Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy

The father of Narasimha Reddy was related to the Palegar (Jagirdar) family of Uyyalawada in Koilakuntla taluk who had married two daughters of the Palegar of Nossam. He had three sons, of whom Narasimha was the youngest and only son of the younger daughter of the Palegar of Nossam, Seethamma. == As a movement leader ==

The British East India Company's introduction to the Chennai Presidency of the 1803 Permanent Settlement, which had first been enacted in Bengal Presidency ten years previously, replaced the agrarian socio-economic status quo with a more egalitarian arrangement where anyone could cultivate provided that they paid a fixed sum to the East India Company for the privilege of doing so. The Palegars and other higher-status people who preferred the old agrarian system "represented the decadent social order", were in many cases "upstarts" and "were also the heirs of a social system in which various orders of Hindu society were integrated through ages". These people were dispossessed of their lands, which were then redistributed, but the primary purpose of the changes was to increase production rather than to restructure the social order. In some cases, it coincided with a punishment because among the dispossessed were those who had recently been involved in fighting the East India Company in the Palegar Wars. Some received pensions in lieu of the lost lands but at inconsistent rates. The changes, which included the introduction of the ryotwari system and other attempts to maximize revenue, deprived village headmen and other higher-status people of their role as revenue collectors and position as landholders, while also impacting on lower-status cultivators by depleting their crops and leaving them impoverished. The population came to the view that the East India Company were economically exploiting them and that those who were dependent on the traditional system no longer had a means of making a living. As the old order collapsed into disarray, the once-authoritative Palegars, including Narasimha Reddy, became the focus of attention from sufferers, whose pleas fell on deaf ears. The Palegars saw a chance to mobilize peasant opposition both for genuine social reasons. Narasimha Reddy's own objections too was based on their outcomes. Compared to the Palegar of Nossam, the pension awarded to his family upon their dispossession was paltry and the authorities refused to increase it by redistributing some of the Nossam monies when that latter family became extinct in 1821. At the same time, some of his relatives were facing proposals for further reductions in their land rights, including by a reform of the village policing system. ==War against the British==

Things came to a head in 1846 when the Company authorities assumed land rights previously held by various people who had died in the villages of Goodladurty, Koilakuntla and Nossum. Encouraged by the discontent of others, Reddy became the figurehead for an uprising. An armed group, initially comprising those dispossessed of inam lands around Koilakuntla, was led by Reddy's Right-hand man Vadde Obanna in July 1846. The Acting Collector for the area Lord Cochrane, believed that Reddy had material support from fellow pensioners in Bhagyanagar and Kurnool, whose land rights had also been appropriated. The group soon attracted support from the peasantry and was reported by Company authorities to have rampaged in Koilkuntla, taking back the looted treasury there and evading the police before killing several officers at Mittapally. They also plundered Rudravaram before moving to an area near Almore, pursued by the East India Company forces who then surrounded them. A battle between Obanna's 5000-strong band of rebels and a much smaller British contingent then took place, with around 200 of the rebels being killed and others captured before they were able to break out in the direction of Kothakota, Giddalur where Reddy's family were situated. Having collected his family, he and the rest of his contingent moved into the Nallamala Hills. The British offered incentives for information regarding the whereabouts of the rebels, who were again surrounded amidst reports that unrest was now growing in other villages of the area. In a further skirmish between the rebels and the British, who had sent for reinforcements, 40–50 rebels were killed and 90 were captured, including Reddy. Although there was no evidence of Obanna's capture, he most possibly was also a captive along with his leader. Warrants were issued for the arrest of nearly 1,000 of the rebels, of which 412 were released without charge. A further 273 were bailed and 112 were convicted. Reddy, too, was convicted and in his case received the death penalty. On 22 February 1847, he was executed in Koilkuntla in front of a crowd of over 2000 people. Reddy's head on the fort wall was in public view until 1877. The East India Company reported in their district manual of 1886 that ==Legacy==

The Renati Chandrula Smaraka Samithi is a committee which was formed for preserving the memory of Reddy and the Budda Vengal Reddy, both of whom were born in village of Uyyalawada. In 2015, it published a book in both Telugu and English, titled Renati Surya Chandrulu (The Sun and Moon of Renadu). On 25 March 2021, the Kurnool airport at Orvakal has been named as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport. ==In popular culture==

A movie based on Narasimha Reddy's inspiring life, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy directed by Surender Reddy and starring Chiranjeevi in the title role, was released in the Telugu film industry on 2 October 2019 on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti. ==References==