Telangana Rebellion
Encyclopedia
The Telangana Rebellion or Vetti Chakiri Movement also known as Telangana Raithanga Sayudha Poratam was a communist-led peasant rebellion against the feudal
lords of the Telangana region and later against the princely state
of Hyderabad
between 1946 and 1951. This was led by the Communist Party of India
.
against the oppressive feudal lords and quickly spread to the Warangal
and Bidar
districts in around 4000 villages. Peasant farmers and labourers revolted against the local feudal landlords (jagirdars and deshmukhs), who were ruling the villages known as samsthans. These samsthans were ruled mostly by Reddy
s and Velama
s called as Doralu. They virtually ruled over all the communities in the village and managed the tax collections (revenues) and owned almost all the land in that area. Nizam had little control over these regions barring the capital Hyderabad. Chakali Ilamma, belonging to a low caste Rajaka
caste, had not only revolted against ‘zamindar' Ramachandra Reddy, during the struggle which he tried to take her 4 acres of land. Her revolt inspired many to join the movement.
The communist led agitation was successful in liberating over 3000 villages from the feudal lords and 10,000 acres of agriculture land was distributed to landless peasants. Around 4000 peasants lost their lives in the struggle fighting feudal private armies.
It later became a fight against Nizam
. The initial modest aims were to do away with the illegal and excessive exploitation meted out by these feudal lords in the name of bonded labour. The most strident demand was for the writing off of all debts of the peasants that were manipulated by the feudal lords.
into the Indian Union. The government sent the army in September 1948 to annex the Hyderabad state into Indian Union. The Communist party had already instigated the peasants to use guerrilla tactics against the Razzakars and around 3000 villages (about 41000 sq. kilometres) had come under peasant-rule. The landlords were either killed or driven out and the land was redistributed. These victorious villages established commune
s reminiscent of Soviet mir (social)s to administer their region. These community governments were integrated regionally into a central organization. The rebellion was led by the Communist Party of India
under the banner of Andhra Mahasabha
.
Few among the well-known individuals at the forefront of the movement were great leaders, like Suddala Hanmanthu
, Chandra Rajeswara Rao
, Raavi Narayana Reddy
, Arutla Laxmi Narsimha Reddy, Arjula Ramana Reddy, the Urdu
poet Makhdoom Mohiuddin
, Sulaiman Areeb
, Hassan Nasir
, Bhimreddy Narasimha Reddy
, Nandyala Srinivas Reddy(NSR), Mallu Venkata Narasimha Reddy
, Mallu Swarajyam
, Arutla Ramchandra Reddy
and his wife Arutla Kamala Bai.
The violent phase of the movement ended in 1951, when the last guerilla squads were subdued in the Telengana region.
led to the liberation of Hyderabad state from the Nizam's rule on 17 September 1948 and after a temporary military administration the dominion was eventually merged into the Indian Union. The elections of 1952 led to the victory of Congress party in Hyderabad state. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao
was first chief minister
of the Hyderabad state from 1952 to 1956. In 1956, Hyderabad State was merged with Andhra state
to form the present day Andhra Pradesh
State.
Indian feudalism
Feudalism was a social system of medieval European origin, according to which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a...
lords of the Telangana region and later against the princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
of Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
between 1946 and 1951. This was led by the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
.
Vetti Chakiri Udyamam
The revolt started in 1946 in the Nalgonda districtNalgonda district
Nalgonda / Nallagonda District is a district in Andhra Pradesh. It has a population of 3,483,648 of which 13.32% is urban as of 2001.-Etymology:Its name is derived from two Telugu words Nalla & Konda i.e...
against the oppressive feudal lords and quickly spread to the Warangal
Warangal district
Warangal District is located in the northern area in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The administrative seat is Warangal.Warangal District has an area of 12,846 km², and a population of 3,246,004 of which 19.20% was urban as of 2001...
and Bidar
Bidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
districts in around 4000 villages. Peasant farmers and labourers revolted against the local feudal landlords (jagirdars and deshmukhs), who were ruling the villages known as samsthans. These samsthans were ruled mostly by Reddy
Reddy
Reddy is a social group or caste of India, predominantly inhabiting Andhra Pradesh. They are enlisted as a forward caste by the government. Traditionally, they are a high-caste community of nobility, warriors and cultivators. According to academics, they were a warrior caste in the remote past and...
