Alluri Sitarama Raju & Komaram Bheem

Why in news?

• Recently ‘Naatu Naatu’- won Oscars for Best Original Song, from the Telugu movie ‘RRR’.
• Set in the 1920s, RRR is said to be a fictional story based on the lives of tribal freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

About Alluri Sitarama Raju:

• Alluri Sitarama Raju was an Indian revolutionary who waged an armed campaign against British colonial rule in India.
• Born in present-day Andhra Pradesh, he became involved in anti-British activities in response to the 1882 Madras Forest Act.
  • This effectively restricted the free movement of Adivasis (tribal communities) in their forest habitats and prevented them from practicing a traditional form of agriculture known as podu (shifting cultivation).
• Rising discontent towards the British led to the Rampa Rebellion/Manyam Rebellion of 1922, in which he played a major part as a leader.
• Initially, Sitarama Raju, under the influence of Gandhi’s Non-cooperation movement, inspired the tribes to seek justice in the local panchayat courts and boycott the colonial courts.
• He was nicknamed "Manyam Veerudu" (Hero of the Jungle) by local villagers for his heroic exploits.
• In 1924, Raju was taken into police custody, tied to a tree, and shot by a public execution, effectively ending the armed rebellion.

Rampa Rebellion:

• The Rampa Rebellion of 1922, also known as the Manyam Rebellion, was a tribal uprising, led by Alluri Sitarama Raju in Godavari Agency of Madras Presidency, British India.
• It began in August 1922 and lasted until the capture and killing of Raju in May 1924.

About Komaram Bheem:

• Kumram Bheem, was a revolutionary leader in Hyderabad State of British India from the Gond tribes.
• Bheem, in association with other Gond leaders, led a protracted low intensity rebellion against the feudal Nizams of Hyderabad in the eastern part of the princely state during the 1930s, which contributed in the culmination of the Telangana Rebellion of 1946.
• He was killed by armed policemen in 1940, subsequently lionized as a symbol of rebellion, and eulogised in Adivasi and Telugu folklore.
• Bheem is deified as a pen in Gond culture and is credited for coining the slogan Jal, Jangal, Zameen (transl. Water, Forest, Land) which, symbolising a sentiment against encroachment and exploitation, has been adopted by Adivasi movements as a call to action.
• He is also closely associated with the movement for Telangana statehood.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Alluri Sitarama Raju’:

1. He led the Rampa Rebellion or Manyam Rebellion of 1922

2. He was influenced by Gandhi’s Non-cooperation movement

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer