Komaram Bheem
Komaram Bheem (October 22, 1901 - October 27, 1940) was a tribal leader who fought against the Asaf Jahi dynasty for the liberation of Hyderabad. Komaram Bheem openly fought against the ruling government, Nizam, as part of a guerrilla campaign. He challenged the courts, laws, and all other forms of Nizam authority, living from the sustenance of the forest. He took up arms against Nizab Nawab's soldiers and fought against Babi Jhari until his last breath. His life story was originally written by the comrade leader of the Telangana rebellion, Puchalapalli Sundariah.
It is not very often that Komaram Bheem's name is heard in the tradition of the country's great Adivasi tribal leaders. Although he was no less a martyr in Adivasi's struggle for autonomy, his recognition was mainly limited to the boundaries of Telangana / Andhra Pradesh. His story is erased from historical texts, like many Adivasi stories. Apart from that, very few people know that Komaram Bheem gave for the first time the popular slogan "Jal Jangal Jameen". In his move against the Nizams, he argued that full rights over all forest resources should be granted to Adivasis.
Komaram Bheem belonged to the community of Gond (Koitur) and was born in Sankepalli, Adilabad District, Telangana (1900). Adilabad District is located north of Telangana, bordering the state of Maharashtra. The area was mainly inhabited by Gonds and was under the sovereignty of Gond de Chanda (Chandrapur) and Ballalpur. Bheem's childhood unfolded without any exposure to the outside world, he received no formal education and he grew up seeing and knowing the sufferings of his people. As Mypathi Arun Kumar tells in his book: "Bheem grew up listening to accounts of the exploitation of Gond and Kolam Adivasis by the police, businessmen and Zamindars of Janglaat. To survive, Bheem continued to move from place to place trying to protect himself from the exploitation of businessmen and extortion by officials. The crops produced after Podu farming were confiscated by Nizam officials, Janglaats claiming that the land belonged to them. They had cut the fingers of the Adivasi children and then shot them illegally. Taxes were collected by force, otherwise false cases were recorded. After being left without anything in agriculture, people had started to leave their villages. In such a situation, the forest authorities killed his father for claiming the rights of the Adivasis. Bheem was agitated by the murder of his father. After the death of his father, his family moved from Sankepalli to Sardapur. "
In light of Adivasis decades of struggle for patta rights, Komaram Bheem's contributions remain important - he represents a revolutionary symbol for all Adivasi movements and also reminds us of the forgotten promises of the nation and the state towards the Adivasis. Komaram Bheem occupies the highest position of respect among the Gond Adivasi community and is considered a deity (pen). Every year, Asaryuja Powrnami celebrates the anniversary of Bheem's death. On this occasion, an event is organized in Jodeghat to commemorate his life and his fight. After a long struggle, 72 years after his death, the Komaram Bheem statue was installed in 2012 at Tank Bund in Hyderabad. Komaram Bheem will remain forever as the leader and icon of the long adivasi struggle of 'Jal Jangal Jameen'.
It is not very often that Komaram Bheem's name is heard in the tradition of the country's great Adivasi tribal leaders. Although he was no less a martyr in Adivasi's struggle for autonomy, his recognition was mainly limited to the boundaries of Telangana / Andhra Pradesh. His story is erased from historical texts, like many Adivasi stories. Apart from that, very few people know that Komaram Bheem gave for the first time the popular slogan "Jal Jangal Jameen". In his move against the Nizams, he argued that full rights over all forest resources should be granted to Adivasis.
Komaram Bheem belonged to the community of Gond (Koitur) and was born in Sankepalli, Adilabad District, Telangana (1900). Adilabad District is located north of Telangana, bordering the state of Maharashtra. The area was mainly inhabited by Gonds and was under the sovereignty of Gond de Chanda (Chandrapur) and Ballalpur. Bheem's childhood unfolded without any exposure to the outside world, he received no formal education and he grew up seeing and knowing the sufferings of his people. As Mypathi Arun Kumar tells in his book: "Bheem grew up listening to accounts of the exploitation of Gond and Kolam Adivasis by the police, businessmen and Zamindars of Janglaat. To survive, Bheem continued to move from place to place trying to protect himself from the exploitation of businessmen and extortion by officials. The crops produced after Podu farming were confiscated by Nizam officials, Janglaats claiming that the land belonged to them. They had cut the fingers of the Adivasi children and then shot them illegally. Taxes were collected by force, otherwise false cases were recorded. After being left without anything in agriculture, people had started to leave their villages. In such a situation, the forest authorities killed his father for claiming the rights of the Adivasis. Bheem was agitated by the murder of his father. After the death of his father, his family moved from Sankepalli to Sardapur. "
Komaram Bheem Life History :
In October 1940, one day, Patwari Laxman Rao, Nizam Pattadar Siddique Saab, accompanied by 10 people, began abusing and harassing Gonds to pay taxes at the time of harvest. The Gonds resisted and in this standoff, Siddique Saab died in the hands of Komaram Bheem. He escaped after the incident with his friend Kondal from Sartapur to Chanda (Chandrapur) on foot. A print press owner, Vitoba, helped him and took him from the station. Vitoba ran a magazine against English and Nizam at that time. Bheem learned English, Hindi and Urdu during his stay in Vitoba. After a while, Vitoba was arrested by the police and the press was closed. From there, Bheem went to Assam to work at the teapot with a person he met at the Manchiryal station. He worked there for four and a half years, where he also protested against the owners of plans to defend the rights of tea plantation workers and was also arrested during this struggle. After four days, Bheem managed to get out of prison. From Assam Station, he boarded a freight train and reached Ballarshah. When he was in Assam, he had heard about Alluri Sitaramraju, who was leading the Adivasi struggles in the forest. He remembered the struggles of Ramji Gond who fought the atrocities of Nizams. Upon his return, he began to plan and organize the future struggle of the Adivasis. "In light of Adivasis decades of struggle for patta rights, Komaram Bheem's contributions remain important - he represents a revolutionary symbol for all Adivasi movements and also reminds us of the forgotten promises of the nation and the state towards the Adivasis. Komaram Bheem occupies the highest position of respect among the Gond Adivasi community and is considered a deity (pen). Every year, Asaryuja Powrnami celebrates the anniversary of Bheem's death. On this occasion, an event is organized in Jodeghat to commemorate his life and his fight. After a long struggle, 72 years after his death, the Komaram Bheem statue was installed in 2012 at Tank Bund in Hyderabad. Komaram Bheem will remain forever as the leader and icon of the long adivasi struggle of 'Jal Jangal Jameen'.
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