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Alluri Sitarama Raju
अल्लूरी सीताराम राजू
Manyam Veerudu — the hero of the jungle who led the tribal revolt
Years
1897 – 1924
Known as
'Manyam Veerudu' — the hero of the forests
Birthplace
Mogallu, Andhra Pradesh; led the Rampa rebellion
Field
Freedom Fighters
“The forest is ours — and so is the right to its fruit.”
— Alluri Sitarama Raju
The Story
Born in a village near Rajahmundry, Alluri grew up in the forests of the Godavari agency, learning the ways of the tribal people and their language. When the British enforced new forest laws — taking the tribal land, taxing their livelihood, and forcing them into bonded labour — he resolved to lead them against the injustice.
In August 1922 he launched the Rampa Rebellion: with a force of tribals armed with bows, spears, and captured rifles, he attacked the police stations of Chintapalli, Krishna Devi Peta, and Rajavommangi, seizing weapons and announcing that freedom from the British forest raj had begun. For two years he evaded the colonial army, fighting guerrilla-style through the jungles.
The British finally declared a reward for his capture and brought in the army and even aircraft. Betrayed and surrounded in 1924, Alluri was captured — and on 7 May 1924, aged just 26, he was shot. His body was refused to his people, but his legend only grew, and he became the symbol of tribal resistance across Bhārat.
Core Ideas
The Rampa Rebellion
The great tribal revolt of 1922–24.
Manyam Veerudu
The hero of the forests and the tribal army.
Guerrilla Warfare
Two years of jungle warfare against the colonial army.
Against the Forest Laws
He fought the British theft of tribal land.
Martyr at 26
Shot by the British in 1924, his legend never died.
Why it matters today
Alluri Sitarama Raju is honoured with a grand statue in Visakhapatnam and a national holiday on his birth anniversary, 4 July. His revolt is remembered as the first armed peasant struggle of modern Bhārat — a forest war for the freedom of the land and its people.