alluri Sitarama Raju (4 July 1897 or 1898 – 7 May 1924)[1] was an Indian revolutionary involved in the Indian independence movement. When the British Raj passed the 1882 Madras Forest Act, effectively thereby restricting the free movement of tribal people in the forest areas, preventing them from engaging in their traditional podu agricultural system, and forcing them to face potential starvation, Alluri led the Rampa Rebellion of 1922. With troops consisting of tribal people, farmers and other sympathisers, he fought against the British armed forces in the border areas of the present-day districts of East Godavari and Visakhapatnam, in then Madras Presidency, currently in Andhra Pradesh. He was referred to, by the local villagers, as "Manyam Veerudu" (transl. Hero of the Jungle).[2]

Harnessing the support of people for the earlier non-cooperation movement, with widespread resentment towards the British rule, Alluri led the Rampa rebellion between the years 1922–1924, during which he alongwith his followers fought in a Guerrilla warfare to overthrow the British Government from the Eastern Ghats region of India. He managed to get firearms for carrying out his revolutionary acts by conducting raids on Police stations, and parting away with weaponry thereof. A hallmark of his raids being, he would write with his signature and stamp in the stations dairy, informing the police about the details of his plunder there with date and time, daring them to stop him. The aformentioned raids took place in and around the present-day areas of Annavaram, Addateegala Chintapalle, Dammanapalli, Krishna Devi Peta, Rampachodavaram, Rajavommangi, and Narsipatnam. During these raids, many British police officers were killed in the ensuing fights. After much bloodshed, and an ardous search for nearly two years, involving expenditure of over ₹40 lakh then by the British Government, Alluri was eventually trapped by the British forces at the village of Koyyuru, in Chintapalle forests. He was then tied to a tree and executed by gunfire. His tomb currently lies in the village of Krishnadevipeta.

Biography

Birth and childhood

Alluri Sitarama Raju was born into a Telugu speaking Kshatriya family, in the current state of Andhra Pradesh, India. His father, Venkata Rama Raju, was a professional photographer, who settled in the town of Rajamundry for his vocation, and his mother, Surya Narayanamma was a pious homemaker.[3] [4][5][6]

His date of birth is disputed, with some sources reporting it as 4 July 1897,[3][7]and others as 4 July 1898.[4][8] Details of his place of birth vary, as an official report suggests he was born in Bhimavaram,[4] with several other sources citing it to be the village of Mogallu in West Godavari District.[9][10][7] New reports suggest that the village of Pandrangi in Bheemunipatnam, as his precise place of birth.[11]

Venkata Rama Raju was a free spirited man, with immense self respect, and great love for freedom. He once chided his young son, Rama Raju, for practicing the then prevalent custom of Indian people saluting the Europeans acknowledging their superiority. He passed away when his son was in his eighth year.[3]

Early life and education

Raju completed his primary education and joined High school in Kakinada, where he became a friend of Madduri Annapurnaiah (1899–1954), who later grew up to be another prominent freedom fighter. In his teens, Rama Raju, in accordance with his reticent and meditative nature, contemplated taking up Sannyasa. At age 15, he moved to his mother's home town of Visakhapatnam and enrolled at Mrs. A.V.N. College for the fourth form exam. While there, he often visited far flung areas in the Visakhapatnam district, and became familiar with the struggles of the tribal people there.[12]

Around this time, he became friend of a rich man and developed platonic love, for his friends sister, named Sita, whose untimely demise left him heartbroken. In order to make her memory eternal, Rama Raju then prefixed her name to his, and came to be popularly known as Sita Rama Raju. He eventually dropped out of college without completing his course. At this instance his uncle Rama Krishnam Raju, a tehsildar in Narsapur of the West Godavari district, under whose tutelage he grew up so far, brought him to Narasapur and admitted him to the local Taylor High School. He however later gave up his schooling, but privately mastered the literature of Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi and English languages. Contemporary reports indicate that although he had an undistinguished education, he took a particular interest in astrology, herbalism, palmistry and Equestrianism, before becoming a sannyasi at the age of 18.[13][10]

Growth as leader

Indicative of his future as a leader, Alluri in his high school days was often found riding his uncle's horses to distant hilly places, and making himself acquaint with the various problems being faced by different groups of tribal people, who were then living under the exploitative British rule. He was particularly moved on seeing the hardships of the Koyas, a hill tribal people. Fond of Pilgrimage, in his teens, after leaving formal schooling, he visited Gangotri and Nasik, birth places of the holy rivers, Ganga and Godavari. During his travels in the country, he met few revolutionaries in Chittagong, on seeing the socio-economic conditions of people, particularly those of the tribals, he was severely appalled and decided to build a movement for their emancipation from the British rule. He then settled down on the Papi hills near Godavari District, an area with a high density of tribal populations.[14][15]

