The 2023 Oscar-winning (for best original song for ‘Naatu Naatu’) Indian movie RRR is inspired by the life of two Indian freedom fighters namely Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Freedom fighters and their contributions to the Indian independence movement are important topics for the IAS exam. In this article, you can read all about the revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.
Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem
Though both Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem had never met in real life, this movie introduces a fictional story, wherein they fought together to uproot the British raj.
Alluri Sitarama Raju
- He was born on July 4, 1897.
- He was also known as Manyam Veerudu, which roughly translates to ‘hero of the forest’.
- At the age of 18, he became a sanyasi and with his austere lifestyle, knowledge of astrology and medicine and ability to tame wild animals, he gained a mystical reputation among hill and tribal communities.
- Early on, Raju harnessed the discontent of hill people in Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari, leading an effective guerrilla resistance against British colonial rule.
- The British government’s effort to secure tribal land through the Forest Act of 1882 threatened the traditional podu (shifting) cultivation of the tribal people. Additionally, colonial authorities commissioned village headmen known as muttadars to extract rent from the tribals, exacerbating their exploitation.
- In August 1922, a strong resentment arose towards the government by the tribal community and was shared by the muttadars due to the British limiting their authority. This led to an armed uprising by several hundred tribals led by Raju, who attacked police stations in Chintapalle, Krishnadevipeta, and Rajavommangi in the Godavari agency.
- The rebellion, known as the Rampa or Manyam Rebellion, transformed into a guerrilla war.
- As the rebellion gained momentum, the British government offered a reward of Rs 10,000 for the capture of Alluri Sitarama Raju, who was eventually killed on May 7, 1924.
- In honour of his contribution to India’s freedom struggle, the Indian Postal Department issued a stamp of Alluri Sitarama Raju in 1986.
Komaram Bheem
- Komaram Bheem was born on October 22, 1901 at Sankepalli village in Komarambheem District, Hyderabad.
- He was a member of the Gond tribal community and grew up in the forest without education.
- As the tribal community was being exploited by the zamindars and businessmen, they kept moving from place to place.
- His father was killed by the forest department when he was 15 and soon the family moved to Sardapur village in Kerimeri, where he was farming on his land. However, when an informer of the Nizam captured their land, Bheem, filled with rage, killed him.
- He managed to escape police custody and fled to Assam where he found refuge for five years while working on a coffee and tea plantation. During his time there, Bheem learned to read and write.
- During this time, he was in contact with his secret informant, Komaram Sooru, from whom he came to know about the tax collected by the government on firewood and cattle grazing the land. He also learnt about the rebellions led by Alluri Sitarama Raju and Birsa Munda.
- Following the taxes levied by the Nizam administration on individuals who grazed their cattle or gathered firewood for cooking, called ‘Bambram’ and ‘Dupapetti’ respectively, around 12 villages in Adilabadu prepared to fight the British, prompting Bheem to return and establish a guerrilla army.
- Bheem coined the term “Jal, Jangal, Zameen” which became associated with the Aadivasi movement.
- Operating from the Jodgehat forest, Bheem surprised the Nizams with his attacks, causing them to strategize against him. Unfortunately, Bheem was killed during one of these battles by the Nizam army.
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