s and Velama
Velama
Velama or the Velama Doralu is a social group found mainly in Andhra Pradesh. Velamas are classed as "Upper Shudras". The history of Velama's is as old as Telugu bravery. Military exploits of Velamas form an important part of Telugu tradition, history and folklore...
s called as Doralu. They virtually ruled over all the communities in the village and managed the tax collections (revenues) and owned almost all the land in that area. Nizam had little control over these regions barring the capital Hyderabad. Chakali Ilamma, belonging to a low caste Rajaka
Rajaka
Rajaka, also Hena and Rada, is a minority Sri Lankan and Indian caste. It is known as Chakali in Andhra Pradesh, India.- History :...
caste, had not only revolted against ‘zamindar' Ramachandra Reddy, during the struggle which he tried to take her 4 acres of land. Her revolt inspired many to join the movement.
The communist led agitation was successful in liberating over 3000 villages from the feudal lords and 10,000 acres of agriculture land was distributed to landless peasants. Around 4000 peasants lost their lives in the struggle fighting feudal private armies.
It later became a fight against Nizam
Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII
Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi MP, GCSI, GBE Asaf Jah VII , born Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur , was the last Nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad and of Berar. He ruled Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until it was merged into India...
. The initial modest aims were to do away with the illegal and excessive exploitation meted out by these feudal lords in the name of bonded labour. The most strident demand was for the writing off of all debts of the peasants that were manipulated by the feudal lords.
Nizam's resistance to join Indian Union
With Hyderabad's administration failing after 1945, the Nizam succumbed to the pressure of the Muslim elite and started the Razzakar Movement, which was very violent and was also responsible for forcible conversions of religion. At the same time the Nizam was resisting the Indian government's efforts to bring the Hyderabad stateHyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
into the Indian Union. The government sent the army in September 1948 to annex the Hyderabad state into Indian Union. The Communist party had already instigated the peasants to use guerrilla tactics against the Razzakars and around 3000 villages (about 41000 sq. kilometres) had come under peasant-rule. The landlords were either killed or driven out and the land was redistributed. These victorious villages established commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
s reminiscent of Soviet mir (social)s to administer their region. These community governments were integrated regionally into a central organization. The rebellion was led by the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
under the banner of Andhra Mahasabha
Andhra Mahasabha
Andhra Mahasabha was a people's organisation in the erstwhile Hyderabad state of India. Started as a subsidiary of the Indian National Congress, it had later moved away from it permanently to join hands with the Communist Party of India.- History :...
.
Few among the well-known individuals at the forefront of the movement were great leaders, like Suddala Hanmanthu
Suddala Hanmanthu
Suddala Hanmanthu was a noted Indian poet of the mid 1900s. He was revolutionary troubadour, who churned out classic song like Palleturi pillagada.....
, Chandra Rajeswara Rao
Chandra Rajeswara Rao
Chandra Rajeshwara Rao is an Indian freedom fighter . He was one of the top leaders of the Telengana Rebellion . He also worked as Communist Party of India general secretary for 28 years until he gave up the job in 1992 for health reasons..-Family:His son and grandson, Chandra Chandrasekhar and...
, Raavi Narayana Reddy
Raavi Narayana Reddy
Shri. Ravi Narayana Reddy, , , was a founding member of the Communist Party of India. He was a leader in the Telengana Rebellion against the rule of Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII...
, Arutla Laxmi Narsimha Reddy, Arjula Ramana Reddy, the Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
poet Makhdoom Mohiuddin
Makhdoom Mohiuddin
Makhdoom Mohiuddin or Abu Sayeed Mohammad Makhdoom Mohiuddin Huzri was an Urdu poet and Marxist political activist of India. He was a distinguished revolutionary Urdu poet...
, Sulaiman Areeb
Sulaiman Areeb
Sulaiman Areeb was an Urdu poet, who was born 1922 in Hyderabad, Deccan. He was of Hadhrami Arab origin whose ancestors arrived from Hadramaut to Hyderabad. His father Sulaiman bin Abd al-Razzaq was Risaldar in Nizam's time. He was married twice and second time to Safia Begum, who herself was an...
