-Comrade Kolla Venkayya, a prominent leader of the Communist movement and freedom fighter, 26th death anniversary.—
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Mannava Hariprasad, polite buro member CPI (ml) red star—‐
A prominent Marxist-Leninist leader and freedom fighter, his 26th death anniversary will be observed on September 17, 2024. He was born in 1910 in Pedanandipadu, Guntur district, which was a center of the tax resistance movement during the national movement, to Kolla Krishnaiah and Rathamma as elder son. He belonged to a landlord family. Inspired by the tax resistance movement in Pedanandipadu, he became a participant in the national movement. He fought against British imperialism for land, food, and social liberation. In 1928, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Pedanandipadu, Venkayya played a significant role in organizing the event. As a Congressman, he attended the National Congress session in Bombay as a student delegate. In 1943, he was arrested for the first time during the national movement. Venkayya rejected the pension offered by the government under the freedom fighter’s quota, stating that fighting for freedom was not for personal gain.
Though he was initially a Congressman, he became a Communist under the influence of Pulupula Venkata Sivayya, Polepeddi Narasimhamurthy, and Makineni Basava Punnayya. At the age of 26, while studying at Andhra Christian College in Guntur, he, along with Koti Rammurthy and others, joined the Communist Party. From that moment until his last breath on September 17, 1998, he worked like a revolutionary submarine among agricultural laborers, peasants, and oppressed people in the old Guntur district, championing the slogan “Land to the tiller.”
In 1938, he played a significant role in the farmers’ great march from Ichchapuram to Tada. He was instrumental in several important struggles, including the Appapuram project farmers’ issues, the prevention of the Romperu submergence, the distribution of Romperu barren lands, the battle for the lands of Jupudi Church in Ponnur taluka, the march of Guntur district farm laborers, the police firing at Jupudi, and the martyrdom of Guntur district’s first Communist martyr, Jetty Subbarao. Venkayya played a key role in organizing and leading these protest movements.
During this period, Kolla Venkayya also held various responsibilities within the party. In 1940, he became a member of the Guntur district committee; in 1941, he became the district farmers’ association president; in 1946, he served as the state farmers’ association secretary; and he worked as the regional committee secretary of the plains area, supporting the Telangana armed struggle. From 1948 to 1951, during a period of severe repression, he operated in complete secrecy while continuing his activities. Venkayya worked as a state leader in the united Communist Party, holding various positions. He was elected as a member of the Central Control Commission at the third Congress of the Communist Party of India held in Madurai, Kerala in 1953-54, and again at the fourth Congress held in Palghat in 1956.
Kolla Venkayya also had extensive experience in legislative bodies. In 1952, he was elected as an MLA from the Ponnur constituency, as a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in 1957, and as a Member of Parliament from the Tenali Lok Sabha constituency in 1962. He resigned from Parliament at the end of 1967, stating that “Visakha Steel is the right of the Andhras.” His voice in the legislative bodies stood out in advocating for the oppressed people. From 1944 to 1948, he was elected as the chairman of the Guntur District Tobacco Growers Federation and the market, where he worked hard for the welfare of farmers. However, he did not remain confined to parliamentary activities. Venkayya was committed throughout his life to Lenin’s view that parliamentary forms of struggle should be used to advance people’s movements outside the legislative bodies. He never accepted electoral compromises with ruling parties.
He stood by the side of leaders like Puchalapalli Sundarayya, Makineni Basavapunnayya, Namboodiripad, B.T. Ranadive, and Jyoti Basu in opposing the modern revisionism undertaken by the Khrushchev-led Communist Party of Russia in 1958. Consequently, he was part of the formation of CPI(M) after breaking away from CPI. However, after some time, in 1967-68, he, along with T. Nagi Reddy, Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao, and Chandra Pulla Reddy, opposed the parliamentary approach of CPI(M) and aligned with the Naxalbari and Srikakulam struggle paths. Later, he joined CPI(ML) under the leadership of Charu Majumdar as General Secretary.
