Hyderabad: Veteran Communist leader Mallu Swarajyam, who is known for her vibrant role in the Telangana Armed Struggle against landlords and Razakars during the Nizam rule, died at a private hospital here on Saturday. She was 93. Swarajyam was admitted to the hospital on March 1 with pneumonia and the end came at 8 PM on Saturday, hospital sources said. Swarajyam's mortal remains would be kept at MB Bhavan, the CPI(M) headquarters here, on Sunday morning to enable people to pay their last respects and the body would later be donated to a medical college at Nalgonda, CPI (M) sources said.
Born in 1931 in present day Suryapet district of Telangana, Swarajyam began working against social evils of the day after being inspired by Maxim Gorky's novel 'Mother' at the tender age of 10, CPI(M) said. Despite being born in a landlord family, she was inspired by her brother Bheemreddy Narasimha Reddy and the programmes of Andhra Mahila Sabha, a reputed charitable organisation, to work for the masses. As per a call given by the Andhra Mahila Sabha, she had distributed rice to people belonging to different communities in a village in 1941.
Defying social customs, she had worked for the welfare of under-privileged sections. She took up gun and participated in the Armed Struggle during 1945 to 1948. She had mobilised people against the atrocities of Razakars, an armed group which supported the Nizam rule. The then Nizam government had announced a reward on Swarajyam's head.
She stood with CPI(M) after the split of the Communist party in the country and had represented CPI(M) in undivided Andhra Pradesh Assembly in 1978 and 1983. Her husband Mallu Venkata Narasimha Reddy, who was also a CPI(M) leader, pre-deceased her. She is survived by two sons and a daughter.