Origins The
Madras Forest Act was passed in 1882, which exploited the economic value of the forests, and imposed restrictions on the free movement of tribal people. The tribes were made to pay dues for activities like grazing cattle, collecting fruit and fuel wood, and trading with the outsiders. They were also prevented them from engaging in their traditional "podu" agricultural system, a form of
subsistence economy, which involved the system of
shifting cultivation. The changes meant that they faced starvation, and threat to their livelihood, which forced them to engage in the demeaning, arduous, and exploitative
coolie system being used by the government and its contractors for activities such as road construction. The British authorities also emasculated the traditional hereditary role of the muttadars, who until then had been the de facto rulers in the hills as tax collectors for the local rules. Their roles were now reduced and though they were designated as civil servants, they had no overarching powers, no ability to levy taxes, and no right to inherit their position. Thus, the tribal people and the tax collectors, who once were in opposition to each other, were instead aligned in their disaffection with the colonial power.
Rama Raju's rise Rama Raju pleaded with the colonial officials for concession, which earned no dividends. During this time, the efforts of
Christian missionaries to gain convert the tribal people by any means annoyed him as he saw conversion as a tool to perpetuate imperialism. Concerned over the socio-economic conditions of the tribals, he felt that the only way out was through rebellion and decided to start a movement for their emancipation from the British rule. As the oppressive practices of the British continued, he became the natural leader of the rebellion. He harnessed the discontent of the tribal people to support his anti-colonial movement while also accommodating the grievances of some of the muttadars, who were sympathetic to his cause. While most of his followers were from the tribal communities, it also included some muttadars, although many of the muttadars remained ambivalent about fighting for what him. Rama Raju noted the grievances of the tribals, and tried finding solutions to their problems. To attract people's support, he adopted aspects from the
Non-cooperation movement such as promoting
temperance,
khadi, and boycott of colonial courts in favour of
panchayat courts. Though the actual movement died out in early 1922, he used some of the methods used for the propagation of the movement, to raise awareness among the tribal people and fuel their desire for change. He started to organise them into a group and educate them about their rights. Around this time, the Koya tribal brothers,
Gam Malludora and Gam Gantamdora joined the ranks of Rama Raju and became his lieutenants. Rama Raju actively encouraged the tribals to equip themselves with weapons and be versed with the methods of
guerrilla warfare. He prepared them for a fight against the officials, missionaries, and the police. Touring the region, he gained an extensive knowledge of the geographical features, which later helped him in his future as a
guerrilla warfare tactician. While these actions brought him under police surveillance, his usage of propaganda as a camouflage to foment armed uprising had not been noticed by the political leadership of the British. The British government tried to sway him and offered him 60 acres of land for his ashram, but he rejected it and stood by the people. During a conversation with an official, while Rama Raju reportedly praised
Mahatma Gandhi, he said violence was necessary and that he would continue his campaign till
swaraj is established.
Attacks Rama Raju built a fighting unit made up of his followers. Rama Raju, who wore khadi, provided khadi uniforms to his troops with the aid of Rallapalli Kasannla, a khadi producer from
Tuni. Initially, the contingent used traditional weaponry like
bow and arrow and
spears, and employed tactics like using whistles and beating drums to exchange messages amongst themselves. While initially they had some success in their attacks against the British, Rama Raju soon realised that the traditional weaponry would not be of much use against the modern British forces equipped with
firearms. So, he thought that the best way forward is to steal weaponry from the enemy and started planning attacks on the
police stations. During the attacks, Rama Raju instructed his followers to not attack Indian combatants. His instructions were carefully followed, and when the combatants encountered when a combined force of Indians and the British, his followers had let go the Indians and attacked only the foreign troops. Between 22 and 24 August 1922, Rama Raju led a troop of 500 people and plundered the police stations at
Chintapalli,
Krishnadevipeta, and
Rajavommangi. The team gained possession of various weaponry including 26
muskets, 2,500 rounds of
ammunition, six .303
Lee Enfield rifles, and a
revolver. He subsequently toured the area to recruit more people for the cause and killed a police officer, who was part of a force sent to find him. After each of the raids, Rama Raju left a written note detailing the plunder with a complete list of the weaponry he acquired, date and time of his attack, and dared the police to stop him if they can. During his raids, he was supported by his assistant Aggi Raju. On 23 September 1922, Rama Raju and his contingent ambushed a police party from a high position on the hills of the
Dammanapalli ghat, and killed two police officers. There were two further successful attacks against the police in the same month. Later, raids were carried out on the police stations at
Annavaram,
Addateegala,
Narsipatnam, and
Rampachodavaram.
Attempts of capture Though the British mounted a pursuit of Rama Raju, they struggled because of the unfamiliar terrain, and the local people were unwilling to help them and instead favored Rama Raju, including providing him with shelter and intelligence. While the number of rebels dwindled to between 80 and 100 initially, the count rose when the British moved to take any action against the local people who supported him. To try and combat Rama Raju's style of guerrilla warfare, the British drafted in members from the
Malabar Special Police, who were trained for such purposes. Attempts to persuade local people to inform about or withdraw their support for Rama Raju through both incentives and reprisals did not succeed. At
Dharakonda, once when Raju was engaged in the worship of goddess
Kali, a team of special police launched an attack on him but failed in their objective. The incident further raised Raju's profile among the tribals who then started to see him as someone endowed with divine powers. As the rebellion continued unabated, detachments of the
Assam Rifles were eventually brought in to quell it. To combat the rebellion and to capture Rama Raju, the district collectors of
East Godavari and
Visakhapatnam districts, who had jurisdiction over the areas of rebellion, employed all means possible, from burning villages to destroying crops, killing cattle, and violating women. A monetary reward of was announced for the head of Rama Raju, and each for his lieutenants Gam Malludora and Gam Gantamdora. The fight continued for about two years capturing attention of the common people as well as the powerful officials across the country. In April 1924, the British government deputed
Thomas George Rutherford, who resorted to employing extreme methods of violence and torture on the local people to know the whereabouts of Raju and his followers. As Rama Raju was garnering support from the locals, the British cordoned off the hills and limited his influence in the regions of Peddavalasa, Gudem, and Darakonda. He tried to court people from the plains to his side, particularly people from the
Indian National Congress. However, to his disappointment he found they had no sympathy for him and were against his actions on the ground that he violated the Gandhian principle of
non violence. Historian
David Arnold however noted that the real reason why the Congress leadership did not support Rama Raju and the tribals was because the Congress leaders "themselves shared the same class interest of the zamindars and moneylenders" against whom Raju and his people were revolting. Reactions from other political entities was either unresponsive or negative. ==Death and legacy==