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{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox person
|name= Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya
|image=
|education= M.A., [[The University of Edinburgh]]
|caption= Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya
|other_names= Andhra Ratna
|birth_place= [[Penuganchiprolu]] in [[Krishna District]] of present day [[Andhra Pradesh]]
|birth_date= 2 June 1889
|death_place= [[Guntur]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|df=yes|1928|6|10|1889|6|2}}
|movement= [[Indian independence movement]]
|organization =[[Rama Dandu]], [[Indian National Congress]]
|alma_mater = The University of Edinburgh
}}
'''Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya''' (2 June 1889 – 10 June 1928) was an [[Indian freedom fighter]] and member of the [[Indian National Congress]] from the [[southern India]]n state of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. Known by his title of '''Andhra Ratna''' (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర రత్న, translates to "Jewel of Andhra" or "Gem of Andhra." Sri Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya ({{lang-te|దుగ్గిరాల గోపాలకృష్ణయ్య}}), Gopalakrishnayya was the first Andhra leader to become secretary of the [[All India Congress Committee]].<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|title=Duggirala Gopalakrishna a true Gandhian|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/03/stories/2010060363190500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606173816/http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/03/stories/2010060363190500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 June 2010|accessdate=30 July 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=3 June 2010}}</ref> Sri Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya, was a very captivating poet, speaker, songwriter, philosopher, singer and an extraordinary [[revolutionary]] with a philosophy of [[non-violence]]. Sri [[Nadimpalli Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao]] worked in tandem with Sri Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya. For his exemplary work and sacrifices for freedom movement in Andhra, he was fondly conferred the name 'Andhra Ratna' (Jewel of state Andhra Pradesh state)

== Early life and education ==
Gopalakrishnayya was born in [[Penuganchiprolu]] in the [[Nandigama|Nandigama taluk]] of [[Krishna District]] in 1889 in a Brahmin family.<ref name="guntur">{{cite web|title=PLACES AND PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH FREEDOM MOVEMENT AND FREEDOM FIGHTERS|url=http://guntur.nic.in/statistics/freedom_fighters.pdf|accessdate=30 July 2013}}</ref> His father, Kodandaramaswamy, was a school teacher but came from a family of landlords from [[Guntur]] and his mother Sitamma died soon after giving birth to him, her only child. Gopalkrishnayya's father remarried but died when he was still young and he was raised by his uncle and grandmother.<ref name="books.google">{{cite book|last=Stoddart|first=Brian|title=A People's Collector in the British Raj: Arthur Galletti|year=2011|publisher=Readworthy Publications|location=New Delhi|pages=155–156|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG77KRNojqwC&q=duggirala+gopalakrishnayya&pg=PA156|isbn=9789350180419}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=Gummidithala Venkata Subba|title=Sree Gopalakrishnayya|year=1967|publisher=Goshti Book-House|page=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwK2AAAAIAAJ&q=married}}</ref> He did his schooling from the Bapatla Municipal High School and worked for a year at the [[Bapatla]] taluk office after completing his matriculation.<ref name="hindu" /> In 1911 he chose go to the [[University of Edinburgh]] along with his childhood friend Sri [[Nadimpalli Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao|Nadimpalli Narasimha Rao]] (Barrister of Guntur) where he lived for six years and earned a postgraduate degree in economics.<ref name="books.google" /><ref name="books.google_b">{{cite book|last=Rao|first=P. Rajeswar|title=The Great Indian Patriots, Volume 1|year=1991|publisher=Mittal Publications|location=New Delhi|pages=128–131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTrs9MF9374C&q=duggirala+gopalakrishnayya&pg=PA128|isbn=9788170992806}}</ref><ref>Title The Journey of my life: an autobiography, Volume 1.The Journey of My Life: An Autobiography. Authors Shri T. Prakāsam, Prakasam Institute of Development Studies.Publisher: Prakasam Institute of Development Studies, 1992. Original from :the University of Michigan.Digitized 3 Sep 2008,{{ISBN|81-85194-07-6}}, {{ISBN|978-81-85194-07-3}}</ref>

When he returned to Guntur in 1917, he served for some time in the Government College at [[Rajahmundry]] and the National College at [[Machilipatnam]], AP. He was, however, not satisfied with the kind of education that was imparted there. Moreover, after attending the Calcutta Congress session in 1920, he was attracted to principles of 'non-co-operation' and 'Satyagraha', and resolved to dedicate his life to the achievement of Swaraj (native rule).

