From Quit India Movement to many more…

Mulkanoor (Warangal Urban): Padala Chandraiah - a freedom fighter to the core, who hobnobbed with the likes of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, has his name embossed in golden letters in the annals of Indian Independence, Telangana Armed Struggle and for taking forward the Cooperative Movement to phenomenal heights.

Mulkanoor region in erstwhile Karimnagar district (now in Warangal Urban) has always been regarded as a breeding ground for progressive thinkers and patriots. One among them - Padala Chandraiah, who was born to Laxminarsaiah and Ambamma, had his courage on display joining the Quit India Movement call given by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942. For this, he was jailed in Warangal for a month. Then he was a Class VIII student and among his peers was Bhupathi Krishnamurthy.

After working as a clerk in Azam Jahi Mills for some time, he quit it and joined the fight for Independence along with Bhupathi Krishnamurthy and KV Narsinga Rao. They also fought against the tyrannic rule of Nizam. 

He underwent military training in Chanda (Chandrapur) and Nagpur in 1947. He along with Polsani Narsinga Rao and others attacked Raikal police station (Huzurabad mandal) and stole arms. In another attack against Veerur police station, his group killed three policemen. In this attack, he was hit by a bullet in his calf muscle which is still intact.

After Indian Independence and annexation of Princely State of Hyderabad, he had an opportunity to enter politics, but he wasn’t one to be lured. 
His agitation – Tindi ginjala poratam (fight for food grains) – in association with the Socialist Party landed him in Karimnagar and Chenchalguda jails. With these cases, he had to lose police sub-inspector and teacher job in 1952. Later, he worked as clerk in agriculture department.

In 1956, he played a vital role in the establishment of Mulkanoor Cooperative Rural Bank (MRCB) along with his friend Aligireddy Kasi Vishwanatha Reddy. The MRCB witnessed a phenomenal rise and had become in cooperative movement.

Chandraiah worked as the secretary when former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao was the cooperative bank’s vice-president. Later, he worked as the president of Sheep & Goat Federation. His wife Venkatalaxmi, who is no more, was also a freedom fighter.

Although the Central government wanted to felicitate him as part of 75 years of the Quit India Movement in 2016, the indisposed Chandraiah didn’t make it to Delhi to receive the citation from the then President Pranab Mukherjee.  

Speaking to The Hans India, PV Madan Mohan, a close relative of PV, said: “Chandraiah played a vital role in taking cooperative movement forward along with PV and AK Vishwanatha Reddy. 

Whenever the former PM was in his native village Vangara, he used to spend some time with Chandraiah.” Freedom fighters in Telangana are indebted to Chandraiah because of whom they were getting pension, he added.