Uprising of Korra Mallaya of Salur, 1900

Korra Mallaya was the tribal chief of the Salur region, in modern day Vishakhapatnam. He carried a mystical aura and garnered a strong following in the Vishakhapatnam Agency. His rebellion against the oppressive forest policies of the foreign rule in the 1900 marked the beginning of peasant movements in the north coastal districts. Armed with bamboo sticks to be used as riffles, nearly 5000 tribal people joined Korra Mallaya to raid the colonial authorities. He was a charismatic leader of the Konda Dora movement. He told everyone that he was one of the five Pandava brothers in a previous life which pushed him to fight injustice. Korra Mallaya promised that he could turn the tribals’ bamboos into guns and the governments’ weapons into water. He was passionate and determined to drive the British out of the country. As the rebellion gained significant momentum, the Reserve Police was sent by the District Magistrate to suppress it. Several people were killed and Korra Mallaya and his son were put in jail, where the latter died.