Ananda Charulu - The rugged moderate of Andhra
Andhra Pradesh produced many great freedom fighters who fought bravely and sacrificed their life for the country. All of them have made Andhra proud. This article is about one such freedom fighter-Ananda Charulu.
Brief History of Ananda Charulu
Ananda Charulu, the "rugged" moderate of Andhra, began his career early as a teacher in Pachiappa school, and barely passed his law examination. After initial hiccups in the profession, he joined the Madras High Court and entered public life in 1875.
In 1884, he established the Madras Mahajana Sabha and said of it, "it is pursued as a means to an end; that end being to promote mutual understanding among people," which obviously reflects the early moderate understanding of nation building. Ananda Charulu's contribution to the nationalist struggle
Ananda Charulu's contribution to the nationalist struggle reached a turning point when he was elected the president of INC in 1891, and later to the Imperial Legislative Council in 1895. His criticism of the budget, and recommendations to revamp Imperial Legislative Council were famous, for he described the council as "the oligarchy of fossilized Indian administrators who were superannuated for service in India."
With Ananda Charulu, Andhra entered the mainstream of nationalist movement. But as events unfolded between 1905-1920, the rift between moderates and extremists became pronounced, culminating in a Congress split in 1907.
One distinct contribution of "Lal-Bal-Pal" phase was the beginning of the militant fervour against the British.
Swaraj was to be achieved through Swadeshi movement and boycott of foreign goods, leaders, both national and regional, imbibed this new patriotism which brought young student leaders into forefront.
