Alluri Seetha Ramaraju Jayanthi

 

Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju is brave son of India who laid down his life to free mother India from the oppression of the British. He was born on 4th July 1897. While pursuing his studies at Kakinada, Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju came in contact with a notable freedom fighter, Sri Madduri Annapurnayya, and Rallapalli Atchuta Ramayya, a scholar of high repute. For his further studies he went to Visakhapatnam at the age of 15. Though he didn’t have much interest in studies, he was very keen to know more about the political condition of India at that time.

In 1857 during the first war of independence thousands of tribals of Gond land laid their life for their country. Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju went deep into the forests of Gond land to meet the tribals and inspire them to fight for India’s independence

In the tribal areas, the poor and illiterate tribal people were exploited and oppressed blatantly by the Britishers. Since the tribals were not united against the Britishers they took advantage of it and deprived the tribals of their rights. Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju inspired and united the different tribes of the area, trained them in skills of guerrilla warfare and proved to be a terror for the Britishers.

Soon he was ready to attack the enemy with his army. On 22nd August 1922, his tribal army initiated their struggle by raiding three police stations Chintapalli Police Station, Krishnadevipeta Police Station, and Rajavommangi on three consecutive days. After the raids they captured a huge number of guns, bayonets and cartridges and swords. They even freed Veerayya Dora from jail who was a revolutionary.

The British Army was alerted by his actions and platoons of Police and Army were ordered to arrest Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju. He again attacked the British Army at Peddavalasa and defeated them as a result of which they had to bear heavy casualties and finally retreated.

From that day onwards there was a regular warfare between Raju and the Britishers and Raju came out triumphant in all. Nearly for two years(1922 to 1924) he terrorized the British Army and was the ruler of the vast area. Later Britishers were keen to kill him and deployed battalions of Assam Rifles and others. He was killed by the British on one fateful day.

The Department of Posts issued a 50 Paise multicolored stamp in memory of freedom fighter Sri Alluri Sitarama Raju.

Person of the day - Gulzarilal Nanda

Gulzarilal Nanda was an eminent Indian politician who is widely known for his stint as interim Prime Minister of India twice. Though both his terms were uneventful, the timing was crucial. When Jawaharlal Nehru passed away in 1962, India was trying to overcome from the war with China. At the crucial point, Nanda stepped up to lead the nation which was leaderless. Following the appointment of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Nanda stepped down from his position as interim Prime Minister only to take it up yet again in 1966 when Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away. Once again, the time when Nanda stepped up was crucial as India was reeling from a war with Pakistan in 1965. Nanda served both the terms for merely thirteen days each. However, Nanda’s career isn’t just about his role as interim Prime Minister. Before being appointed as the PM, Nanda served the nation through various government appointments. An economist by background, Nanda specialized in labour issues and worked as Labour Minister. Nanda represented India in various national and internal conferences. He also served as the Minister of Home Affairs from 1963 to 1966. For his immeasurable work during Indian freedom struggle and later in post independent India, Nanda was awarded the prestigious Bharat Ratna.

Childhood & Early Life

• Gulzarilal Nanda was born on July 4, 1898 in Sialkotin a Punjabi, Hindu family. Sialkot was then a part of the Punjab province of British India. After the partition of India in 1947 it became a part of Pakistan.
• Young Nanda received his early education in Lahore, Amritsar, Agra an Allaha

Major Works

• Nanda worked as an eminent Indian politician specializing on labour issues. He, in his lifetime, served the Government of India as the Labour Minister and later as the Minister of Home Affairs. A multi-talented personality, he even took up the profile of Irrigation and Power. Though Nanda dedicatedly worked all through, the high point in his career came when he twice took up the post of interim Prime Minister for thirteen days each in 1962 and 1966.

Awards & Achievements

• He was amongst the 42 members who were honored with ‘Proud Past Alumni’ from Allahabad University Alumni Association, NCR, Ghaziabad.
• To commemorate his dedication and service to the country, Government of India bestowed upon him the country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna in 1997.
    
  Personal Life & Legacy
• Nanda tied the knot with Lakshmi. The couple was blessed with three children, two sons and a daughter.
• Despite being a well-known politician and leader of the Indian freedom movement, Nanda lived a life with meagre means.

•  Nanda breathed his last on January 15,1998 in Ahmadabad, Gujarat