Hyderabad: Former minister T. Harish Rao on Sunday called for recognising the contributions made by the brave warrior Papanna Goud, who fought against the exploitation of the poor, and defeated the rulers of 20 forts and hoisted his flag on the Golconda fort. After unveiling a statue of Papanna Goud at a function organised by the Kaudinya Youth Association in Gonepalli near Siddipet, Harish Rao said the history of great freedom fighters of Telangana such as Papanna Goud, Chakali Ilamma, and Komaram Bheem, remained largely untold in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He stated that after the BRS government came to power, Papanna Goud’s story was included in textbooks, and official commemorative programmes on his birth and death anniversaries were organised.The BRS leader criticised the Congress and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for backtracking on promises, reducing reservations in liquor shops from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, secretly increasing license fees from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh and failing to include promised reservations in official orders.Referring to Cambridge University’s study on Papanna Goud’s struggle and his statue at Victoria Museum in London, Harish Rao said India is yet to yet to acknowledge his contributions even though the Britishers did.It may be mentioned here that in 2005, Richard M. Eaton dedicated a chapter on Papanna Goud in his book ‘A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761, Eight Indian Lives’” which is a part of ‘The New Cambridge History of India’ published by Cambridge University Press. London’s Victoria Museum has a painting of Papanna Goud.
Source link
