The task assigned to him was to trigger the quest for independence among the unlettered masses, but he had gone beyond this to burn foreign clothes to promote Swadeshi movement and even ambushed a train carrying British soldiers to kindle the embers of freedom struggle. But today, Talisetti Venkatachalapathi remains an “unsung hero”.
Born in a simple family in Bahadurpet locality of Srikalahasti town, he emerged a revolutionary leader and became known as a close follower of Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu. When Mahatma Gandhi toured Srikalahasti, Madanapalli and Punganur towns in May 1929 to mobilise support for boycott of foreign clothes, Venkatachalapathi arranged mass burning of clothes on the banks of River Swarnamukhi in Srikalahasti.
During the Quit India movement, he actively followed fellow freedom fighter P. Subbarama Dasu during 1933-1944 and ransacked a train carrying British soldiers at Akkurthi railway station. His valorous act attracted three years imprisonment,…