Why in News?
Prime Minister will launch the year-long celebrations on the 125th birth anniversary of Alluri, enabling a new generation to be aware of the heroics of Alluri and the sacrifices he made for the tribal community.
About Alluri Sitarama Raju
- He was an Indian revolutionary who waged an armed campaign against British colonial rule in India.
- Born on July 4, 1897, into a humble middle-class family in a small village near the Coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
Contributions in Freedom Struggle
- Sitarama Raju, under the influence of Gandhi’s Non-cooperation movement, inspired the tribals to seek justice in the local panchayat courts and boycott the colonial courts.
- He made Adivasi areas in the Eastern Ghats and started to work for the Adivasis, who were living in abject poverty and being fleeced by police, forest and revenue officials, in ‘Manyam’ (forest area).
- He was against the 1882 Madras Forest Act, which effectively restricted the free movement of Adivasis in their forest habitats and prevented them from practicing a traditional form of agriculture known as ‘podu’.
- In August 1922, he launched the Rampa Rebellion against the British.
- Alluri Sitarama Raju, along with 500 tribals, attacked the police stations of Chintapalli, Krishnadevipeta, and Rajavommangi and walked away with 26 police carbine rifles and 2,500 rounds of ammunition.
- In 1924, Raju was taken into police custody, tied to a tree, and shot by a public execution, effectively ending the armed rebellion.