, Hassan Nasir
Hassan Nasir
Hassan Nasir was a Pakistani proletariat leader and Secretary General of the banned Communist Party of Pakistan . Hasan Nasir belonged to Hyderabad and had fought, along with Makhdoom Mohiuddin and others, in the Telangana armed struggle. He was a maternal grandson of Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk...
, Bhimreddy Narasimha Reddy
Bhimreddy Narasimha Reddy
Comrade Bhimreddy Narasimha Reddy was a freedom fighter and a leader of the Telangana Rebellion, fighting for the liberation of the Telangana region of India from the oppressive rule of the Nizam...
, Nandyala Srinivas Reddy(NSR), Mallu Venkata Narasimha Reddy
Mallu Venkata Narasimha Reddy
Comrade Mallu Venkata Narasimha Reddy was one the leaders and fighters of the armed struggle against the oppressive rule of Nizam...
, Mallu Swarajyam
Mallu Swarajyam
Mallu Swarajyam was an Indian politician.-Early life:Born into a semi-feudal family in the backward Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in India.-Career:During the period, Nalgonda district was a part of the Hyderabad State under Nizam...
, Arutla Ramchandra Reddy
Arutla Ramchandra Reddy
Arutla Ramchandra Reddy was an Indian freedom fighter. He was among the leaders and fighters in the armed freedom struggle against the rule of Nizam . The communists joined with the poor peasants in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh during the 1940s to throw out the regime...
and his wife Arutla Kamala Bai.
The violent phase of the movement ended in 1951, when the last guerilla squads were subdued in the Telengana region.
Annexation of Hyderabad State
The rebellion and the subsequent police actionOperation Polo
Operation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces engaged those of the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union....
led to the liberation of Hyderabad state from the Nizam's rule on 17 September 1948 and after a temporary military administration the dominion was eventually merged into the Indian Union. The elections of 1952 led to the victory of Congress party in Hyderabad state. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao
Burgula Ramakrishna Rao
Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was the first elected Chief Minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad State who led the struggle against the Nizam in the princely State.-Early life:...
was first chief minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of the Hyderabad state from 1952 to 1956. In 1956, Hyderabad State was merged with Andhra state
Andhra State
Andhra State was a state in India created on October 1, 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras Presidency. On November 1, 1956 it was merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the united Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh.- Madras Manade movement :In 1953,...
to form the present day Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
State.
In popular culture
- Krishan ChanderKrishan ChanderKrishan Chander was an Urdu and Hindi Afsaana Nigaar, or short story writer. He wrote mainly in Urdu, but was well-versed in Hindi and English....
's famous HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
/UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
Jab Khet Jage was based on the Telangana Rebellion. - Film-maker Gautam GhoseGautam GhoseGoutam Ghose is one of the most acclaimed film directors of modern India. Born in Calcutta. Graduated from Calcutta University....
gained acclaim 1979 when he made his first TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
feature filmFeature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, Ma Bhoomi. - Bandenka Bandi Katti is a famous song of the rebellion, written by Suddala HanmanthuSuddala HanmanthuSuddala Hanmanthu was a noted Indian poet of the mid 1900s. He was revolutionary troubadour, who churned out classic song like Palleturi pillagada.....
(Father of Suddala Ashok TejaSuddala Ashok TejaSuddala Ashok Teja is a popular lyric writer in Tollywood.-Early life:Born Suddala a village in Nalgonda district to a well known Telugu poet, Suddala Hanmanthu, a Padmashali poet of the Telangana Rebellion.-Career:...
, National award winner), and was known more as Bandi Hanmanthu.
See also
- Peasant revolts
- Hyderabad StateHyderabad State-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
- Operation PoloOperation PoloOperation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces engaged those of the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union....
- Comrades AssociationComrades AssociationThe Comrades Association was a communist organization that operated in the State of Hyderabad in India during the rule of the Nizam. It represented the Communist Party of India in Hyderabad State. The Comrades Association played a very influential role in the Andhra Mahasabha. Revolutionary Urdu...
- Tebhaga MovementTebhaga movementThe Tebhaga movement was a militant campaign initiated in Bengal by the Kisan Sabha in 1946. At that time share-cropping peasants had to give half of their harvest to the owners of the land...
- List of peasant revolts