HYDERABAD: Kolluri Chiranjeevi, who participated in the first and second-generation separate Telangana movements, breathed his last following an illness on Monday.
74-year-old Chiranjeevi is survived by his wife and daughter.
He was an MBBS graduate and worked in the Peoples War Group for some time. Later, he closely associated with BSP founder Kanshi Ram and spread the party's influence in the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh.
He also worked as the editor for Bahujana Patrika. After distancing himself from the BSP, Chiranjeevi took up various programmes for the welfare of the poor. He was also responsible for the republication of 'Tragedy of Hyderabad' book, which was banned in the country. The controversial book was authored by the last Prime Minister of Hyderabad, Mir Laik Ali
The book, first published in Karachi in 1962, was banned by the Indian government. Publishers in the US and the UK too had refused to publish it. However, the Deccan Archeological and Cultural Research Institute and the 1969 Telangana Movement Founders’ Forum reprinted the book, which speaks about the “hidden facts of the tragic history of Hyderabad State".
Chiranjeevi, as the convener of Telangana Movement Founders’ Forum, published the book in 2011.
Recently, the Telangana government had sanctioned Rs 10 lakh to pay for Chiranjeevi's medical expenses. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other Ministers condoled the death of Chiranjeevi.