Alluri Sitharama Raju and Komaram Bheem

In News

• The Telugu movie ‘RRR’, which won the Best Original Song for ‘Naatu Naatu’ at the 2023 Oscars, is inspired by the lives of Indian freedom fighters Alluri Sitharama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

Alluri Sitharama Raju

• Alluri Sitarama Raju, born in Andhra Pradesh in 1897/1898, led the Rampa or Manyam Rebellion of 1922 and was involved in opposing the British in response to the 1882 Madras Forest Act. 
• The Forest Act of 1882 banned the collection of minor forest produce such as roots and leaves, and tribal people were forced into labour by the colonial government.
• The Rampa or Manyam Rebellion continued in the form of a guerrilla war until May 1924, when Raju, the charismatic ‘Manyam Veerudu’ or Hero of Jungle, was finally captured and executed.
• He was given the title: “Manyam Veerudu” (transl. Hero of the Jungle) for his heroic exploits.

Komaram Bheem

• Komram Bheem was born in 1900/1901 in the Gond tribal community at Sankepally village in Komaram Bheem District of Telangana.
• He led the rebellion against the feudal Nizams of Hyderabad.
• He spread the message of “Jal, Jangal, Zameen” among tribal people, which became a clarion call for indigenous people’s rights to natural resources.

Source: IE