Sitarama Raju initially practiced various spiritual disciplines to gain moral stature and spiritual power. During this time, the efforts of Christian missionaries to gain converts by any means amongst the hill tribes annoyed him, as he saw it as a tool to perpetuate imperialism. He continued living an austeric life, with very bare minimum needs amongst the tribal people. Taking only items like fruits and honey from them, he would return much of everything offered to him, back to the people, with his blessings. Very soon his charismatic nature, gained him a reputation among the tribal people of being someone possessed with holy powers, even a messianic status, a reputation that was bolstered both by myths he created about himself, and by his acceptance of ones about him that were established by others, including those concerning about his reputed invincibility.[16] [10]

Noting the grievances of the tribal people, and finding solutions to their problems, Alluri started to organise and educate them about their rights, and prepared them for a fight against the oppression and tyranny of the forest and revenue officials, missionaries and police. Touring the forest terrains, he gained an extensive knowledge of the geographical features, which helped him in his future as a Guerrilla Warfare tactician. Around this time, when the British snatched their ancestral properties, the Koya tribal brothers, Mallam Dora and Ghantam Dora, who were freedom fighters, joined the ranks of Alluri and became his lieutenants. As the oppressive practices of the British continued to become unbearable, and rebellion became the last option for people to live free, Alluri became their natural leader. The Government then did tried to win him over by offering 60 Acres of fertile land for his Ashram, but Alluri rejected them and stood by the people.[17][18]

Rampa Rebellion (1922-1924)

Origins

After the passing of the 1882 Madras Forest Act, in an attempt to exploit the economic value of wooded areas, its restrictions on the free movement of tribal people in the forests prevented them from engaging in their traditional podu agricultural system, a form of subsistence economy which involved the system of Shifting cultivation.[19] The changes meant that they will face starvation, and their main means of avoiding it was to engage in the demeaning, arduous, foreign and exploitative coolie system, being used by the government and its contractors for such things as road construction.[10][20]

Around the same time as the Act, the Raj authorities had also emasculated the traditional hereditary role of the muttadars, who had until then been the de facto rulers in the hills as tax collectors for the plains-living rajas.[21] These people were now reduced to the role of mere civil servants, with no overarching powers, no ability to levy taxes at will, and no right to inherit their position. Thus, the cultivators and the tax collectors, who once would have been in opposition to each other, were instead now broadly aligned in their disaffection with colonial power.[10]

Alluri harnessed this discontent of the tribal people to support his anti-colonial zeal, whilst accommodating the grievances of those muttadars sympathetic to his cause, rather than those who were selfish in their pursuit of a revived status for themselves. This meant that most of his followers were from the tribal communities, but also included some significant people from the muttadar class, who at one time had exploited them, although many muttadars remained ambivalent about fighting for what Alluri perceived to be the greater good.[10]

Alluri adopted aspects from the Non-cooperation movement, such as promoting temperance, and the boycott of colonial courts in favour of local justice, administered by panchayat courts, to attract people's support. Although the movement died out in early 1922, it had reached the plains area by then, as he was involved in the propagation of some of its methods among the hill people, to raise their political consciousness, and desire for change. These actions caused him to be put under the surveillance of police, from around February of that year, although the fact that he was using them as a camouflage to foment armed uprising seems to have not been recognised by either the movement, or the political leadership of the British.[10]

Actions

With his supporters, Alluri built strong and powerful troops of fighters. Sporting traditional weaponry like bow-and-arrow and spears, and employing tactics like using whistles and beating drums to exchange messages amongst themselves, the revolutionaries, managed to achieve spectacular successes initially against the British forces. Realising that traditional weaponry would be of not much use against the heavily armed British forces, he thought the best way is to take them away from the enemy and started launching attacks on police stations.[22]

Beginning in August 1922, Alluri led a troop of 500 people in the plundering, on consecutive days, of police stations at Chintapalle, Krishna Devi Peta and Rajavommangi, from which he gained possession of guns and ammunition. He subsequently toured the area, getting more recruits and killing a member of a British police force that had been sent to find him. A hallmark of these raids was that after each attack, Alluri would sign a letter, in the stations diary, giving details of the plunder from that station, and would write the date and time of his next attack, daring police to stop him if they can.[23][10]

