Editor: I. Mallikarjuna Sharma Volume 11: 15-31 March 2015 No. 5-6

PARUCHURI HANUMANTHA RAO
Paruchuri Hanumantha Rao,
son of Narsaiah and Ramamma,
Born 16 January 1924 at Chittarpu,
Divi Taluk, Krishna District.
Died: 2 March 2015 at Hyderabad.
[This interview taken in both the ordinary narrative, and answers
to questions, forms.]
* * *
♣ Text of interview by IMS, dated Monday 27-01-2003 at
Hyderabad; From IMS (Ed.), In Retrospect, Vol. 5, Pt. 2,
pp. 465-476; Sri Hanumantha Rao is no longer with us;
expired at about 4 PM on Monday, 2 March 2015 at the
age of 91 years; our glowing tributes Sri Hanumantha
Rao garu who was a dedicated communist activist, spent
years in prison including in Cuddalore Jail during the
1948-50 tumultuous period, later took to film and then
printing industry, shined as nobody ordinarily does - all
through his hard work and self-help and built up the great
Pragati Printers, perhaps the No. 1 printing press in
Hyderabad which also won many world class awards. He
was always considerate and helpful towards the needs
and demands of the people and especially very friendly
towards all of us socialist roaders. He and Pragati Printers
also helped most of our publications wholeheartedly and
especially contributed and still contribute a lot to the
printing of our world law fortnightly, LAW ANIMATED
WORLD. My profound condolences to his family and
friends; emphases in bold ours - IMS.
- I. Mallikarjuna Sharma ♣
I was born in a poor peasant family of the
Kamma community. My native village Chittarpu
is at about 16 kilometres from Machilipatnam, in
the Divi Taluk of Krishna District. When the big
deluge devastated the Divi Seema in 1925 I was
just one-year old and now I have completed 79
and running 80. My father had only about 2 ½
acres of dry land but all the same we were not
used to go to labour in others’ fields. The men in
our family used to work hard in the fields but
women used to mainly look after domestic work
and then do any labour at home only but not go to
the fields. My mother used to spin on the Charkha
too in addition to the usual domestic jobs like
peeling off the groundnut shells, piling tobacco
leaves, etc. Gandhiji’s influence was no doubt
behind the spinning but at the same time there
was an economic aspect also to it. In childhood I
used to tend cattle as herdsman and do light
agricultural work too.
A teacher was brought from Angalur, students
were mobilized from door to door in our village
and a night school was set up in which I studied
up to 5th Class Telugu Medium. In
Vakkalagadda, near our village, there was a
school run by Bodi Narayana Rao who used to
teach English also. I went to that school and
joined 7th Class English Medium. Thereafter in
Challapalli High School I studied 8th Class or III
Form. At that time I joined the Scouts movement
and also got acquainted with Chandra Rajeswara
Rao, Challapalli Narayana Rao, Chandra
Ramalingaiah, Kavuri Kutumba Rao, etc. Books
like Gadar Veerulu (Gadar Heroes) and M.N.
Roys’s articles inspired me very much.
In 1936 elections we nationalist minded
children used to go around with placards
requesting people to vote for Gottipati
Brahmaiah, Congress candidate who contested
against the Challapalli Zamindar. The Zamindar
was quite powerful those days and he ultimately
won. But there was also a rumour that Gottipati
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Law Animated World, 15-31 March 2015