== Freedom fighter ==
While in Guntur he became involved in [[Annie Besant|Annie Besant's]] [[Home Rule League|Home Rule Movement]]. In 1919 he gave up his teaching career to become a full-time political activist.<ref name="books.google" /> He attended the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in 1920 where he was attracted to the idea of non-cooperation that the Congress endorsed.<ref name="books.google_a">{{cite book|last=Bhatt|first=S C|title=Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories: Andhra Pradesh (Volume 2)|year=2006|publisher=Kalpaz Publication|location=New Delhi|pages=37–38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4pvVOd2L0cC&q=gopalakrishnayya&pg=PA37|isbn=9788178353586}}</ref>

=== Rama Dandu ===
Gopalakrishnayya was a devotee of the Hindu deity [[Rama]] and he organised a cadre of workers whom he called ''Rama Dandu'' (meaning Rama's Army) to work for the cause of ''[[swaraj]]''. In 1921 the Congress held its annual session at [[Bezwada]] (or Vijayawada) where the Rama Dandu played a prominent role in organising it. Members of the Dandu wore saffron clothes and donned ''[[rudraksha]]'' beads and [[vermilion]] and they participated in the meeting in large numbers. [[Mohammad Ali Jouhar|Mohammed Ali]], the president of the session, was impressed enough to call it the Red Army of India.<ref name="books.google_a" /><ref name="books.google_c">{{cite book|last=Rao|first=E. Nageswara|title=Abburi Ramakrishna Rau|year=2002|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|pages=14–15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FZTOPE3rrCcC&q=duggirala+gopalakrishnayya&pg=PA56|isbn=9788126010707}}</ref><ref name="aponline">{{cite web|title=Andhra Pradesh: Modern Period - Freedom Struggle|url=http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/hist-cult/history_modern.html|accessdate=30 July 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926211417/http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/hist-cult/history_modern.html|archivedate=26 September 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Chirala anti-tax agitation ===
Gopalakrishnayya is perhaps best known for the anti-tax [[satyagraha]] he led in [[Chirala]] during the [[Non-Cooperation Movement]]. The satyagraha had its roots in the decision of the colonial government of the [[Madras Presidency]] to combine the villages of Chirala and Perala in [[Guntur district]] into a municipality. While the villages yielded an annual tax of revenue of {{INR}}4000 per annum, their reclassification as a municipal area would yield the government a revenue of {{INR}}40,000 per annum. The move was opposed by the residents as it would impose a greater tax burden on them. The government however chose to press ahead with its decision prompting the municipal council to resign ''en masse''. In January 1921 the residents decided not to pay the taxes and the government in response clamped down by arresting, prosecuting and sentencing several of the protesters to imprisonment.<ref name="books.google_a" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Chirala - Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh|url=http://travel.financialexpress.com/sections/management/636-chirala-prakasam-andhra-pradesh|accessdate=30 July 2013|newspaper=Financial Express|date=11 August 2012}}</ref>

Following the Bezwada Congress session, [[Mahatma Gandhi]] visited Chirala where Gopalakrishnayya sought his advice on the future course of action. Gandhi advised the continuation of a nonviolent struggle and the mass movement of people residing in the municipal area to regions beyond town limits as this would also render a depopulated municipality meaningless. Heeding Gandhi's advice, Gopalakrishnayya, in April 1921, led the residents of Chirala town to move out of the town and set up temporary settlements beyond town limits. Nearly 13,000 out of the town's total population of 15,000 responded to his call and shifted to a new settlement called Ramanagar where he set up an assembly comprising members from all castes and a court of arbitration. Gopalakrishnayya and the Rama Dandu worked to keep up the morale of the people and this establishment continued for a period of eleven months. Ultimately a combination of dwindling finances, the arrest and imprisonment of Gopalakrishnayya at [[Tiruchirappalli|Trichnopoly]] and the absence of leaders to continue the struggle in the absence of Gopalakrishnayya led to the winding up of Ramanagara.<ref name="books.google_a" /><ref name="aponline" /><ref>{{cite web|title=FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH|url=http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe0798/PIBF0707982.html|publisher=Press Information Bureau, Government of India|accessdate=30 July 2013}}</ref>

