A Telugu film with a story and characters based on the lives of Indian freedom fighters Alluri Sitharama Raju and Komaram Bheem is gaining international attention.
Who was Alluri Sitharama Raju?
- Raju was born in Andhra Pradesh in 1897 or 1898, according to legend.
- With his austerity, knowledge of astrology and medicine, and ability to tame wild animals, he is said to have become a sanyasi at the age of 18 and gained a mystical aura among the hill and tribal peoples.
- Raju channelled the discontent of the hill people in Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari into an effective guerrilla resistance against the British at a young age.
Beginning revolutionary activities
- As the government sought to secure forest lands, colonial rule threatened the tribals’ traditional podu (shifting) cultivation.
- The Forest Act of 1882 prohibited the collection of minor forest produce such as roots and leaves, and the colonial government forced tribal people to work.
- While the tribals were exploited by muttadars, village headmen hired by the colonial government to extract rent, new laws and systems threatened their very way of life.
- Strong anti-government sentiment, shared by muttadars who were dissatisfied with the British curtailment of their powers, erupted into armed resistance in August 1922.
Contribution to the fight for liberty
- The Rampa or Manyam Rebellion lasted until May 1924, when Raju, the charismatic ‘Manyam Veerudu’ or Hero of the Jungle, was finally apprehended and executed.
- The Rampa Rebellion took place at the same time as Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement.
- Raju frequently praised Mahatma Gandhi, claiming that the Non-Cooperation Movement inspired him to wear khadi and abstain from alcohol.
- At the same time, he claimed that India could only be liberated through the use of force, not nonviolence.
What was Alluri Sitharama Raju?
- Raju was born in Andhra Pradesh in 1897 or 1898, according to legend.
- With his austerity, knowledge of astrology and medicine, and ability to tame wild animals, he is said to have become a sanyasi at the age of 18 and gained a mystical aura among the hill and tribal peoples.
- Raju channelled the discontent of the hill people in Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari into an effective guerrilla resistance against the British at a young age.
Beginning revolutionary activities
- As the government sought to secure forest lands, colonial rule threatened the tribals’ traditional podu (shifting) cultivation.
- The Forest Act of 1882 prohibited the collection of minor forest produce such as roots and leaves, and the colonial government forced tribal people to work.
- While the tribals were exploited by muttadars, village headmen hired by the colonial government to extract rent, new laws and systems threatened their very way of life.
- Strong anti-government sentiment, shared by muttadars who were dissatisfied with the British curtailment of their powers, erupted into armed resistance in August 1922.
Contribution to the fight for liberty
- The Rampa or Manyam Rebellion lasted until May 1924, when Raju, the charismatic ‘Manyam Veerudu’ or Hero of the Jungle, was finally apprehended and executed.
- The Rampa Rebellion took place at the same time as Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement.
- Raju frequently praised Mahatma Gandhi, claiming that the Non-Cooperation Movement inspired him to wear khadi and abstain from alcohol.
- At the same time, he claimed that India could only be liberated through the use of force, not nonviolence.
And who exactly was Komaram Bheem?
- Komram Bheem was born in the Gond tribal community of Sankepally village, which was renamed after him in 2016.
- Bheem’s family’s land was taken over by a jagirdar who was an informer for the Nizam, prompting him to kill the jagirdar in a fit of rage.
- To avoid authorities, he went to Assam and worked for five years as a labourer in coffee and tea plantations.
- Bheem learned to read and write despite his illiteracy and became aware of movements such as Birsa Munda’s.
Opposition to the Nizam government
- The Nizam government levied “Bambram” and “Dupapetti” taxes on people who grazed cattle and collected firewood for cooking.
- In opposition to this tax collection, Bheem spread the message “Jal, Jangal, Zameen” among tribal people.
- He taught tribal people how to fight with weapons, and villages in Adilabad were prepared with the help of a guerrilla army made up of men from the Gond and Koya communities.
Legacy and death
- Despite their best efforts, Nizam’s army easily defeated the tribal resistance.
- Bheem was killed by them in the Jodeghat forest.
- Bheem’s message of “Jal, Jangal, Zameen” has become a rallying cry for indigenous peoples’ rights to natural resources, and is still used in many parts of India today.
Source: https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/rajmoulis-rrr-freedom-fighters-alluri-sitarama-raju-and-komaram-bheem-565552.html