The great freedom fighter from Andhra Pradesh – Alluri Sitaramaraju

One of the great and famous freedom fighters was ever born on the soil of Andhra Pradesh was Alluri Sita Rama Raju. He was born on the 4th of July 1894. His father died when Rama Raju was very young; therefore he has to stay with his relatives to complete his education. Rama Raju was very well versed in the arts of using a spear and horse riding. He liked to exercise and was a very good archer too.

Rama Raju was a great patriot right from his childhood. As he grew up, Rama Raju developed aesthetic interests and spent most of his time meditating. Since he wanted to lead a aesthetic life, Rama Raju left for jungles in the year in 1917 and reached a place called Krishna Devi Peta. He was loved and respected by the tribals lived in the Krishna Devi Peta. After the brutal murder of the freedom fighter named Kannaganti Hanumanthu, by the Britishers in the present district of Guntur, Rama Raju became more prominent on the scene of the freedom movement. During those days Britishers levied heavy taxes on the tribals and also caused a lot of hard ships to them.

An officer by name Bastion had insulted the head of the village of this jungle named Gantam Dora. He also kicked Gantam Dora’s brother Mallu Dora. Bastion had assigned one of the tribals, Endupadal with the work to lay a road, but refused to pay him the wages. The tribals then Sought Sita Rama Raju’s help. Suspecting Rama Raju to create a supposed mutiny, The britishers increased their vigilence on him. A deputy superindent, in the year 1922, came to interrogate Rama Raju.The British government, inorder to prevent him from taking an active part in the freedom struggle gave him a pair of oxen and a field to cultivate. Rama Raju too started leading a life of a farmer. But Rama Raju gave up farming just after four months. He then started an ajitation against the British Government’s atrocities, along with Endupadal, Gantam Dora and Mallu Dora and the other tribals. In August 1922, Sita Rama Raju along with 500 other people attacked a police station in a place called Chinta Palli. They seized all the weapons in the police station.

They also attacked the Krishna Devi peta police station and seized the weapons from this station too. When the Government realized this, it deployed additional forces to Krishna Devi peta. Once the british officers were attacked on a ghat road in which an officer named Trimenmore was killed and though Bastion was injured, he put up a brave fight. When the police came to know that Rama Raju performed a Devi pooja at Krishna Devi peta as apart of a custom, they planned to capture him then. But this plan was failed when they were on their way to the place, by Rama Raju’s men and the police had to retreat. The chief officer-in – charge of the Madras state wrote a letter to the Central government briefing them about this incident.

In the mean time the attacks of Rama Raju and his men were claming the lives of many a British officer.Rama Raju also attacked the police stations of places called Adda Teegala and Rompa chooda Varam, but because of the Government’s precautionary measures he could not get hold of many weapons. The Government appointed additional officers to tackle Rama Raju and was constantly informed of the developments by the officials in their letters. The british troops under the officer John Charles on 6th December, 1922 attacked Rama Raju and his men, in which four of Rama Raju’s men were killed.

In another attack , the next day many other Rama Raju’s men were killed. On 7th April, 1923, when Rama Raju attacked the police station at Anna Varam people gave him a divine welcome and sang to his praise. When another freedom fighter named, Vegi raju Satyanarayana Raju, heard about Rama Raju, he too joined agitation and later came to be know as Aggi Raju.

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On 18th September 1923, police caught Mallu Dora. Later, Sita Raju and his men attacked camp in a place called Gudem They also attacked a police in a place called Paaderu but found no weapons there. The British Government now declared Rama Raju WANTED and declared prize money to the person who informed them of his whereabouts. Therefore, according to the earlier devised plan, the officials captured most of Ram Raju’s men. When Rama Raju came to know of this, he grieved and decided to surrender. He then wrote a letter to the British officials informing them of his surrender and asked them to com to a village named Mampa. Sita Rama Raju, who had come to surrender, was ruthlessly shot by the British Officials led by officer Ruther Ford. Thus the life of a great freedom fighter was put to an end by the cruel Britishers on 7th May 1924.

Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju is remembered as a great son of India in the annals of Indian History of the early period of the freedom struggle. Born on 4. 7. 1897, in a renowned kashtriya clan, he fought against the mighty British war machine, leading tribesmen of Andhra Pradesh with old traditional war weaponry and sacrificed his life true to his clan in the battle field. While he was studying at Kakinada he got his political contact with Sri Madduri Annapurnayya, a great freedom-fighter, and Rallapalli Atchuta Ramayya, a great scholar. At the age of 15, Raju was shifted to Visakhapatnamfor his studies. Though he had little inclination for school studies, he was very keen and began to acquire knowledge of the political situation in India. Sri Alluri Sitarama Raju went deep into Gond land where nearly a thousand tribals had sacrificed their lives during the first war of independence in 1857. He attended the A. I. C. C. sessions at Gaya in 1916 and at Kakinada in 1923 and got blessings of the top-ranking leaders of India. Raju inspired and organized the tribals to wage war against the British. Soon Raju's plan of action took shape with vigour and quickness. On 22/8/1922. Raju's Army raided Chintapalli Police Station, and on 23rd Krishnadevipeta Police Station, and on 24th Rajavommangi and captured a good number of guns, bayonets and cartridges and swords. He set free the revolutionary, Veerayya Dora from jail. The British Army got alerted and platoons of Police and Army were sent to capture Seetarama Raju. At Peddavalasa, Raju attacked the British Army. They were defeated during this battle and suffered very heavy casualties and retreated. From that day onwards there was a regular warfare between Raju and the Britishers. Raju came out triumphant in all. Virtually for two years from 1922 to 1924 Seetarama Raju ruled over vast agency area and became a terror to the British rulers. Later British rulers deployed big contingents of Assam Rifles and others. Fighting a fierce battle, Raju laid down his life attained martyrdom.