Alluri Sitarama Raju

Alluri Sitarama Raju (4 July 1897 or 1898 – 7 May 1924) was an Indian revolutionary who waged an armed rebellion against the British colonial rule in India. He engaged in guerilla campaigns against the British forces across the border regions of present-day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and led the Rampa rebellion in 1922. He was known by the title "Manyam Veerudu" (hero of the jungle) to the local people.

Born into a Telugu family in Pandrangi in Madras Presidency (present day Andhra Pradesh) as Alluri Rama Raju, he prefixed the name "Sita" to his name in memory of a girl whom he loved during his youth and whose untimely demise at a young age left him heartbroken. He later took up sannyasa at the age of 18 and became a leader of the tribal people in the early 20th century colonial India. In the backdrop of the Non-cooperation movement (1909–22) across the country, the Rampa rebellion was born from rising discontent towards the British rule amongst the tribals. The Madras Forest Act exploited the economic value of the forests and restricted the free movement of the tribals in their forest habitats, prevented them from practicing their traditional form of agriculture called podu, and threatened their way of life. Rama Raju harnessed these grievances and mustered a combined force consisting of tribals and other sympathisers to the cause, and engaged in guerilla campaigns against the British across the border regions of present-day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Rama Raju sought to expel the British forces from the Eastern Ghats region in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. During the rebellion he led numerous raids on police stations of the imperial police to acquire firearms for his forces, which resulted in significant police casualties. After each raid, he would leave a written note in the station signed by him informing the police about the details of his plunder there, including details of the weaponry he acquired daring them to stop him if they could. In response to these raids and to quell the rebellion, the British colonial authorities undertook a two year long manhunt and spent over ₹4 million (equivalent to ₹820 million or US$9.6 million in 2023) to capture Rama Raju. Eventually, in 1924, he was captured in Chintapalli forests, and was tied to a tree, and summarily executed by a firing squad at Koyyuru. A mausoleum housing his final remains was later built at Krishnadevipeta.