B. Srinivasa Rao (10 April 1907 - 30 September 1961) was an Indian politician. He hailed from present-day Karnataka, but moved to Tamil Nadu and became a peasant organiser there. [1] [2]
Srinivasa Rao was born on 10 April 1907. [3]
He was a member of the Congress Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India. [1] He was an associate of S.V. Ghate and P. Jeevanandham, and was one of the nine founding members of the Tamil Nadu unit of CPI. [1] [4] He played an important role in the Tamil peasant movement from 1935 onward, in spite of not knowing Tamil language upon his arrival in the region. [1] As of 1935 he was the secretary of the Congress Socialist Party in Madras. [1] B. Srinivasa Rao was jailed for having distributed leaflets calling for boycott to the King George V Silver Jubilee celebration. [1] After his release from prison he worked with P. Jeevanandham and P. Ramamurthi in setting up various trade unions. [1] According to P. Ramamurthi, he founded the peasants and agricultural labour movement in Thanjavur District as "[h]e toured the district for months, lived with the peasants and agricultural labourers, ate in their houses and built a strong movement." [5]
He managed the monthly publication of CPI 1938–1939. [2] Upon the outbreak of World War II, he was arrested under the Defense of India Rules for having made anti-war speeches. [1] [4] He served as Joint Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha 1954–1957. [2] He was elected to the CPI National Council at the 1958 Amritsar Party Congress. [2]
He died on 30 September 1961. [3]