The British struggled in their pursuit, in part because of the unfamiliar terrain, and also because the local people in the sparsely populated areas were generally unwilling to help them, and were often outrightly keen to assist Alluri, including with shelter and intelligence. While based in the hills, contemporary official reports suggested that the core group of rebels dwindled to between 80 and 100 but this figure rose dramatically whenever they moved to take action against the British because of the involvement of people in the villages.[10][24]

Further deaths occurred on 23 September when Alluri ambushed a police party from a high position as they went through the Dammanapalli Ghat, killing two officers and cementing his reputation among the disaffected people. There were a further two successful attacks against the police forces during the month, after which the British realised that his style of guerilla warfare would have to be matched with a similar response, for which they drafted in members of the Malabar Special Police who were trained for such purposes.[10][25] Attempts to persuade local people to inform about, or withdraw their support for Alluri, through both incentives and reprisals, did nothing but encourage them to further their actions.[10] Further raids were later made on police stations at Rampachodavaram, Addateegala, Narsipatnam and Annavaram.[26]

During these raids, Alluri was ably supported by his trusted assistant named Aggi Raju, whose exploits were considered heroic. As the rebellion continued unabated, Army was eventually brought in to quell it, but the fight continued for about two years, capturing the attention of common people, as well as the powerful officials across the country. To end the rebellion and capture Alluri Sitarama Raju, the then district collectors, Bracken, of East Godavari, and R.T Rutherford, of Visakhapatnam, having jurisdiction powers over the areas of rebellion, employed all means, both fair and foul, from burning villages, to destroying crops, killing cattle, and violating women, all to no avail.[27]

The agency commissioner, J R Higgins announced a monetary reward of Rs 10,000 for the head of Rama Raju, and Rs 1,000 each for his lieutenants Ghantam Dora and Mallam Dora. In April 1924, to quell the ‘Manyam’ uprising, the British Government then deputed T G Rutherford, who resorted to employing extreme methods of violence and torture on people, to know the whereabouts of Raju and his close followers.[28]

Death and legacy

A Statue of Alluri Sitarama Raju in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

After putting up a massive effort for nearly two years, the British forces finally managed to capture Alluri Sitarama Raju in the forests of Chintapalle, he was then tied to a tree and executed by shooting on 7 May 1924, in the village of Koyyuru.[27][29][30] A tomb of his, currently lies in the village of Krishnadevipeta, near Visakhapatnam.[31] His lietunant, Ghantam Dora, was killed on 6 June 1924, and his brother Mallam Dora, was caught and imprisoned, after independence, he became a member of the Indian Lok Sabha.[32]

14th President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, paying floral tribute at the Statue of Shri Alluri Sitarama Raju, in Andhra Pradesh.

The heroic efforts of young Alluri Sitarama Raju in fighting an all-out war, without any state powers, against one of the most powerful empires have been recognised by all. The British Government grudgingly acknowledged him as a powerful tactician of the Guerrilla warfare that lasted for nearly two years, the fact that they had to spend over ₹40 Lakhs in those days to defeat him speaks for itself.[33][34]

Alluri Sitarama Raju on a 1986 stamp of India.

The Independent Indian government released a postal stamp in his honour at the village of Mogallu, considered by many to be his birth place. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, besides building memorials at places associated with Alluri's life, granted a political pension to his surving brother. Mahatma Gandhi paid his tribute to the life of Sitarama Raju, saying, "Though I do not approve of his armed rebellion, I pay my homage to his bravery and sacrifice." Jawaharlal Nehru commented that, "Raju was one of those few heroes that could be counted on fingers." Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose noted that Alluri was fierce in his determination, and his unparalleled courage and sacrifice for people will ensure him a place in history.[35]

  • The Telugu-language movie Alluri Seetharama Raju (1974), featuring actor Krishna, depicted Alluri's life.
  • In 1986 the Indian Postal Department issued a commemorative stamp featuring Alluri in the series 'India's struggle for freedom'.[36]
  • Government of Andhra Pradesh celebrates his birthday, 4 July, annually as a state festival.[37]
  • Alluri Sitarama Raju Cricket Stadium in Eluru is named after him.[38]
  • On 9 October 2017, at the request of members of parliament, Thota Narasimham and V. Vijayasai Reddy, the Government of India decided to install a statue of Alluri at the precincts of the Parliament of India in recognition of his work as a freedom fighter, and for the welfare of the tribal people.[39]
  • In 2019, a book named "Alluri Sita Ramaraju "was written by Sheikh Abdul Hakim Jaani in Telugu language was published which describes the incidents of Alluri's life.[40]
  • RRR (2022) is an Indian Telugu language film. It has a fictional story directed by S. S. Rajamouli based on the lives of Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sita Ramaraju. Ram Charan portraying the role of Alluri. The film deals with a figment of imagination added to construct the undocumented life of both the rebels who fought British in India, set in 1920.

