Ashram launched by Mahatma Gandhi cries for attention Premium

Pinakini Satyagraha Ashram in Pallipadu, Andhra Pradesh, once a hub of Independence Movement, now struggles for revival.

The Pinakini Satyagraha Ashram at Pallipadu in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh is only a faded relic of the once sheenful place buzzing with activity, it used to be.

Hundred and three years ago, Pallipadu, a nondescript village on the banks of River Penna, became the vortex of the whirlwind of the Independence Movement in South India as it was from here that the message of Mahatma Gandhi was spread across the region.

Nellorians were left awestruck by the sheer presence of the national movement leader when on 7 April 1921, Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated Pinakini Satyagraha Ashram, the second Ashram in the country after Sabarmati, to spread the message of Gandhism, and it was in Pallipadu.

Gandhi arrived at the ashram upon the invitation of its founders, the Gandhian couple Digumarti Hanumanta Rao and Digumarthi Buchi Krishnamma, with a vision to sow seeds of freedom movement among the people there. The Mahatma stayed here for two days and formalised the launch of the freedom struggle. Activists of the Independence Movement from across the region made a beeline for the ashram take catch a glimpse of the scrawny man who achieved the mammoth task of kindling the spirits of lakhs of Indians and inspired them to break the shackles of British rule.

Ponaka Kanakamma, a Gandhian, had even given a ‘Niluvudopidi’, a tradition of stripping all the ornaments one is wearing, and offered the ornaments to Gandhi by placing them at his feet, asking him to use them for building the freedom movement. She had never worn any gold ornament since then. Ms. Kanakamma actively took part in the freedom movement and even sold her properties for charitable activities subsequently.

In 1925, the local leaders took it upon themselves to build a permanent building for the Pinakini Satyagraha Ashram. Ponaka Kanakamma offered thirteen acres of fertile land for developing the ashram on the banks of River Penna. The Indian National Congress donated ₹10,000, South Africa-based Rustomji sent ₹10,000 and a local ruler Munagala Raja gave ₹2,000 for the project.

In 1929, Pallipadu was back in the limelight when Gandhi paid a second visit to the ashram along with his wife Kasturba Gandhi. By then, the national movement had picked up popularity in the South. The visit brought national focus to this little village and reinforced Pallipadu’s Gandhian links.