74. Alluri Sitaram Raju (1897-!924)

Andhra had its share of revolutionary leaders like Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad during the British Raj. Alluri Sitarama Raju was the rebel hero, who along with the tribals, put up a brave fight against the British forcing them to bend down to his pressure and accept defeat.

He was not just a revolutionary of the national movement but also a man of great qualities — he was a humanitarian at heart, a yogi who had done penance for a long time and a patriot who could die for his country. Born into a simple kshatriya family of West Godavari district, on July 4, 1897, Sitarama Raju was the eldest son of the family. His father died early in his childhood. His schooling was in different places of coastal Andhra as the family was forced to take shelter with different relatives at different times. From a young age, Sitarama Raju was drawn towards the service of the downtrodden and towards the freedom movement. Text books and a regular course of study never interested him. He had varied hobbies like acting in dramas, practice of kasarath, yoga and meditation. He was ready to sacrifice all his personal happiness for liberating his country from colonial rule.

During the period 1917-1923, there was a lot of unrest in agency (tribal) areas spreading from East Godavari to Vizianagaram and Orissa border. A lot of injustice was being done to the innocent tribals by the British. Sitarama Raju came to know of this and though he was living the life of an ascetic, he decided to help the tribals. He made them give up alcohol and taught them the art of defending themselves with their bows and arrows. In course of time he started training them in military war tactics, and soon Sitarama Raju was heading a tribal army that was ready to fight the British. His family was upset that he chose this path of life, which would be very dangerous, and they slowly moved away from him. He led the life of a missionary working with a single goal and had no family whatsoever. Since this tribal army wanted weapons like rifles, guns and ammunition to fight the mighty British agency army, Sitarama Raju resorted to looting the nearby police stations where he could find weapons. Rampachodavaram, Addateegalam, Narsipatnam were some of the areas he raided and carried away weapons. It was his habit to scribble a note or sign in the record about the number of weapons he took and the purpose of his visit. Even today the old records at Narsipatnam police station show his signature and list of weapons.
Under his leadership the tribals of Rampa subdividion of Andhra Pradesh revolted against the British in1922 with 300 volunteers and occuppied many Thanas.  

He was popular and loved by the poor tribals. He was a brave heart who was ready to fight the British single-handed. He was the first to adopt guerilla warfare in the State making the British army take to its heels. Sitarama Raju became a nightmare to the British authorities. Since his lightning strikes were too much for them, it was only with connivance and foul play that the British could finally gun him down. He was arrested and put to death on May 7, 1924 at the age of 28.