References

  1. ^ NCERT 2008, p. 8.
  2. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (24 December 2021). "Rajamouli's cocktail of folklore, fantasy and now, history". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
  3. ^ a b c Rao 1991, pp. 13.
  4. ^ a b c Guha, Ranajit (1982). Subaltern studies: writings on South Asian history and society. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780195613551.
  5. ^ Seshadri, K. (1993). Struggle for National Liberation: Role of the Telugu People from Early Days to 1947. Uppal Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-85565-34-7.
  6. ^ Sharma, I. Mallikarjuna (1987). Role of Revolutionaries in the Freedom Struggle: A Critical History of the Indian Revolutionary Movements, 1918–1934. Marxist Study Forum. p. 140.
  7. ^ a b Singh, M. K. (2009). Encyclopaedia Of Indian War Of Independence (1857–1947). Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 127. ISBN 978-81-261-3745-9.
  8. ^ Pfeffer, Georg; Behera, Deepak Kumar, eds. (1998). Contemporary society: tribal studies : Professor Satya Narayana Ratha felicitation volumes. Vol. 4. Concept Pub. Co. p. 151. ISBN 978-81-7022-738-0.
  9. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 12.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Murali, Atlury (April 1984). "Alluri Sitarama Raju and the Manyam Rebellion of 1922–1924". Social Scientist. 12 (4): 3–33. doi:10.2307/3517081. JSTOR 3517081.
  11. ^ "Pandrangi, Alluri's birthplace, selected under 'adarsh gram'". The Hindu. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  12. ^ Rao 2006, p. 35.
  13. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 13–14.
  14. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 14.
  15. ^ "Alluri Seetha Rama Raju: A Folk Hero of Rampa Rebellion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  16. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 14–15.
  17. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 15.
  18. ^ "Alluri Seetha Rama Raju: A Folk Hero of Rampa Rebellion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  19. ^ Murali, Atlury (2017). "Tribal Armed Rebellion of 1922–1924 in the Madras Presidency: A Study of Causation as Colonial Legitimation". In Bates, Crispin (ed.). Savage Attack: Tribal Insurgency in India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-35158-744-0.
  20. ^ NCERT 2008, p. 11.
  21. ^ NCERT 2008, p. 10.
  22. ^ "Alluri Seetha Rama Raju: A Folk Hero of Rampa Rebellion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Alluri Seetha Rama Raju: A Folk Hero of Rampa Rebellion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  24. ^ Mukherjee 2004, p. 74.
  25. ^ Bommala 2001, p. 182.
  26. ^ Mukherjee 2004, p. 137.
  27. ^ a b Rao 1991, pp. 16.
  28. ^ "Alluri Seetha Rama Raju: A Folk Hero of Rampa Rebellion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  29. ^ V. BalakrishnaG. "Freedom Movement in Andhra Pradesh". Government of India Press Information Bureau. Archived from the original on 13 January 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  30. ^ Bommala 2001, p. 176.
  31. ^ "Birth anniversary of Alluri celebrated". The Hindu. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  32. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 16–17.
  33. ^ "Alluri Sitarama Raju's heroics need nation's attention". The Hindu. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  34. ^ "Alluri Seetha Rama Raju: A Folk Hero of Rampa Rebellion". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  35. ^ Rao 1991, pp. 17.
  36. ^ A. S. RAJU. "Indian Post" (26 December 2016). Retrieved on 11 December 2018.
  37. ^ "AP to celebrate 117th birthday of Sri Alluri Sitarama Raju". 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  38. ^ Nagaraja, G (23 May 2014). "ASR Stadium to get facelift". The Hindu. Eluru. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  39. ^ "Nod for installing Alluri's statue in Parliament". The Hindu. 9 October 2017.
  40. ^ "(T/m) Alluri Sitarama Raju: Buy (T/m) Alluri Sitarama Raju by JAANI at Low Price in India". Flipkart.com. Retrieved 3 January 2021.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alluri Sita Rama Raju.

Sources


  • Murali, Atlury (April 1984). "Alluri Sitarama Raju and the Manyam Rebellion of 1922–1924". Social Scientist. 12 (4): 3–33. doi:10.2307/3517081. JSTOR 3517081.
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