The Rajahmundry Central Prison, which hit the headlines as TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was shifted there after ACB court remanded him in connection with the alleged skill development scam, is a mute witness to the Indian freedom struggle while it was at its peak in the early 1920s.
Between 1920 and 1940, many luminaries who led the freedom struggle in the Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema regions in the then Madras Presidency, were imprisoned in the 2A and 2B blocks that were built by the Dutch by the Godavari river in 1759. By then, the Dutch had built a fort exclusively for trade purposes and storing merchandise.
On the East Coast, the Dutch were aggressive in the textile trade. Later, the British had also used the fort for their trade purposes until they converted it into a ‘Local Prison’ in 1864. However, it was designated as a Central Prison in 1870.
Now, the prison spreads over 196 acres of which 37 acres are fortified with all the buildings and blocks comprising cells as per the records of the Andhra Pradesh State Prisons Department.
Rampa Rebellion
In 1924, Taggipandu Veerayya Dora, one of the followers of Alluri Sitarama Raju in the Rampa Rebellion (1922-24), was imprisoned in the Rajahmundry Central Prison, says the Department of Prisons. The Rampa Rebellion was said to be the most non-violent battle waged against the British by the tribes in the Godavari valley.
As many as 19 freedom fighters were imprisoned in the prison between 1920 and 1942. Bulusu Sambamurthy hailing from Godavari region, who actively participated in the agitation against the Simon Commission (1929) and Salt Satyagraha (1930), was sent to Rajahmundry Central Prison in April 1930. The next year, renowned freedom fighter and artist Adivi Bapiraju was also imprisoned there.
Palnadu-based Vavilala Gopala Krishnayya, who led the Library Movement, was imprisoned three times—in 1930, 1932 and 1940. He was one of the freedom fighters who was sent here more number of times during the freedom struggle.
Acharya N.G.Ranga, a Gandhian from Bapatla region, was also lodged in the Rajahmundry Central Prison in 1931, according to records of the prison. The Dutch portion of the prison deserves to be declared a ‘protected monument’ as it has survived for more than a century.
