Former legislator of Nakrekal Assembly constituency and a leader in the Telangana Peasants’ Armed Struggle – Nandyala Srinivas Reddy, 101, passed away at his residence near Mutyalammagudi here in the early hours of Wednesday.
A staunch Communist, he was alert and kept abreast of the political dynamics during the State Assembly elections till December, and never missed reading Telugu and English dailies, relatives recollected. Srinivas Reddy, after his schooling in Suryapet and Warangal in the 1930s, entered the movement by attending Andhra Maha Sabha, and soon turned into a full-time activist in the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
“While he was the wing commander in the mid 1940s, he ran the office from his house. He distributed vast lands to the landless and fought against the doras (feudal landlords),” senior leaders who were here to pay tributes shared.
Other also recollected that Srinivas Reddy toured villages in Nizamabad, Bhuvanagiri, Warangal and Khammam, advocating against feudal policies, and subsequently when he attacked the feudal residences he was awarded death sentence by the then Military Tribunal. However, he escaped jail and later fought against the order.