Freedom fighter Raghvendra Rao’s last rites performed by Muslim boys

Hyderabad: Raghavendra Rao, who was suffering from age-related health problems for sometime, recently was admitted to a private hospital in Hyderabad and breathed his last while undergoing treatment on Friday.

Rao’s final rites were performed by a group of Muslim boys in Jagitial. Faiyaz Ali along with his friends has provided him funeral keeping in mind all the Hindu traditions and customs.

Who was Raghavendra Rao?

He was born in 1927 in Manala of Malyala mandal, Raghavendra Rao pursued primary education in Manala and Malyala and high school education in Old High School, Jagitial.

A person with high self-respect, he strongly opposed Nizam’s autocratic rule in Telangana. He along with his friends Thandra Meena Rao, Juvvadi Ratnakar Rao and others fought against the Nizam.

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When India got independence on August 15, 1947, the Nizam government imposed curfew in Telangana and issued orders banning the hoisting of Indian flag in the state.

Denying Nizam’s orders, Raghavendra Rao hoisted the tricolor on the top of Jagitial old high school. Police registered a case against him for violating government order.

Resisting attacks on the common public by Rajakars and Nizam police, he along with his friends waged agitation against them and burnt Nizam government’s revenue documents at Manala.

With police intensified hunt for him, he went underground and took training in armed struggle.

After Hyderabad state was merged in Indian government, he led a life as a common farmer. Raghavendra Rao, who formed Padmanayaka Kalyana Mandapam, played a vital role in the formation of Velama Sankshema Mandali. He also worked as district president of Freedom Fighters Association.

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Returning his Rythu Bandhu amount to the government, he advised Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to give the money to poor farmers.