Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, a durable ascetic himself, was so impressed with disciple Potti Sriramulu's ability to do without food (29 days on one occasion) that he once said: "If only I have eleven more followers like Sriramulu I will win freedom [from British rule] in a year." Last week Potti Sriramulu, in a record fast, won autonomy, within the Indian constitution, for 22 million Telugu-speaking people. It was not all that he wanted, but it cost him his life.
Holyman Sriramulu made his fast in Madras city, and the objective was to force Prime Minister Nehru to carve a slice out of Madras state, to be called Andhra, where the Telugu could develop their own culture. Three years ago, a separation plan broke down over the failure of the Telugu (38% of the population) and the Tamils (49%) to agree on the Telugu claim to include Madras city (pop. 1,400,000) in Andhra. Since then the issue has been complicated by the Indian Communists, who have taken up the Telugu grievance, are now by one vote the largest group among the Telugu-speaking members in the Madras legislative assembly, and threaten to take over Andhra when it is created. Heedless of these hazards, Madras-born Potti Sriramulu announced last October that he would "fast unto death" unless there was an immediate decision.
Hungry Crows. Day after day, Sriramulu lay on a charpoy (stringed cot) on the veranda of his bungalow in Madras, where the raucous cries of hungry crows mingle with the whine of pariah dogs and the screech of ancient street cars. While Sriramulu lost weight, Andhra lobbyists tried to convince Nehru. As Gandhi's dis ciple, Nehru knows the political value of a prolonged fast, but unlike the British, who eventually quavered under Gandhi's persistence, Nehru stood firm. On Sriramulu's 52nd day, Nehru warned: "This method of fasting to achieve administrative or political changes will [put] an end to democratic government."
Six days later, Sriramulu came to the crisis. His eyes were sunken, his skin a ghastly pallor, and he was hiccuping continuously. His throat was so inflamed he was unable to swallow water and he vomited blood. One of the doctors at his bedside suggested that it was time to end the fast. Sriramulu had lost the power of speech, but he lifted his hand, slowly and unsteadily placed a finger on his lips in refusal. A few hours later he was dead.*
His followers bathed his body, tied a white loincloth around his waist and a towel around his shoulders, and placed him on a wooden pedestal in a sitting position, with legs crossed. Rose, jasmine and chrysanthemum garlands were hung around his neck. Camphor and incense were burned. Devotees recited prayers and a chant, composed by Gandhi, imploring God to grant wisdom to all. Hundreds came from all parts of Madras city, filed past the body of the man they now regarded as a martyr.
Emotional Wave. In the afternoon the body, seated in a chair on a four-wheel cart, was drawn through the streets by Telugu schoolboys waving lengths of black silk, beating their chests and crying, "Madras city is ours." At the crematorium, the frail body was washed in rose water and burned on a pile of sandalwood while Hindu priests recited the funeral service and Telugu politicians thundered to the mourning mob that they would never give up Madras city.