During the India-China border conflict and the Emergency period, he experienced political detention and jail life. He spent seven years in prison as an accused in the Parvathipuram Conspiracy case. Although the Visakhapatnam Sessions Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in the Parvathipuram Conspiracy case, the High Court overturned the verdict. While in Visakhapatnam Jail, he, along with comrades like Kanusanyal, Bhuvanamohan Patnaik, Nagabhushanam Patnaik, Sauren Bose, and Tejeswara Rao, distanced themselves in 1972 from Charu Majumdar’s path of annihilating landlords through individual violence-based guerrilla actions. This letter, written by these six central comrades to Charu Majumdar, criticizing the party’s path, became famous as the “Letter of the Six” from Visakhapatnam Jail.
In the Visakhapatnam Court, he declared, “Marxism-Leninism-Mao’s thought is our fundamental principle.” He wrote extensively on Indian society, analyzing caste and class relations. His key writings include the history of the martyrs of the Srikakulam struggle, the principle paper “Democratic Solution to the Problem of Native Languages and Nations,” “New Controversies on Naxalbari and Further Clarifications,” “The Military Forces of Different Nations,” “The Unity of Revolutionary Ranks That Can Overcome Obstacles,” and many other important works.
After being acquitted in the Parvathipuram Conspiracy Case, Kolla Venkayya was released from prison and, along with a large number of his followers, established the Rural Poor Association in 1980. He successfully organized movements by mobilizing thousands of rural poor and farmers in Guntur and Prakasam districts, fighting for the occupation of barren lands and the prevention of the Nallamada submergence. He worked tirelessly day and night for this cause. Due to his efforts and the leadership of the Rural Poor Association, the poor were able to secure several thousand acres of land, and the Nallamada submergence prevention scheme was implemented. Venkayya also used the courts as a platform to fight for public issues. In 1986, he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court, requesting that the Andhra Pradesh government be directed to implement the 1973 Andhra Pradesh Land Ceiling Act. In 1991, the court issued a ruling instructing the state government to implement land reform laws, and Kolla Venkayya continued his efforts for its implementation throughout his life.
Kolla Venkayya, in his 62 years of Communist life and 8 years in the Gandhian Congress life, never used a single rupee of public or party funds for his family. Furthermore, in 1943, he sold his share of 3.5 acres from the 12.5 acres of land he inherited from his father in his native village of Pedanandipadu and donated the proceeds to the Communist Party fund. As a member of the legislative assembly, he would donate his entire salary to the party, and later, he also spent his pension on public movements. The remaining amount was kept in the bank, and in 1997, he donated it to the Marxist-Leninist party where he worked. Kolla Venkayya was a man of great sacrifice.
In 1977, through a public declaration, Venkayya called for the unification of all Marxist-Leninist organizations that shared common fundamental views on revolutionary strategies and tactics. He established the Marxist-Leninist Committee (Andhra Pradesh) to work towards uniting Communist ranks. From that time until his death, he worked for the unity of Communist workers based on principles. He authored numerous theoretical papers and traveled across the country, discussing with revolutionaries to achieve Communist unity. He held multiple rounds of discussions with prominent leaders like Comrade Kanusanyal, Pathuru Adinarayana Swamy, Yathindra Kumar, Madala Narayanaswamy, Vishwam, Kura Rajanna, and K.N. Ramachandran.
Throughout his life, he lived an exemplary, modest life as a revolutionary Communist. He believed that the liberation of oppressed people and the establishment of a socialist society could only be achieved through Communist unity. He was a great patriot who believed in the power of this unity. Kolla Venkayya’s simple and noble life, unwavering patriotism, and anti-imperialist spirit serve as an inspiration for today’s youth. That is the tribute we must offer him.
With Revolutionary greetings,
Mannava Hariprasad,
Politburo Member,
CPI (ML) Red Star.
Mobile Number: 8247728296
Email: mannavahariprasad@gmail.com