=== Swarajya Party ===
Following the withdrawal of the Non Cooperation Movement, dissension spread across the Congress party on the issue of its future course of action. When [[Chittaranjan Das|C R Das]] and [[Motilal Nehru]] founded the [[Swarajya Party]] in 1925, Gopalakrishnayya joined it and became one of its secretaries from Andhra.<ref>{{cite book|last=Innaiah|first=Narisetti|title=Political History of Andhra Pradesh :1909-2009|pages=28–29|url=http://www.centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/Pradesh-Part-2.pdf}}</ref> For his work with Rama Dandu and the establishment of Ramanagar, he came to be known as ''Ramadas'' and as a leader of the Swarajya Party he would sometimes introduce himself with a tinge of humour as C R Das or Chirala Rama Das.<ref name="books.google_b" />

== Literature ==
Gopalakrishnayya was a [[polyglot]] fluent in [[Sanskrit]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Hindi]] and [[English language|English]] and an [[extempore]] composer of verse. He was a powerful orator and set up the Andhra Vidya Peetha Gosthi, a literary society but gave primacy to his political career over his literary talents.<ref name="books.google_c" /> During his years in England, Gopalakrishnayya became friends with [[Ananda Coomaraswamy]] with whom he translated the ''Abhinayadarpana'' of [[Nandikesvara]] into English as ''The Mirror of Gesture''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Liyanage|first=Saumya|title=Stillness, self-cultivation, and body-mind oneness in Asian actor learning|url=https://www.academia.edu/3441966|accessdate=30 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Krishnan|first=Hari|title=Inscribing Practice' Reconfigurations and Textualizations of Devadasi Repertoire in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-century South India|url=http://acceleratedmotion.wesleyan.edu/primary_sources/texts/bharatanatyam/inscribing_practice.pdf|accessdate=30 July 2013}}</ref> He was a mentor to the Telugu writer [[Abburi Ramakrishna Rau]] and had a strong influence on the poet [[B Sundararama Sastri]].<ref name="books.google_c" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Mohan|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|page=4220|isbn=9788126012213|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&q=duggirala+gopala+krishnaiah&pg=PA4229}}</ref>

== Family ==
Gopalakrishnayya married Durga Bhavani Amma as a 14-year-old in 1903.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=I. V. Chalapati|title=Duggirala Gopala Krishnaiah|year=1988|publisher=International Telugu Centre, Telugu University|page=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6hAAAAAMAAJ&q=durga+bhavani+amma}}</ref>

== Death and commemoration ==
Gopalakrishnayya was diagnosed with advanced [[tuberculosis]] in 1926 and spent much of his last days in poverty and suffering.
He died on 10 June 1928, aged 39.<ref name="guntur" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=Gummidithala Venkata Subba|title=Sree Gopalakrishnayya|year=1967|publisher=Goshti Book-House|page=213|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwK2AAAAIAAJ&q=married}}</ref> He is known by the title ''Andhra Ratna'' (or Jewel of Andhra).<ref name="guntur" /><ref name="books.google_b" />

The Congress Party's headquarters in [[Vijayawada]], the Andhra Ratna Bhavan, is named after Gopalakrishnayya.<ref>{{cite book|last=Naidu|first=CH. M.|title=Salt Satyagraha in the Coastal Andhra|year=1986|publisher=Mittal Publications|location=New Delhi|page=92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5dqRvDui1-4C&q=andhra+ratna&pg=PA92}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Of political parties and their offices|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/of-political-parties-and-their-offices/article4187606.ece|accessdate=30 July 2013|newspaper=The Hindu|date=11 December 2012}}</ref> There are biographies of his by [[Chalapathi Rao]] and K Kutumbasastri.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=I. V. Chalapati|title=Duggirala Gopala Krishnaiah|year=1988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xkaAAAAIAAJ|publisher=International Telugu Centre, Telugu University|accessdate=30 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kutumbasastri|first=Karlapalemu|title=Andhraratna : Duggirala Gopalakrsna katha, Short biography of Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya, 1889-1928, a revolutionary from Andhra Pradesh|year=1976|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P44JAQAAIAAJ|publisher='Telugu Velugu' Grandhamala|accessdate=30 July 2013}}</ref> A bronze statue of his, unveiled by [[K Kamaraj]], stands in Chirala.<ref name="books.google_b" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110926211417/http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/hist-cult/history_modern.html Chirala-Perala Movement]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1928 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Krishna district]]

Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya - Revision history

>GreenC bot at 20:05, 21 April 2021