Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday announced that the state will observe the birth and death anniversaries of revolutionary freedom fighter Chakali Ilamma. She was one of the faces of the Telangana Armed Struggle movement and a symbol of Telangana, he said.
Chakali Ilamma, a Bahujan woman, was an Indian revolutionary leader during the Telangana rebellion. She is one of the many oppressed caste women who fought against the dominant caste landlords or 'doras' during the Nizam era in Telangana.
Ilamma was born in 1895 in Krishnapuram, Warangal district, and was the fourth child of Oruganti Mallamma and Soilu. She belonged to the Rajaka caste and was married to Chityala Narsaiah at the age of 11.
The couple had four sons and a daughter. Her act of defiance against zamindar Ramachandra Reddy, known as Visnoor Deshmukh, to cultivate her land became an inspiration for many during the rebellion against the feudal lords.
Ilamma fought against the anarchy of Deshmukh and Razakar in Visnur between 1940 and 1944. She joined the Andhra Mahasabha as well as the Communist Party of India. She worked actively against the Nizam government and her house was the center for activities conducted against the feudal landlords who collaborated with the Nizam. She died on 10 September 1985 at Palakurthi due to illness.