George Reddy (15 January 1947 – 14 April 1972) was an Indian student leader and social activist. He was a
research student (PhD) in
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
at
Osmania University
Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
.
His untimely death led to the formation of the
Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU), a student body on the campus of the university that took its name from the "PDS" imprint he had used to publish pamphlets.
Biography
He was born in
Palghat
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...
(now
Palakkad
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...
) on 15 January 1947, just before India's independence, in the then
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
. His father Challa Raghunadh Reddy was a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
from
Chittoor
Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popul ...
, while his mother Leela Varghese was a
Malyali from
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
. They met while studying at the
Presidency College, Madras
Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...
. The family later moved to
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
from where George did his early schooling; at
St. Gabriel's High School
St. Gabriel's High School (abbreviated SGHS) is an educational institution located in Kazipet, in Warangal district of Telangana, India. It was established in 1955 by the late Rev. Bro. Vincent. The school is a Montfortian Institution.
Histor ...
, Warangal and
St. Paul's High School, Hyderabad
St. Paul's High School is a private, co-educational school established in 1954. It is a missionary List of institutions based in Hyderabad, India, educational institution based in Hyderabad, India and has classes from lower kindergarten to the ...
. He ultimately got his
intermediate degree from the
Nizam College
The Nizam College is a constituent college of Osmania University established in 1887 during the reign of Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana.
History
The Nizampur University College was originally the "Mirsar ...
in Hyderabad.
He was known for his helping nature, and was also a kick boxer.
His enthusiasm for nuclear physics earned him a university gold medal while during his postgraduate studies at
Osmania University
Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...
.
His brother Cyril Reddy (died 2016), was also an activist in Hyderabad. A lawyer, Cyril was a part of the legal team led by
Bojja Tharakam. Cyril's wife,
Gita Ramaswamy, is a social activist and writer.
Student politics
Reddy is now primarily known for his promotion of
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
ideas
and his opposition to social discrimination and economic inequality. According to a student friend, he was inspired by "the emerging
Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...
, started in 1966 in the US, the Vietnamese people's struggle against US imperialism and the peasant
uprisings in
Naxalbari
Naxalbari (also spelled Naksalbari) is a village in the Naxalbari CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. Naxalbari is famous for being the site of a 1967 revolt that would eventua ...
and
Srikakulam
Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...
."
Reddy was stabbed to death in an attack at his college campus on 14 April 1972.
Reddy's
student activist
Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
movement was a part of a string of
student protests against the
Indira Gandhi government during the 1970s in India. After his death other student protests cropped up across the country such as the
Navnirman Andolan
''Navnirman Andolan'' (Re-invention or Re-construction movement) was a socio-political movement in 1974 in Gujarat by students and middle-class people against economic crisis and corruption in public life. It is the only successful agitation in t ...
(
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
) and the
Bihar Movement
The JP movement also known as Bihar Movement was a political movement initiated by students in the Indian state of Bihar in 1974 and led by the veteran Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, against misrule and corruptio ...
. The latter of which lead to
The Emergency and eventually to the ouster of the Indira Gandhi government
in 1977.
Legacy
* ''Crisis on the Campus'' (1971) is a short documentary film directed by Fali Bilimoria. In 2012, at an event marking his fortieth death anniversary, the film was premiered and a book titled ''Reminiscences of George Reddy'' was released.
* ''Alajadi'' is a 1990 film by
Bharadwaja Thammareddy. The lead character named Ravi, based on Reddy, is played by
Bhanu Chander.
*
Mani Ratnam
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...
's movie, ''
Aaytha Ezhuthu
''Aayutha Ezhuthu'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language political action film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It is loosely based on the life story of George Reddy, a scholar from Osmania University of Hyderabad. It stars Suriya in the lead ro ...
''/''
Yuva
''Yuva'' ( Youth) is an Indian Hindi-language political thriller film directed by Mani Ratnam and released in 2004. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil as ''Aaytha Ezhuthu'', and it is loosely based on the life story of George Reddy, a ...
'' was loosely based on his story and
Suriya
Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...
/
Ajay Devgan
Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...
played his character in the respective Tamil and Hindi film versions.
* ''Jeena Hai To Marna Seekho: The Life and Times of George Reddy'' by
Gita Ramaswamy (Reddy's sister in law), a 152-page book named was published in 2016 by the Hyderabad Book Trust.
* ''
George Reddy'' is a 2019 biopic by
B. Jeevan Reddy
B. Jeevan Reddy is an Indian film director who works in predominantly Telugu-language films. He is known for his work in ''George Reddy'' (2019).
Career
B. Jeevan Reddy worked as an assistant director for '' Raksha'' (2008) and Ram Gopal Varm ...
.
Sandeep Madhav
Sandeep Madhav is an Indian actor who works in Telugu language films.
Career
He made his acting debut with ''Railway Station'' (2012), where he played one of the lead roles. Sandeep Madhav worked as an assistant director under Jeevan Reddy for ...
portrays George in the film.
Bibliography
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy, George
1940s births
1972 deaths
Malayali people
Telugu people
Indian communists
Osmania University alumni
Student politics in India
People murdered in Andhra Pradesh
Deaths by stabbing in India
Indian murder victims