Alluri Sitarama Raju, a great patriot from Andhra and his memorials

Navrang India December 24, 2019
Aluri Raju's tomb in Krishna Devi Peta village. AP.famousplacesinindia.in

With respect to many unsung Indian heroes of our prolonged battle against the British colonial rule in the past, Alluri Sitarama Raju, a great  and daring revolutionary is one among them. His spirited and vital role in the Rampa rebellion of 1922–24 has carved a permanent niche for him in the pages of Indian history of freedom struggle. That this  great  freedom fighter's daring exploits against the mighty British rule with native weapons are unknown outside Andhra state is unfortunate and the history books of India cover only those freedom fighters who had party affiliation or who had close contact with the national leaders of past years. 

Despite his poor family background  and lack of interest in education, since his early adulthood, Alluri Raju had developed a close rapport with the tribal community that lived near his paternal uncle's village, Tuni, Andhra. Their poverty and pathetic living condition had a deep  impact on his mind and his sympathy and care stood him in good stead when the tribal community  protested against the British who took over their vast tribal land -, their source of food and income in the wake of  passing of  the 1882 Madras Forest Act in the Madras Presidency that restricted their free movement and cultivation in the  tribal  forest lands.

Infuriated Raju, who could not bear the sight of poor and emaciated, helpless tribal people, with support from them  and  muttadars launched a series of protests against the foreign aggressors. The protests did not yield the expected results, so they  turned into armed rebellion, masterminded by Alluri Raju and his associates. They raided many police stations close to the tribal lands and stole arms and ammunition  and killed many British officers who terrorized the innocent tribes. In addition, the gorilla attacks by him and the band of rebels on the British police  continued for some time and the district administration  wanted to put an end to this menace at any cost soon.
Freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju, bablu97.blogspot.com

After several raids  and attacks on British  government offices,   Alluri Raju and his rebel army ran out of luck one day. In the forest of  Chintapalle on 7 May 1924  he was, at last, trapped by the British  after a well-planned strategy and later  executed by gunfire in Koyyuru village.  The Police officer who  caught him was one  Gnaneswara Rao and for this act, as part of his official duty, Rao was given  a special award from the police  and also the 'fancy'  title of Rao Bahadur (abbreviated R.B., a title of honour bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for their service to the Empire. The title was accompanied by a medal called a Title Badge. Translated, Rao means "prince", and Bahadur means "brave" or "most honorable")

Rao Bahadur Medal/en.wikipedia.org

the British would bestow on those rich and famous as a reward for their true royalty to them, just to cool them off.    That the  British Government had to shell out  over Rs 40 lakhs in those days to  quell the revolt led by Alluri is itself a testimony to the effective way with which  he and his rebels  rattled the British administrators of this area. Alluri Raju's tomb is in  Krishna Devi Peta village in Visakhapatnam district.  Kakinada MP T Narasimham said (October, 2017)  said the central Government would soon have a statue of Alluri Sitarama Rajuon  the premises of the Indian
Tribals' traditional Dhimsa dance,the museum at Timmapuram,AP,

Parliament in Delhi. Glad to hear that his birth anniversary  (4th July 1897) is held as a festival in  Andhra state. 
Aluri Raju's tomb in Krishna Devi Peta village. AP  you tube
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According to State Tribal Welfare Minister R Kishore Babu, January, 2018, the  'tribal museum being established at Timmapuram will be named after Alluri Sitarama Raju'.The proposed museum ''the  Alluri Sitarama Raju Memorial Tribal Museum'' would be on a  4-acre land on the sea-facing side of a hill at Timmapuram,. Rs. 20 crores had been allocated, out of which Rs.15 crore would be spent on the buildings and the rest on library.