Alluri Sita Rama Raju

4 July 1897-d.1924), also known as Aluri Rama Raju, Rama Chandra Raju, and Alluri Seetha Rama Raju, was a young Indian revolutionary during the freedom struggle,and to this day he remains an inspiring role model for those who fight against oppression. His father was from Mogallu village in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India and was an official photographer in the central jail at Rajahmundry.Sita Rama Raju was born in Pandrangi,a village near Visakhapatnam which happened to be his mother’s native place. Raju led the ill-fated Rampa Rebellion joined by many tribal leaders and their sympathisers in the fight against the British from 1922 to 1923. He was adoringly referred to Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the jungles)by the Telugus

Birth and education

He was born on July 4 1897. He was educated in Kakinada,Tuni and Rama-chandra-puram in the East Godavari district. His father died when Alluri was in elementary school and he grew up in the care of his uncle, Rama Chandra Raju, a Tahsildar in Narsapur. He then studied in Taylor High School, Narsapur. Then, he shifted to Tuni along with his mother, brother and sister, on the transfer of his uncle. He joined Mrs A.V.N. College in Visakhapatnam on September 20, 1912. He dropped out of the college after having failed in the fourth form (Std. IX). While in Tuni, Alluri used to frequent the agency areas of the Visakhapatnam district and became familiar with the tribal folks.
He was deeply moved by the plight of the tribals, whose rights were infringed upon by the British with the implementation of the Madras Forest Act of 1882 which placed restrictions on their free movement in the forest areas and prevented them from engaging in their traditional Podu (shifting) cultivation, and use of the forest produce for their livelihood. The repressive measures and policies of the British Raj, coupled with the deeds of the greedy contractors who exploited and oppressed the forced labourers of the hill areas of the Visakhapatnam district, brought Alluri Sita Rama Raju into direct conflict with the bureaucrats and police who supported these contractors. This eventually culminated in the Rampa Rebellion or Rampa Pituri (Pituri means complaints in Telugu).

The Rampa Rebellion

Sita Rama Raju carried out his campaign in the border areas of East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Inspired by the patriotic zeal of the revolutionaries in Bengal, and the decisions taken by them at a meeting in Chittagong in 1921, Sita Rama Raju raided many police stations in and around Chintapalli, Krishna-devi-peta and Raja-vommangi, carrying off guns and powder, and killing several British army officers, including the Scott Coward and Hites, near Damana-palli. Between August and October 1922, he and his men attacked the Chintapalli, Rampa-choda-varam, Rajavommangi and Addati-gala and Annavaram police stations and blasted the Chintapalli police station. Despite having fewer men and weapons, Alluri and his men exacted tremendous damage on the British, as they were much more familiar with the hilly terrain and adept in guerilla tactics. In the 1920s, the British Raj offered a Rs. 10,000 award for his capture.
Under the leadership of Saunders, the British deployed a company of the Assam Rifles, near Pedagaddapalem, in December 1922. Sita Rama Raju, who had by then gone underground, resurfaced after some four months and continued the fight, strengthened by tribal volunteers, using bows and arrows. He was assisted by two brothers, Mallu Dora and Gantam Dora, who were tribal leaders. Other leaders like Chitikela Bhaskarudu from krishna-devi-peta helped sita rama raju during this period.
On September 18, 1923, Sita Rama Raju raided the Annavaram police outpost. Subsequently, Mallu Dora was arrested. The Government entrusted the task of containing Sita Rama Raju’s activities to Rutherford,the then Collector of Vizagpatam District who fired the first salvo when his forces arrested Surya Narayana Raju Pericherla, popularly known as Aggiraju, a strong follower of Sita Rama Raju.
The British campaign lasted nearly one year from December 1922. Sita Rama Raju was trapped by the British in the forests of Chintapalli. He was tied to a tree and shot dead with a rifle in Mampa village.This was irony as the British were proud of their justice system but followed the law of the jungle in this instance. After the martyrdom of Alluri, the tribal revolt lost its momentum petered off by October 1923.

Legacy

Today a statue of Raju stands at Seethammadhara Junction and on the beach road near The Park Hotel in Visakhapatnam. A statue of him in pandringi which is his grand mothers village near bhemili about 20 km from vizag. The Indian Postal Department issued a commemorative stamp on Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju in the series ‘India’s struggle for freedom’ in 1986.[1] There is one statue in kukatpalli housing board, Hyderabad.
Recently one statue of sita Rama Raju has been placed in Chinchinada village in West Godavari.
A Telugu movie was made about Raju’s life, entitled Alluri Sita Rama Raju. Krishna starred as Raju and V. Rama Chandra Rao directed the film. The popular song ‘Telugu Veera Levara’ was included in this film and has inspired generations of the Telugu community.
Mantena Satyanarayana Raju a dietician and a NATUROPATH is said to be a relative of Sri Alluri Sitarama Raju.
The only photograph of Raju, which was taken after his death is preserved in the A.P. State Archives, Hyderabad.
There is a statue of Sista Rama Raju erected also at the famous Tankbund bridge connecting the city of Hyderabad with Secunderabad city.

Miscellany

The railway station ‘Narsipatnam Road’ between Waltair and Tuni was built specially to deal with the rebellion and the unusually long platform for a way-side station was to facilitate offloading of troops and reserve police forces
Gam Mallu Dora, who was interned at the Andaman jail after his capture, became a Member of Parliament from Viskhapatnam after the first general elections. Jawaharlal Nehru said he was honoured to introduce this proud son of our motherland to the first Lok Sabha.

References

• ^ “Indian Post”

Alluri Sita Rama Raju Photo