Nagulapalli, a true Gandhian

Hyderabad: The mortals of Nagulapalli Seetharamaiah, a Gandhian to the core, were consigned to flames at Swargadham, the crematorium at Alwal on Monday. He breathed his last on Sunday at his residence here. He was 96. He is survived by two sons and three daughters and several grand and great grandchildren. N Seetharamaiah, as he is popularly known in Krishna district, was a veteran freedom fighter and a versatile personality with distinct contribution (in a truly Mahtma Gandhi's tradition) in several fields of rural upliftment, social mobilization and social justice. He was known for humility and unassuming nature. At 96 years of age, he was active and a livewire personality among freedom fighters of Andhra Pradesh. A pioneer of Library Movement, he started many libraries in villages of Krishna District. Nagulapalli Seetharamaiah Children's Library is a more recent experimental project in Mudunuru. He joined the Congress in 1930 and by 1932 became an underground worker of the Freedom Movement, ran a secret newspaper called "Ready" in 1932 Civil Disobedience Movement. He repeated the activities during 1942. Finally he was arrested and convicted. He underwent three 3 months Sub Jail and four 4 months of imprisonment (1943). Together with GORA (Goparaju Ramachandra Rao) and Anne Anjaiah organized political schools to prepare and train concerned political workers. In recognition of his contribution in this regard, ground floor of the multistoried complex built by Freedom Fighters in the heart of Vijayawada is named as "Nagulapalli Seetaramaiah Conference Hall". Between 1935 and 75 he had promoted the concept of social dinners together with 'Gora' and conducted many such events towards a casteless and classless communities. He invited Mahatma Gandhi to Mudunuru and organized temple (Sivalayam) entry for Harijans in 1933.