May 7th 1924. The Hero of the Rampa Rebellion against the British, Alluri Sitarama Raju is martyred as he fell to the English bullets. One of the greatest unknown freedom fighters we are not taught in history books. 
Alluri Sitarama Raju was born in the "Agency area", the forested tracts of East Godavari/Visakhapatnam districts in the Madras Presidency. He gave up family life and became a sanyasi, travelling wide and attracting people with his charismatic talks.
He was instrumental in the Tribal rebellion in the Agency area, known now as the Rampa Rebellion as the tribals protested against the Madras Forest Act which essentially deprived them of forest rights and displaced them for road and train line constructions.
He resorted to guerilla attacks against the British, repeatedly attacking the police stations, and their supply lines and looted the armouries of weapons. The British struggled to fight against him, the forested terrain and hostile locals working against them.
The British deployed the Assam Rifles in the area to try to capture Alluri Sitarama Raju but they struggled even as he ambushed them and killed two British officers. His legendary status was now cemented with this audacious attack.
Finally, he was trapped and captured in an ambush under the instructions of then Vizagapatam Collector, Rutherford. He was tied to a tree and executed, and the Rampa Rebellion lost its steam. Mother India lost a great son.
The Tribal revolts that swept across India as spontaneous uprisings against the British incursions into the forests are often a forgotten part of our history which is, sadly narrated in a single linear fashion. Great heroes like Alluri never make it beyond their home states.
The Koya community was at the forefront of this Rampa Rebellion, even though their leader Alluri Sitaramaraju was a Kshatriya by birth. But he fought for their tenancy rights.
Just dig a little deep. The Kol rebellion of the 1830s and the Santhal Rebellion of the 1850s are among the first stories we hear of the indigenous resistance to the foreign rule
The rebellion of the Munda tribe of ChotaNagpur area under Birsa Munda in the late 19th century is perhaps the most well known among the tribal rebellions. The Lushai, the Nagas and the Anglo-Manipuri War are among the other important Tribal rebellions of India.
The 1932 Rebellion of the Naga community under the 14year old Rani Guidanliu is also a well known movement. Imagine an entire community rising up behind a teenager girl. Jean D'Arc anyone?
These stories are often undocumented, forgotten or relegated to the footnotes of history as mere skirmishes or local uprisings. But this corpus of Indian history when examined together indicates the depth of the spirit of resistance embedded among us Indians.
Perhaps the actual subaltern historians must pay attention to such shining beacons of emboldened courage. People like Alluri, Komaram Bheem, Rani Guidinliu and Birsa Munda need their stories to be told to the world. End.
